12/21/24
June 15, 2007
Boy: meets girl buys hockey team. Boy moves aggressively to move team to southern Ontario, because attempts to move politely didn't work out. Boy puts together multiple fallback plans, buying a mysterious plot of land in Cambridge and making deals with Hamilton. Boy seems willing to take NHL to court if his plans are blocked. Boy pisses off some of the NHL board of governors by doing so, but must be liked by others for raising their teams' market values by hugely overpaying for his team. The NHL doesn't want another team in southern Ontario, yet Boy received 7,200 season ticket deposits on first day of sales with no advance notice. So how the heck does this story end?
posted by DrJohnEvans to hockey at 10:35 AM - 27 comments
So how the heck does this story end? Boy's offer to buy team rejected by BOG, boy granted an expansion team in 2008.
posted by MrFrisby at 10:54 AM on June 15, 2007
I was one of the 7200, I have instructed my lawyer to start preparing divorce papers with regards to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is somewhat difficult to consider this, as they were my first sports love, but really, they haven't put a lot into the relationship in the past 40 years.
posted by tommybiden at 11:10 AM on June 15, 2007
Boy's offer to buy team rejected by BOG, boy granted an expansion team in 2008. That seems kind of unlikely, for a few reasons:
- While a vocal minority of the BoG is obviously anti-Balsille, I think his mission benefits more owners than it hurts. He raises the value of all their teams, and almost definitely changes the Predators from revenue-sharing consumers to revenue-sharing contributors.
- Balsillie doesn't seem willing to go along with what the NHL wants "just so he can have his team". If that was the case, he'd be the Pittsburgh Penguins' owner right now.
- I think the only way your suggested deal happens is if the NHL cuts him a sweet deal on expansion fees, and if that happens, then Bettman is gone faster than Mats Sundin at the end of his contract. Giving up the increase in value on an insane purchase AND losing their expansion sweetheart money? No way.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:23 AM on June 15, 2007
I was one of the 7200, I have instructed my lawyer to start preparing divorce papers with regards to the Toronto Maple Leafs. As a Leaf fan, I'd look upon a Hamilton team as a "younger brother", much like I did Ottawa when they got started up. However, the moment they face my Leafs in the playoffs, they are a sworn enemy. I'd remain a Leaf fan, but I'd be happy to have another team in Ontario. That might, possibly, give me a chance to buy Leaf tickets if everyone else jumps on that bandwagon. However, I'd be very confused about who the top rivalry for the Leafs would then be: Montreal - Historic, no doubt, but the Leafs haven't played a playoff game against them in over a generation. There is only so much hype you can make from the English/French thing. Ottawa - The most heated rivalry going because of the playoff encounters, but Ottawa needs to win one of those series to really make it count. *ZING* Hamilton - Just like in real estate, it's all about location. It would be a nice extension of the Tiger-Cats/Argos CFL rivalry, and if they grab the Predators' roster, they'll probably start kicking Leaf ass pretty quickly. As well, you might end up with both arenas (Copps/AC) rocking with equal support for both teams. This could end up being the closest thing in Canada to developing English-style football rowdiness.
posted by grum@work at 11:23 AM on June 15, 2007
Don't worry, grum, maybe someday the NHL will expand the playoffs to 24 teams and the Ottawa-Toronto rivalry can continue.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:25 AM on June 15, 2007
grum, I've suffered the death of one of my 2 main sports loves, and the other one puts no effort into the relationship. I was able to move on after Nos Amours finally succumbed to the poisons that MLB repeatedly poured down her throat and have a new wonderful relationship with the St. Louis Cardinals. I do have an amazing ongoing affair with the Toronto Blue Jays, but that's in a whole different league (not to mention a different country), so I don't look on that as cheating. I'm sure I can be happy cheering for the Hamilton Blackberries, Hamilton R.I.M.Cups, Hamilton R.I.M.Bits, whatever they end up being called. I'm ready to move on with my life as the Leafs have made no effort to take care of any of my needs. We haven't even flirted (with the playoffs) in 3 years.
posted by tommybiden at 11:45 AM on June 15, 2007
Balsillie is obviously going about this all wrong. Run the Preds into the ground and have the league gift him a better franchise. Worked with the Expos and Loria.
posted by gspm at 12:16 PM on June 15, 2007
From this thread we see that it looks like the NHL wants to expand to 32 teams. Kansas City will have an arena ready by then. Baslillie seems to have Hamilton all ready to go. There is also another group of from Nashville ready to make an offer to buy the Predators but can not while Basillie's is on the table. So it seems as though everything is set for the NHL if they can steer everybody in the right direction. They get the expansion fees from two teams and Basillie saves money because the expansion fee is half of what he would pay for the Preds. That was my thinking, but you have some good points there, Doc.
posted by MrFrisby at 12:24 PM on June 15, 2007
I don't know, the whole idea of this being a ploy for Balsillie to snag an expansion team seems awkward. Why would he wait for a crappy expansion team when he has a pretty darn good team in his grasp right now? Why would the league prefer expansion into Ontario rather than a team moving—what's the difference to them? And IF the governors decide that Gary Bettman's agenda is more important than their teams' value (which I still think is highly unlikely), surely Craig Leipold will have something to say about losing $50-60 million on his sale. I predict the BoG approves the sale, but Bettman adds conditions to it. Balsillie and Leipold take the NHL to court and win.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:38 PM on June 15, 2007
The Blackberries?! This is a hockey team we are talking about here! There is no way any team in the NHL would stop so low! That'd be like.. naming a team after some stupid kids movie... er.. nevermind.
posted by apoch at 01:14 PM on June 15, 2007
Please welcome ... your Barrie Predators! Hee hee.
posted by wfrazerjr at 01:23 PM on June 15, 2007
I'm not saying it's Basillie's ploy, I'm sure he would much rather have the Predators than an expansion team. The NHL does not want Nashville to move because that would leave a huge hockey void in that precious area of the United States. I'm also not convinced that Craig Leipold is in it just for the money, he is a Nashville resident and a huge hockey fan. He wants the team to stay and succeed in Nashville. His original plan was just to sell a share of the team. I don't understand the economics of how the sale to Basillie would raise the value of all the other teams, and if it does, what good does it do unless you are putting it up for sale. I haven't heard of any other owners looking to sell.
posted by MrFrisby at 01:28 PM on June 15, 2007
It's true, if a Nashville group was able to put together a competitive bid to keep the team in town, Leipold would definitely gravitate that way. That's certainly possible, but the conditions are not ideal for it. The local business group has to wait until the Balsillie bid is rejected before they can make an offer—and if the past five years' worth of effort by Leipold to build local corporate support didn't work out, it's difficult to see the money coming out of relatively thin air. (Also, I'm sure Leipold isn't in it just for the money, but the difference between the two bids could easily be significant enough to make him think.) But do you really think the NHL is that committed to keeping the Predators in Nashville? There's a terrific fan base there, certainly, but for a number of reasons, however stupid and unfortunate, this league lives and dies by corporate box and season ticket revenue. Nashville just doesn't seem to have enough corporate support for the NHL to want to stay. I certainly haven't heard any loud and proud statements from Bettman saying such, just the usual fan-placating gibberish. I don't understand the economics of how the sale to Basillie would raise the value of all the other teams, and if it does, what good does it do unless you are putting it up for sale. I haven't heard of any other owners looking to sell. It's just a basic financial principle: value creates value. Having an asset suddenly double in value gives a businessperson much more leverage in all of his or her other dealings. For instance, if the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan wants to buy the CN Tower to use as their office, they'll get much better financing offers if their holdings' net worth is five gazillion dollars instead of three gazillion. (Any economists are welcome to chime in and correct me, or my numbers.)
posted by DrJohnEvans at 01:55 PM on June 15, 2007
The Blackberries?! This is a hockey team we are talking about here! There is no way any team in the NHL would stop so low! That'd be like.. naming a team after some stupid kids movie... er.. nevermind. The St. Louis Blues considered a move to Saskatoon in 1983, the team in all likelyhood would have been named....wait for it...... the Saskatoon Berries! Now back to regularly scheduled postings, you know, the Hamilton Predators really doesn't sound that bad. Now, the Barrie Predators, that's just ridiculous, a team from Barrie should be the Barrie Flyers. (a real old time OHA team). DrJohn is correct. The Teachers Pension Plan is worth in the multiple of gazillions of dollars.
posted by tommybiden at 02:30 PM on June 15, 2007
Ladies and gentlemen, your Hamilton RIM-jobs! /cue crowd going wild
posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:30 PM on June 15, 2007
Now, that is funny, T_B_H.
posted by tommybiden at 05:04 PM on June 15, 2007
So how the heck does this story end? Gary Bettman spontaneously combusts?
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:55 PM on June 15, 2007
...it looks like the NHL wants to expand to 32 teams... Oh, great! Just what the NHL needs. 2 more teams to dilute the already thin talent base in the league. The right move would be to buy out the owners of the weakest franchises, and contract the league to 16 teams. Maybe then we'd see some real hockey played by teams with more than 3 or 4 skilled players. I'm a long-time lover of the game, but I've been turned off for the last few years by the poor quality of competition. It is time the NHL took the hard course of action and resurrected good hockey.
posted by Howard_T at 06:34 PM on June 15, 2007
Don't worry, grum, maybe someday the NHL will expand the playoffs to 24 teams and the Ottawa-Toronto rivalry can continue. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Ottawa will not win the Stanley Cup until they beat the Maple Leafs in the playoffs. Until then, they are just screwed by fate.
posted by grum@work at 08:04 PM on June 15, 2007
If you guys don't mind minor league hockey, you can have the Bruins.
posted by yerfatma at 08:56 PM on June 15, 2007
If I was Basillie, I sure as hell wouldn't buy a frachise that was 21st in a league that doesn't draw to begin with and leave it there. Good for him for pressuring Bettman and those old foggies on the board of govenors into allowing the move. If Bettman payed attention to guys like Basillie, the league would be in a lot better shape, and it would definetely have a better TV deal. If Bettman had half a backbone (which we all know he doesn't) he'd make the next expansion team in Las Vegas and be the first profesional sports franchise in a city with a ton of people and a ton of money. Unfortunetly for hockey, Bettman is nothing more than a lawn jockey wearing a designer suit. If any of you are going to respond, "you can't have a profesional sports franchise where there's legal sports betting" my answer would be look no further the Rick Tocchet, Wayne Gretzky, and Wayne's wife Betzky, you don't have to be in sin city to make a sports bet.
posted by MGDADDYO at 12:04 AM on June 16, 2007
he'd make the next expansion team in Las Vegas and be the first profesional sports franchise in a city with a ton of people and a ton of money. Everyone keeps hyping the idea of going to Las Vegas, but I don't see why it's that attractive. - it's another warm weather location without any history of hockey - a very large proportion of the employed citizenry in that city work in the evenings, making attending a night game almost impossible - most of the money comes from tourists, and I'm pretty sure "attending a hockey game" is going to be very low on their list of "Things To Do In Las Vegas" Besides, they wouldn't be the first major professional sports franchise to play in Las Vegas. The Oakland A's played six games at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, back in April of 1996 (while their current stadium was still being worked on).
posted by grum@work at 09:42 AM on June 16, 2007
Vegas doesn't have a suitable arena. Big piece of the puzzle. Big, $50+ Million piece. If they did, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad move. Certainly a better choice than two teams in Florida. Gah.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:02 AM on June 16, 2007
Tampa Bay is doing just fine. The Panthers not so much.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 03:21 PM on June 16, 2007
Well, this doesn't look good. For the Nashville fans anyways. I guess Detroit won't have any competition in it's division this upcoming season.
posted by MrFrisby at 08:44 AM on June 18, 2007
Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in the US. People aren't just going there to work in casinos, either.
posted by bender at 12:57 PM on June 19, 2007
It's worth noting that the league's much-talked-about "territorial rights" rules have never been actually challenged, nor has any issue regarding them ever been brought to a vote by the board of governors. A financial settlement was reached early on in both instances of it even being a possibility (Anaheim and New Jersey).