Former NHL player Anson Carter has split from the Alpharetta-backed North Point Mall ownership group. He is now leading an independent bid for an Atlanta-area NHL franchise, creating a three-way competition that clouds the city's approved arena redevelopment.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the break to the North Atlanta Star on Friday, Sept. 11. Carter had previously championed the Alpharetta group but is no longer aligned with it, Daly said. Carter's new group has shown evidence of adequate financing but has not chosen an arena site. The search is focused somewhere north of Atlanta.
The move reshapes a competition that already pitted Alpharetta's North Point proposal against The Gathering at South Forsyth. That Forsyth County project is a $3 billion mixed-use development built around an 18,000-seat arena along Ronald Reagan Boulevard. Forsyth County has approved definitive agreements for the project, though the county's financial participation is conditioned on the NHL awarding a franchise there.
Carter's approach reverses the playbook. The Alpharetta and Forsyth groups spent years identifying land, designing arena districts and working through local government approvals before seeking NHL interest. Carter secured ownership and financing first, then began looking for a site.
What's at stake for Alpharetta
The Alpharetta City Council approved the North Point Mall redevelopment by a 4-3 vote at a meeting that stretched past 1 a.m. on Aug. 25. The plan calls for a roughly 20,000-seat arena as the centerpiece of a sports and entertainment district on the nearly 99-acre property, developed by Jamestown and property owner New York Life. The project also includes 1,385 rental homes, two hotels, restaurants, shops, a 4,000-seat performing arts venue and a community ice rink.
Roughly 75 conditions are attached to the approval. One key condition, recommended by the Alpharetta Planning Commission, requires an NHL franchise to be awarded before residents can occupy the planned apartments. The deadline for that commitment is August 2031, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
The City Council approved a Tax Allocation District in November 2025, effective Dec. 31, 2025, to support the project. The 646-acre designated area could fund $225 million to $280 million in public improvements over 30 years, according to 11Alive, though those figures require full consent from Fulton County and the school district.
No guarantee Atlanta gets a team
Three groups competing does not mean Atlanta will receive a franchise. The NHL has not opened a formal expansion process or promised the region a team. An expansion franchise fee runs roughly $2 billion.
On Aug. 21, Daly told The Athletic that the league expects to announce a Texas expansion franchise by year's end, with play projected for the 2029-30 season. "We will have one down and potentially one to go," Daly said, as reported by CW39, adding that the league has "ongoing discussions both with people in the Phoenix marketplace, but also Atlanta."
On Sept. 4, Daly told The Athletic that metro Atlanta was "not even remotely close to an application phase," as Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
Atlanta has hosted two NHL franchises before. Both relocated. The Thrashers left for Winnipeg in 2011.
Carter, Alpharetta city officials and Jamestown have not publicly commented on the split. No date for the next step in the NHL franchise process has been announced.
