National News posted Jul 20, 2015 @ 05:31pm by Jamie Shinkewski

Quebec City Applies for NHL Expansion

The design for the new arena in Quebec City. (Photo Credit: Etienne Coutu/Flickr)

The Quebec Nordiques could soon be a professional hockey team once again.

The Montreal-based telecommunications company Quebecor announced Monday that they have submitted their application for a National Hockey League expansion team.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the expansion fee for a new team will be at least $500 million US.

We confirm that we submitted our candidacy for the #NHL expansion process in order to bring the #Nordiques back to #Québec City.
— Québecor (@Quebecor) July 20, 2015

If approved, the team will play at the new Videotron Arena, which has a capacity of 18,259.

Quebec City has not had an NHL team since the Nordiques left to become the Colorado Avalanche in 1995.

The NHL has previously said the earliest an expansion team would join the league will be in the 2017-18 season. There has not been any expansion in the league since the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets joined in 2000.