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Storm Clouds on the
Horizon?
It's time to for the NHL to grow
up
Pop Quiz: What do Long Island, Raleigh, and
Glendale all have in common? If you said they're home to NHL teams that are all
in trouble, then you probably already know how much uncertainty the league head
office is currently dealing with. While the situations are all different, and
complex in their own way, the underlying truth is that at least 10% of
franchises are facing some serious questions in the near future. Just in case
you aren't familiar with the details, here's a quick refresher:
Long
Island: Two years ago the Islanders left the aging Nassau Veterans Memorial
Coliseum (NVMC) after failing to get a new stadium build, and moved into the
newer Barclay's Center in Brooklyn. While this venue was originally designed to
host basketball, the Islanders were certain they could make it work. Despite
bad sight lines, the team appeared to have a home and stability, until last
month when the team was informed they would need to find a new home.
In essence Barclay's was giving them the boot. Currently, the team is looking
at moving back into NVMC, which has undergone a minor upgrade, while hoping
they can build a new arena somewhere nearby. The hard truth is that in the very
near future the Islanders could be a team without a home, though the nice
people in Hartford have offered them temporary (or permanent) accommodations if
they need it. True story.
Raleigh: Team owner Peter Karmanos, Jr. has
been trying for a while to bring some new owners on board, putting a portion of
the team up for sale years ago. However, he hasn't had any takers, and earlier
this season he made it known he's open to selling the entire franchise if
anyone wants it. While the league, and I believe Karmanos, would prefer a local
buyer, lately leaks have started to emerge that he would be willing to sell to
an out of state - or out of country - entity. Of course this has started
tongues wagging about the possibility of relocation, and distracted from the on
ice strides made by the team.
Glendale: There isn't enough space to
recap the entire Coyote's saga (soon to be a Peter Jackson epic trilogy, I
expect), but as it currently stands the team has no lease with Gila River Arena
for next season, and a potential stadium deal with Arizona State University was
just scuttled. Owner/frontman Anthony Leblanc is still adamant that a new
stadium can be built somewhere else in state, however he's been rebuffed at
every turn.
Even worse, after spending a year bad-mouthing Glendale,
he may be forced to crawl back to them; with the city only offering a single
year deal at a time - and no lucrative subsidy. Bleeding red ink, the team is
on life support financially, and may also soon be a club without an arena to
play in.
With all of this uncertainty, one thing seems to be crystal
clear: something has fundamentally gone wrong. For decades the NHL operated
under the premise that owners weren't responsible for building arenas, that was
the job of municipalities. In return, if a city ponied up and paid for a shiny
new barn, the NHL would show some loyalty to them (Atlanta not withstanding).
This approach served the league well, with a host of new rinks being
constructed in the last 20 years.
However, the economic realities of many cities has
changed dramatically in the last 10 years, and tightening budgets make it
impossible for this approach to continue. Like it or not, the days of cities
building $400+ million sports venues for hockey clubs are over, especially when
the owners themselves are billionaires who just don't want to spend any of
their own cash. If you don't believe me, look deeper into the discussions in
Edmonton with Darryl Katz, Calgary and Ottawa (who are at various stages of
getting new arenas), and Seattle (who desperately wants to re-attract pro
sports).
The question is, what can be done? While the league continues
to grow, there is an ever-widening gap between the have's, and the have-not's.
Several teams depend on the limited revenue sharing the NHL has, with others
sustained solely by subsidies provided to them by the cities in which they play
in. Having so many teams on such tenuous financial footing has to be of concern
to the league, as any further global economic downturn could put a great number
of clubs in real fiscal danger.
Unfortunately, the only way out of
this mess is for the league to make a change in the way it does business. For
far too long the NHL has been concerned about 'markets', prompting them to
overlook potentially good locations and owners in favour of poor ones that
happened to be in a place the league wanted to grow its 'footprint'. This
imperative has driven the league to make many poor decisions, as anyone who
remembers William "Boots" Del Biaggio can attest. The hard truth might be that
simply wanting to be in a market isn't enough to make it sustainable.
Listen, I'm not saying the league shouldn't try to grow, nor should they
exclude markets that aren't 'traditional'. The Sharks won't be here if the NHL
didn't have the vision to grow the game in California. However, there are
several 'non-traditional' markets where the league could go, they just might
not be the ones Gary Bettman and the Board of Governors want. Places like
Kansas City, Milwaukee, Houston, Portland, all could be good landing spots for
clubs, and in most cases there are owners, money, and arenas that are waiting.
At the heart of this is that the NHL can no longer 'rely on the
kindness of strangers' in order to survive. For a league that is trying very
hard to be taken seriously, having franchises sink or swim based on the
subsidies they get from municipalities simply destroys credibility. If the NHL
wants to be a major sports player in North America (and globally), quite
frankly they need admit their past mistakes and ensure they do what is best for
each individual franchise, and the league as a whole. In some cases, that will
mean hard choices, broken hearts, and tears. But until the league finds a way
to stand on its own two feet financially, uncertainty around franchise
stability were continue to drag it down, and distract from the best advertising
the league has: the product on the ice.
Contact Ryan at at
ryanhall@letsgosharks.com
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