Alpharetta Votes Yes on NHL Arena Plan for North Point Mall
The Alpharetta City Council approved zoning changes for a North Point Mall redevelopment anchored by a 20,000-seat arena, keeping Atlanta's NHL expansion hopes alive.
Alpharetta's city council cleared a major hurdle for a potential NHL arena on the night of August 24, voting 4-3 to approve rezoning and a master plan amendment for the roughly 100-acre North Point Mall site.
Developer Jamestown's plan would tear down most of the mall and replace it with a mixed-use district centered on a 20,000-seat arena. The broader proposal also includes a 4,000-seat music hall, a 2,000-seat practice facility and community ice rink, a hotel, offices, shops, restaurants, and about 1,385 rental units. Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin cast the deciding vote.
The NHL has not awarded Atlanta an expansion franchise, and no construction timeline is in place. New York Life, which owns the property, would need to hire a full development team and complete detailed design and permitting before breaking ground, a process officials have said would take a year or longer.
Alpharetta is competing with a separate proposal in Forsyth County, also located north of Atlanta, which has its own arena plans and held a favorable vote in 2024. The NHL has been formally exploring expansion in Houston and Austin through The Friedkin Group, and commissioner Gary Bettman said in June that the Texas pursuit was the furthest along, adding that it "doesn't rule in or rule out Atlanta or Arizona, it simply means they're on a slightly different track."
Atlanta has hosted two previous NHL franchises: the Flames from 1972 to 1980, who relocated to Calgary, and the Thrashers from 1999 to 2011, who moved to Winnipeg.
