The Great One is trying to restore a third professional sports team in the city of Seattle.
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The New York Post reported Saturday night that Wayne Gretzky has joined a group of investors hoping to lure a National Hockey League team to the Pacific Northwest.
Gretzky's group is one of three trying to land an NHL team for Seattle, which last year flirted with the NBA's Sacramento Kings relocating there until the NBA stepped in a persuaded a sale to a group committed to keeping that franchise in Sacramento.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman met with city officials in Seattle in May to follow up on plans to build an arena there. The city lost the NBA's SuperSonics to Oklahoma City before the 2008-09 season after failing to secure funding for a $500 million arena.
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The team changed its name to the Thunder, and Seattle has been left with only the Major League Baseball's Mariners and the NFL's defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks.
It is uncertain whether the three Seattle groups vying for an NHL team would look to relocate a current team or put in an expansion franchise. According to the Post, Bettman indicated the league is not yet ready to expand.
Gretzky already has tried to buy an NHL franchise, the Post reported. In 2011, the 53-year-old Hall of Famer partnered with Providence Equity Partners, a New York private-equity firm, to put a $1.5 billion bid for Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, which owns both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the NBA's Toronto Raptors.
The NHL rejected the bid because the debt levels under the negotiated contract were higher than 50 percent of the franchise value, which the Post reported is against NHL rules.
Gretzky declined comment to the Post.
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