...Coyotes need NHL "approval" for major player/money transactions...

[joewillie99]

...R.I.P. Phoenix Coyotes...

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090109.wsptcoyotes8/GSStory/GlobeSports/home

..."It is not known exactly how much money the Coyotes have received from the NHL. The game schedule is at the halfway point, which could mean, under NHL bylaws, the club cannot have received more than half of the money it expects from shared revenue. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the Coyotes have not yet received as much as half of their expected share of the NHL revenue, which could come to $22-million.

In return for the advances, the Coyotes need the NHL's approval for any major player or financial transactions, according to sources. Daly wrote in an e-mail message yesterday that the arrangement "is not as much 'approval' as it is 'consulting.' "......

[Eazy-D66]

Good to hear.

[Hornz Over Halos]

Definitely not a good situation in the desert.

Move them back to Canada.

James, what're you gonna do with no hockey to watch?!!?

[joewillie99]

....this isn't a 2008 "bad economy" thing either...


..."The uniform commercial code financing statements obtained by The Globe show that, starting on Dec. 29, 2003 — only two days after the Coyotes played their first game at newly constructed Jobing.com Arena — the franchise signed over almost all assets and revenue to SOF, its primary lender at the time.

More documents show that SOF tightened its grip on the club as the Coyotes borrowed more money. The loans now total about $80-million and will expire on Dec. 29, 2013, under current terms, according to a source."...

[Elias_Devil]

...Move 'em back to Winnipeg...

[81ragnaH]

hopefully they make the playoffs this year, their tickets sold has been way way up from this point last year (70K+ more i believe, maybe pushing 100 since that figure i read a few weeks ago). get a winning hockey club down there and the fans will come.

getting the all star game would be good for them too.

[Elias_Devil]

hopefully they make the playoffs this year, their tickets sold has been way way up from this point last year (70K+ more i believe, maybe pushing 100 since that figure i read a few weeks ago). get a winning hockey club down there and the fans will come.

getting the all star game would be good for them too.

The only problem is that it won't last in Pheonix. Sure people will go if the team's playing well but as soon as they get another mediocre season they will stop coming. There never should have been hockey in Arizona in the first place.

[joewillie99]

hopefully they make the playoffs this year, their tickets sold has been way way up from this point last year (70K+ more i believe, maybe pushing 100 since that figure i read a few weeks ago).

.."Through 21 home games, the Coyotes ranked 26th among the NHL's 30 teams in attendance with an announced average crowd of 14,789 a game"...

...in the NHL world,the attendance figures are somewhat meaningless...it's revenue generated that's the big thing...if the Coyotes are selling greatly discounted tickets...you get the picture....

[81ragnaH]

The only problem is that it won't last in Pheonix. Sure people will go if the team's playing well but as soon as they get another mediocre season they will stop coming. There never should have been hockey in Arizona in the first place.

it's like that in every fanbase. get a winning team, sell more tickets, get a championship team, sell out most games, get a mediocre team, sell a lot less tickets. not all markets are like canada where even with a garbage team they will sell out every night.

honestly, if there's one team that deserves to be moved it's the devils, and i'm not saying that becuase it's obviously your favorite team. i'm saying that because they've had a dominant, champion calibre team for the last decade with the greatest goaltender to ever play the game, and still rank in bottom 5 in attendance every year.

[joewillie99]

The only problem is that it won't last in Pheonix. Sure people will go if the team's playing well but as soon as they get another mediocre season they will stop coming. There never should have been hockey in Arizona in the first place.

...all the problems in the NHL could be solved if every team won the Cup every year...

[Elias_Devil]

it's like that in every fanbase. get a winning team, sell more tickets, get a championship team, sell out most games, get a mediocre team, sell a lot less tickets. not all markets are like canada where even with a garbage team they will sell out every night.

honestly, if there's one team that deserves to be moved it's the devils, and i'm not saying that becuase it's obviously your favorite team. i'm saying that because they've had a dominant, champion calibre team for the last decade with the greatest goaltender to ever play the game, and still rank in bottom 5 in attendance every year.

But Pheonix is an extreme when it comes to attendence, no one cares and if the Cardinals coulnd't sell out one playoff game I can't see the Coyotes selling out five or six in a row during a playoff run.

As for the Devils, just no. They are high in merchendise sales and the team is WELL supported. It's not our fault that we can't afford the tickets and I'm not blaming the economy because the team has been doing this for years. If we got an owner that cared about his fans this team would sell out. Out lower bowl charges 3x what Buffalo does...

[glove-save]

Phoenix, IMO moved to a new arena far away from there fan base. I realize people in Ottawa will drive the long distance to Kanata to catch a game at Scotiabank place, but not in Phoenix will they drive to Glendale. The Coyotes would have been better off if they had stayed at America West/US airways arena.

[81ragnaH]

But Pheonix is an extreme when it comes to attendence, no one cares and if the Cardinals coulnd't sell out one playoff game I can't see the Coyotes selling out five or six in a row during a playoff run.

As for the Devils, just no. They are high in merchendise sales and the team is WELL supported. It's not our fault that we can't afford the tickets and I'm not blaming the economy because the team has been doing this for years. If we got an owner that cared about his fans this team would sell out. Out lower bowl charges 3x what Buffalo does...

you know a lot more about the devils than me, i just see the reported attendance figures and based on that i formed my opinion on them. personally i don't want to see any team moved. what the NHL needs right now is stability. we won't know about attendance in phoenix until they make it to the playoffs, which will hopefully be this year. i want to see them succeed, which is a lot more than a lot of people here or anywhere want, so it seems. i firmly believe that they will do fine if they get a good team. but we won't know until/if it happens, so right now its all speculation.

[Elias_Devil]

you know a lot more about the devils than me, i just see the reported attendance figures and based on that i formed my opinion on them. personally i don't want to see any team moved. what the NHL needs right now is stability. we won't know about attendance in phoenix until they make it to the playoffs, which will hopefully be this year. i want to see them succeed, which is a lot more than a lot of people here or anywhere want, so it seems. i firmly believe that they will do fine if they get a good team. but we won't know until/if it happens, so right now its all speculation.

Obviously everyone wants to see the league succeed but I think the league would be much healthier if 10 of the 30 teams in the league played in Canada and I think Bettman should step in with the ticket prices. Like you said from the outside the Devils look like a joke due to their attendence. But the fact is the team had a spanking new arena and in my opinion the most knowlidgable and best fans in the New York area for any sport. When you see the Devils on TV it looks empty, but all you can see are the $250 seats that are either bought by suits or by nobody. And even if the suits buy the tickets, they don't show and make the arena look even emptier. And the team obviously won't care if the suits show up or not because they got their $250 either way so they have no incentive to change their ways. But if you look at the upper deck on friday or saturday nights or against rivals it's sold out.

Personally I have nothing against teams playing in Pheonix or Nashville as opposed to Winnipeg and Quebec as long as the team is making money and heas their city's support. But using common knowledge I don't think the Coyotes or Predators or most southern teams for that matter will be ablt to survive even if they are contending for the cup year in and year out.

Personally I don't

[WingNut 25]

I think their days in Phoenix are numbered. They have a great new arena but it is too far away and too hard to get to. People just aren't coming out to watch them. I saw them against the Ducks earlier this year and this is the best Phoenix club in years. I see relocation in the near future. We all know a team will end up in Vegas sooner or later. You have to wonder if it will be the Coyotes based on simple logistics.

[NotoriousVesaToskala]

How do you relocate this team, though? They have (a rumoured) $80 million debt, they are locked into a 30-year lease with the city of Glendale, why would anyone swoop in an buy this car wreck? Their only option is to contract the team.

[madden821]

What idiot thought hockey would work in Phoenix in the first place.

[Elias_Devil]

What idiot thought hockey would work in Phoenix in the first place.

Gary Buttman

[WingNut 25]

How do you relocate this team, though? They have (a rumoured) $80 million debt, they are locked into a 30-year lease with the city of Glendale, why would anyone swoop in an buy this car wreck? Their only option is to contract the team.

How do you keep a pro franchise there if they are essentially going to declare bankruptcy? The league will figure it out and work with the city to re-negotiate the lease or let the team out of it. Can you imagine the negative press to follow if the Phoenix Coyotes can't make payroll and are essentially dead in the water mainly because of their lease with Glendale, AZ? Contraction is much, much easier said than done and while we fans keep calling for it (especially in the NHL) it won't happen.

[Brodeur]

The best thing for the NHL would be to move some teams from the south to canada. You would be able to sell more merchandise stuff and tickets, so the NHL would win two financially solid teams and even more fans. I personally would like to see the Panthers and Coyotes to head north.

[cflames89]

Something is going to happen, and happen soon.

Really, there is only one guy crazy enough to go in there and buy the team, debt and all, and we all know that Bettman won't let him near any team.

[rarechaselimitedvariation]

meh

[jwtragic]

How do you keep a pro franchise there if they are essentially going to declare bankruptcy? The league will figure it out and work with the city to re-negotiate the lease or let the team out of it. Can you imagine the negative press to follow if the Phoenix Coyotes can't make payroll and are essentially dead in the water mainly because of their lease with Glendale, AZ? Contraction is much, much easier said than done and while we fans keep calling for it (especially in the NHL) it won't happen.

To me, the only solution is the team folding outright. relocation doesn't solve the problem, because Glendale has the rights to the team for the next 30 years. So essentially, it becomes like the Whalers, where the City of Hartford owns the logo etc. Here, Glendale would own the Coyotes moniker and logos as the biggest debtor of the team and can re-generate the team should situations ever allow it. Bettman couldn't give a **** about that aspect, because the team has next to no marketability. Then, in July, you have a dispersal draft, with each of the 29 (or less depending on what happens on Long Island and in Florida) taking 1-2 players.

[Wrestling Fan]

That's bad news for the team and the few true fans that the team has

[Eazy-D66]

The best thing for the NHL would be to move some teams from the south to canada. You would be able to sell more merchandise stuff and tickets, so the NHL would win two financially solid teams and even more fans. I personally would like to see the Panthers and Coyotes to head north.


Doesn't necessarily even have to be to Canada. There are plenty of hockey mad places in the northern states. I would like to see them back in Canada though....pipe dreams.

[81ragnaH]

Obviously everyone wants to see the league succeed but I think the league would be much healthier if 10 of the 30 teams in the league played in Canada and I think Bettman should step in with the ticket prices. Like you said from the outside the Devils look like a joke due to their attendence. But the fact is the team had a spanking new arena and in my opinion the most knowlidgable and best fans in the New York area for any sport. When you see the Devils on TV it looks empty, but all you can see are the $250 seats that are either bought by suits or by nobody. And even if the suits buy the tickets, they don't show and make the arena look even emptier. And the team obviously won't care if the suits show up or not because they got their $250 either way so they have no incentive to change their ways. But if you look at the upper deck on friday or saturday nights or against rivals it's sold out.

Personally I have nothing against teams playing in Pheonix or Nashville as opposed to Winnipeg and Quebec as long as the team is making money and heas their city's support. But using common knowledge I don't think the Coyotes or Predators or most southern teams for that matter will be ablt to survive even if they are contending for the cup year in and year out.

Personally I don't

i understand, but i feel that these things take time. i'll get flamed for this, but a franchise deserves at least 30 years in a market to really know whether or not it'll survive there. sometimes less (see, flyers, blue jackets if they get good i guarantee they sell out), but those are in "traditional" hockey markets. it takes time...get a team there, kids and people in their 20s and 30s might start watching games, when they have kids, those kids grow up with hockey, play hockey, and are exposed to hockey from a young age. that's when a franchise really matures...that's when a fanbase is really born. you can't stick a team there and a few years later take it away claiming it won't ever work there, that's not nearly enough sample years to decide. what i know from talking to people in those areas though, is that more and more hockey arenas keep popping up in the areas around raleigh, nashville, and phoenix, and more and more kids are deciding to play hockey instead of football and other sports. hockey is growing in the areas, but it's tough to succeed when you have a bad team...and phoenix is good this year and is only getting better as far as the on ice product goes.

and i've read up a bit on the devils, apparently not only are they healthy despite their lack of attendance, but actually doing rather well for themselves. sorry for above, i was misguided.

How do you relocate this team, though? They have (a rumoured) $80 million debt, they are locked into a 30-year lease with the city of Glendale, why would anyone swoop in an buy this car wreck? Their only option is to contract the team.

what i heard is that they would fold the team and award another expansion team...kind of a relocation by contraction/expansion. i don't know if they would just shift the roster to the new team or have a dispersal draft and start fresh, which would be the fair thing to do. i'd hate to see this happen, they deserve a chance with a good team to succeed and see how the fans may/will come back. their marketing department is one of, if not the best in the NHL and their broadcasts, though the deal may be good (there are some games not broadcast on TV at all, even from the away feed in places like anaheim), are top notch, darren pang and dave strader do a great job.

What idiot thought hockey would work in Phoenix in the first place.

because there's absolutely no reason to think the contrary until you try. none, not one. and with a very large market area (phoenix is, what, 2millionish people? EDIT: phoenix actually has a metropolitan area just north of 4 million) and your job is to grow the game into the US, phoenix is not only a logical but necessary destination.

[sgrons]

Contract them and a few others (Florida, Nashville, Atlanta) and get rid of the overabundance of fourth liners each team has. Each team right now has two sets of fourth line players.
The best thing for the league is to move them to Canada (Kitchener (no not Hamilton or Toronto), Quebec City, Winnipeg, and Seattle - well close enough to Canada). We all know that will not happen, so contraction is the option.

[81ragnaH]

Contract them and a few others (Florida, Nashville, Atlanta) and get rid of the overabundance of fourth liners each team has. Each team right now has two sets of fourth line players.
The best thing for the league is to move them to Canada (Kitchener (no not Hamilton or Toronto), Quebec City, Winnipeg, and Seattle - well close enough to Canada). We all know that will not happen, so contraction is the option.

why is that the best thing? it doesn't grow the game, which gets new customers, which means more business, which leads to more $$. canada already watches the NHL, that doesn't grow the game at all. i might agree though, in this economic turmoil we're in, it might not be a terrible idea (if the team does indeed end up moving) to put them back in a failed market like winnipeg. you'd sell out every game and it would lead to stability for the franchise, albeit at the temporary cost of growing the game in an untapped market. the NHL could be making less $$ in the long term because the game wouldn't be growing, but they would be making money with a risk free market now which isn't a bad thing.

as for your fourth liners remark, why is that a bad thing? what would you rather see on a nightly basis, lidstrom poke the check away from crosby time and again, or rick nash dance around defenders and score a ridiculous goal? then look at it again from a casual fans point of view and tell me which one is better for the game, which one will lead the highlight reels on ESPN (which will probably be airing NHL games again in a few years if not sooner, thanks to mr. bettman).

[madden821]

why is that the best thing? it doesn't grow the game, which gets new customers, which means more business, which leads to more $$. canada already watches the NHL, that doesn't grow the game at all.

So a team in economic dissaray is good for the game? Does that grow the game? Hockey will NEVER be a major sport in the US. It needs to know its place and stay in Canada and the North where people actually care about it.

[81ragnaH]

So a team in economic dissaray is good for the game? Does that grow the game? Hockey will NEVER be a major sport in the US. It needs to know its place and stay in Canada and the North where people actually care about it.

if you'd bothered to read the rest of my post i said that it might be a good idea, if the team moved, to put them in canada where it can be stable. hockey is currently a major sport in the US, it is just as popular as the NBA is right now, despite what ESPN wants you to think. and it's only getting more popular, because of the teams in the south. the game is growing in the south, whether you like it or not. that's not to say that there shouldn't be teams in the north, i think seattle would make a great place for a team, as would winnipeg and quebec city. but not at the expense of the southern teams until they've proven that they don't belong there, which no team currently has.

[madden821]

I like hockey and have been to a lot of Seattle T-Bird games but when the Stanley Cup Finals get beat by reruns of reality shows in the ratings its not a major sport here.

[avsfan21]

Contract them and a few others (Florida, Nashville, Atlanta) and get rid of the overabundance of fourth liners each team has. Each team right now has two sets of fourth line players.
The best thing for the league is to move them to Canada (Kitchener (no not Hamilton or Toronto), Quebec City, Winnipeg, and Seattle - well close enough to Canada). We all know that will not happen, so contraction is the option.

I still dont see how people automatically think a team in Seattle would mean success. Sure it is in the North US, but that doesnt mean they would support hockey. They couldnt support a Basketball team, and it isnt like it has a great winter climate either as the avg temp during the winter is like the mid 40s. Which is about the same as it is here in Atlanta. Also moving teams to canada seems like a great idea now, but what happens if the Canadian dollar and the US dollar go back to the way they were when Canadian teams were paying in US dollar and bring in canadian dollars which were about 2 for 1 of the US dollar. Teams can fail in Canada and the Northern part of the US as much as they can in the South.

[The_Kid]

Hockey used to be a lot more popular. Just because it's hitting a rough spot in the Bettman years does that mean we should **** all over it? They need to finish this cycle and be done with Bettman. If you could actually turn on ESPN and see a hockey game instead of women's volleyball or a poker tournament or little league baseball maybe it could garner some new fans.

[madden821]

I still dont see how people automatically thing a team in Seattle would mean success. Sure it is in the North US, but that doesnt mean they would support hockey. They couldnt support a Basketball team, and it isnt like it has a great winter climate either as the avg temp during the winter is like the mid 40s. Which is about the same as it is here in Atlanta. Also moving teams to canada seems like a great idea now, but what happens if the Canadian dollar and the US dollar go back to the way they were when Canadian teams were paying in US dollar and bring in canadian dollars which were about 2 for 1 of the US dollar. Teams can fail in Canada and the Northern part of the US as much as they can in the South.

I don't think Seattle would support an NHL team. The T-Birds and the Everett Silvertips have their fans but that wouldn't be enough to support the NHL long term.

[madden821]

Hockey used to be a lot more popular. Just because it's hitting a rough spot in the Bettman years does that mean we should **** all over it? They need to finish this cycle and be done with Bettman. If you could actually turn on ESPN and see a hockey game instead of women's volleyball or a poker tournament or little league baseball maybe it could garner some new fans.

I'll give you that. Bettman isn't helping much. The best tv deal he could get was the VS network... ugh.

[joewillie99]

...in Gary's perfect world...if the team has to move...it's to Kansas City...for various reasons...that's where he wanted Nashville to end up...

[joewillie99]

...more bad news...maybe if the scouts "thumbed" it would be OK....Gretzky defers salary?...

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090113.wsptcoyotes12/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/home

..."Among the austerity measures pushed on the club by the NHL, which is monitoring the Coyotes' financial and player-personnel moves, is a reduction in travel by the club's scouts, according to sources. Last week, the Coyotes laid off 18 people in the front office, about 10 per cent of their staff."....


...from Stephen Brunt of the Globe & Mail...the Coyotes are the "first domino"...
http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090109.BRUNT09/TPStory/Sports/columnists

..."Historically, the Coyotes are a symptom, not the disease. They exist in their current straits because of the NHL's rose-coloured aspirations to conquer America, aspirations that had been kicked around for decades but really took flight after Gretzky was sold to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 and set off hockey mania in Southern California. The Phoenix franchise shifted from Winnipeg because the league had in theory outgrown that city and the market. The question of solid, grassroots hockey interest was beside the point; the sport packaged properly, the conceit was that the league could sell it to anyone."....

[Voodoo Chylde]

So a team in economic dissaray is good for the game? Does that grow the game? Hockey will NEVER be a major sport in the US. It needs to know its place and stay in Canada and the North where people actually care about it.

I think the Stars and all their fans in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex, the AHL Houston Aeros and San Antonio Rampage, the CHL Laredo Bucks, Amarillo Gorillas, San Angelo Saints, Corpus Christi Rays, Texas Brahmas, Odessa Jackalopes, Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, and all the youth hockey programs they've spawned would beg to differ with you.

Hockey can work just fine in the south. Some fail to realize that the NHL didn't work in Winnipeg; hell, I've seen 'Peggers state that there is no way they could support an NHL franchise. That being said, you have to be smart about bringing hockey to the south and it cannot be oversaturated.

When I first moved to Texas in 92, I remember the popular sentimate being "Hockey!?! Why in the blue hell would I wanna strap razor blades to my feet, go on a sheet of ice and chase a burnt biscuit around with a crooked stick fro 3 hours?" Needless to say that has changed dramatically; but it took TIME, grassroots involvement, aggressive marketing of the sport and it's star players and lots of community involvement. Oh, winning doesn't hurt either.

[kusteveh]

...in Gary's perfect world...if the team has to move...it's to Kansas City...for various reasons...that's where he wanted Nashville to end up...
Living in KC I would love to have a team move here however this town would not support a franchise. When the Pens were flirting with moving here the impression I got was if they had to move Buttman preferred Seattle or Vegas, however neither of those cities had an arena ready like KC did so we basically would have got the team by default.

[Voodoo Chylde]

Living in KC I would love to have a team move here however this town would not support a franchise. When the Pens were flirting with moving here the impression I got was if they had to move Buttman preferred Seattle or Vegas, however neither of those cities had an arena ready like KC did so we basically would have got the team by default.

You just hit Gary's biggest problem squarely on the head my brother. "Oh, they've got a state of the art arena and they're willing to make us the featured tenants? Give 'em a team! Hockey will EXPLODE there! um, right?" WRONG!!!!!

[joewillie99]

You just hit Gary's biggest problem squarely on the head my brother. "Oh, they've got a state of the art arena and they're willing to make us the featured tenants? Give 'em a team! Hockey will EXPLODE there! um, right?" WRONG!!!!!

....I'm going by memory so...that's why I mentioned (a vague) "various reasons" in another thread....there's some kind of tie in with an NHL owner (Kings?) and the rink in KC...and the "time frame" is running out on his option...I'll have to do a search...

[Voodoo Chylde]

Yeah, Kemper Arena is absolutely gorgeous! And unless I'm mistaken, they still don't have a major sports tenant there yet.

[joewillie99]

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

How Much Power Does The Anschutz Group Have In The NHL?


It is well known that some NHL owners are in Gary Bettman's inner circle and wield significant power on the NHL's decisions, while others (such as the New York Rangers (http://puckstopshere.blogspot.com/2008/06/disciplining-owners_25.html)) are on the outs with the commissioner of the NHL. Probably the owner who wields the most power in the league right now is the Anschutz Group, headed by Phillip Anschutz, who owns the Los Angeles Kings.

The Anschutz Group owns many arenas worldwide. Many of the international games played by the NHL, such as last year's two games in London, England played between the Anaheim Ducks and LA Kings, are played in Anschutz owned arenas. This year, they have ties to the arenas in Prague, Czech Republic (they do not own this arena, but it shares common sponsorship with Anschutz arenas in London and Berlin) where the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning will open the season and Stockholm, Sweden where the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators will open their season.

When the NHL discusses expansion, it is usually Anschutz owned arenas that will house teams. The two leading candidates for North American expansion appear to be Kansas City, where Anschutz owns the arena and Las Vegas, where Anschutz is building an arena. Anschutz owns several arenas in Europe. Should European expansion occur, it will fill Anschutz arenas as well.

Phillip Anschutz is in a position to help set NHL policy. The policy he sets will benefit his holdings and that may be very different from benefitting the NHL or hockey in general. As a case in point, He has been involved in some shady NHL-related dealings. An Anschutz employee, William "Boots" Del Biaggio (http://puckstopshere.blogspot.com/2008/06/nashville-ownership-problems.html) had been hired to try to bring NHL hockey to Kansas City. Eventually, it was decided that the best way to relocate a team to Kansas City was for Del Biaggio to buy into the Nashville Predators, with intent to move the team in the future if local ownership could not keep the team in Nashville. Anschutz secretly loaned Del Biaggio some of the money that he used to buy his share of the Predators. This scheme was exposed when Del Biaggio declared bankruptcy, as he had many other shady and fraudulent dealings. Clearly, Anschutz is willing to do things that are not in the NHL's best interests (such as having financial influence in more than one NHL franchise) if it is in his business interests. To date, there has been no punishment to Phillip Anschutz for this deal.

The NHL should be looking out for its interests and the interests of hockey in general. This isn't happening if it allows Phillip Anschutz to exert his influence on its direction. Anschutz will look out for himself and not worry about the overall health of the NHL or hockey in general. His past record shows this. The influence of Phillip Anschutz on the NHL's direction is a bad thing. No one owner should get too powerful. No one owner should put his own financial interests above the NHL's interests. The office of the commissioner should exist to see that the NHL does what is best for itself and for hockey. It should not be driven by a handful of powerful owners.

# (http://puckstopshere.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-much-power-does-anschutz-group-have.html) posted by The Puck Stops Here : 12:20 PM http://www.blogger.com/img/icon18_email.gif (http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10759387&postID=5241408691858658648)http://www.blogger.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif (http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10759387&postID=5241408691858658648)

[Voodoo Chylde]

Hmmm, interesting that Anschultz can pull this crap and be a member of the Billionaire Boys Club yet Balsillie got blackballed for similar behavior.

[joewillie99]

Hmmm, interesting that Anschultz can pull this crap and be a member of the Billionaire Boys Club yet Balsillie got blackballed for similar behavior.

...isn't it?....the most interesting note in the above article..."The policy he (Anschutz) sets will benefit his holdings and that may be very different from benefitting the NHL or hockey in general."....

[kusteveh]

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

How Much Power Does The Anschutz Group Have In The NHL?


It is well known that some NHL owners are in Gary Bettman's inner circle and wield significant power on the NHL's decisions, while others (such as the New York Rangers (http://puckstopshere.blogspot.com/2008/06/disciplining-owners_25.html)) are on the outs with the commissioner of the NHL. Probably the owner who wields the most power in the league right now is the Anschutz Group, headed by Phillip Anschutz, who owns the Los Angeles Kings.


When the NHL discusses expansion, it is usually Anschutz owned arenas that will house teams. The two leading candidates for North American expansion appear to be Kansas City, where Anschutz owns the arena and Las Vegas, where Anschutz is building an arena. Anschutz owns several arenas in Europe. Should European expansion occur, it will fill Anschutz arenas as well.

# (http://puckstopshere.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-much-power-does-anschutz-group-have.html) posted by The Puck Stops Here : 12:20 PM http://www.blogger.com/img/icon18_email.gif (http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=10759387&postID=5241408691858658648)http://www.blogger.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif (http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=10759387&postID=5241408691858658648)

AEG doesn't exactly own the arena, they have the contract to manage it, they did put in $50 million which is less than 20% of the total cost.

Yeah, Kemper Arena is absolutely gorgeous! And unless I'm mistaken, they still don't have a major sports tenant there yet.
KC built the Sprint Center which opened in Oct '07 and no they don't have a major sports tenant, in fact with the AFL suspending operations this year they don't have a minor sports tenant either.

[tagmac]

It's time to bring back the Jets and the Nordiques! The league needs it, and the Canadian fans need it.

[motor-city-sports-fan]

move them to Vegas!!!

[avsfan21]

The league needs to stay away from Vegas and Europe shouldnt even be in the picture.

[Voodoo Chylde]

The league needs to stay away from Vegas and Europe shouldnt even be in the picture.
Amen! The league has a good thing going with it's image right now (Blackhawks attending funeral on day off) and needs to distance itself from the Avery type circus. Do we really need crackheads handing out Bunny Ranch fliers in front of the arena as people are trying to take their kids into the game?

And before the "Permissive Allow Everything" voices start chirping. I have no problem with adults partaking in that sort of entertainment so long as it's legal. Also, I am in no way, shape nor form a prude. You're old enough, you're not forcing your views on anyone else or making anyone else's job raising their kids their way harder, go for it. But this is not something the NHL needs to mess with. Sometimes, being different is a good thing.

[madden821]

Yeah, Vegas is a bad idea. I think there are a few other things to occupy peoples time there. And no way would tourists want to go to a hockey game there.

[WingNut 25]

The crazy thing is that Anschultz has never (to the best of my knowledge) attended a Kings game.

[cflames89]

The crazy thing is that Anschultz has never (to the best of my knowledge) attended a Kings game.

You know what, that really does not surprise me at all.

[joewillie99]

....Bettman's saving Las Vegas for expansion (at $350,000,000)...:eek::eek::eek:...yeah that was the plan a while ago...

[WingNut 25]

The league needs fewer teams right now, not more. And with the economy being so bad, I doubt he'll find any takers for the fee on a new team.

[joewillie99]

....Gretzky confirms the obvious....

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090115.wsptphoenix15/BNStory/GlobeSports

..."I don't think it is any big secret that Mr. Moyes has asked for new partners or investors," Gretzky said. "Mr. Moyes is doing the best he can in working with the city and city officials. Our responsibility is to come, show up and play, and play the best we can."

Since The Globe and Mail began documenting the Coyotes' economic woes last month, no one from the club's management had confirmed that it was seeking financial help."...

[joewillie99]

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/idl/vapr/20090116/61256-20076.jpg Phoenix Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky signals how many dollars remain in his team's bank account these days. Well, maybe not. But things are grim financially for the former Winnipeg Jets franchise, which has sparked talk of NHL contraction.
Photograph by : Nick Procaylo, The Province