According to Sports Illustrated.com, two Boston firms have offered 3 and a half billion dollars to buy the entire NHL – all 30 teams, their stadia, the works.
Will this go through?
Regardless of that, will this end the lockout?
What would happen to the league if one venture owns everything?
I thought it was amusing, myself.
The first thing a single owner should do is close down teams in marginal markets, shrinking the league back to cities that have the history and fan base to make them profitable. Or, if not close them, use them as the basis of a good minor league. I can imagine Anaheim, Sante Fe, Pheonix, Florida, Nashville and possibly Atlanta forming a new “Southern League” and having the NHL shrink back toward its mostly Northern and Eastern roots, as it was before the ridiculous (and ultimately harmful) wave of 1990s expansion.
As for what kind of anti-trust legal framework would be involved, I’ve no idea.
No question about it, single ownership is the only way to go.
Just look at the success Vince McMahon had with the XFL :rolleyes:
I don’t think the rinks are included in the offer, most of the teams don’t even own their rinks, I would guess.
The story indicated that
Most likely that means the deals that the team has with the arenas for parking and concessions etc. were considered in the value of the teams.
The deal wouldn’t affect the lockout. Frankly, I don’t know how, given the current situation, a decent return on $3.5B could be made.