The National Hockey League has chosen the team of William Foley and the Maloof family as the owners of a Las Vegas expansion team, The Post has learned.
The league has not determined a timetable for expansion, but two western US cities are expected to be selected for new franchises, according to reports.
One of those cities — if approved by NHL owners — will be Las Vegas, sources said.
The franchise fee will be about $400 million, a source said.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Monday he met with a potential Las Vegas ownership group, and was intrigued by the idea of bringing the first major-league sports franchise to the desert city.
He did not identify the group but sources close to the situation said it was Foley, a billionaire businessman, and the Maloof family, former owners of the NBA Sacramento Kings.
The Maloofs are influential in Las Vegas and known also for such ventures as producing movies and running the Palms Casino Resort.
The NHL is not expected to decide on expansion until its settles on a second city — as there are two more Eastern Division teams than Western Division teams, a hockey source said.
A $400 million franchise fee would be five times higher than the $80 million fee charged both the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets in 2000, the last time the league expanded.
“If you believe the Islanders just sold for $485 million, that is the fee I would want if I were the league,” a sports business source said.
Foley declined comment, and the Maloofs did not return calls.