Las Vegas and Quebec City are moving on to the second of three phases in their bids to land NHL expansion franchises, the respective groups announced.

Bill Foley, who heads the Las Vegas bid, issued a statement on his group's website, "Vegas Wants Hockey," that the league has invited it to advance. Quebecor, a Montreal-based communications giant, announced on its Twitter account that its Quebec City bid is moving forward.

The Las Vegas group has already secured more than 13,200 season-ticket deposits for a potential team.