Las Vegas' new NHL team already sold out their season tickets

Las Vegas won't get to enjoy its new NHL team until the start of the 2017-2018 season, but hockey fans in the desert are already scooping up their tickets well in advance. The yet-to-be-named organization announced Monday that they had officially received deposits on all 16,000 season tickets available for the inaugural season.

Though Vegas wasn't officially awarded a team from the league until June, the ownership group started a ticket drive in February of 2015 to prove to the NHL that the city and its people were committed to supporting a hockey team. The initial goal was set at 10,000 tickets, but the team received 9,000 deposits within the first month.

“We launched a season ticket drive in February 2015 to demonstrate the long-term viability of an NHL franchise in Las Vegas and were able to surpass our initial goal within months,” said Bill Foley, majority owner of the Las Vegas NHL franchise, in a statement. “This is a truly historic event for the Las Vegas community, the NHL and all of our fans. I would like to thank everyone who has supported and continues to support our efforts to make the Las Vegas NHL franchise a success.”

The team is still without a name (though ownership has some ideas) and won't have a roster until next year, but it's clear that Vegas is ready for hockey. Fortunately, the Los Angeles Kings will provide a bit of a teaser when they play two preseason games at the city's new T-Mobile Arena this October.