Monday, August 10, 2009
Good luck, Jim. You'll be needing it.
The twisted logic of the rich, old, white man’s world rears it’s ugly head once again in business, and more specifically, the NHL.
The saga of Jim Basillie’s attempts to buy the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes has taken blow after blow by Gary Bettman and his men, who have no interest in seeing the Blackberry billionaire get his wish to buy an NHL team and move it to Hamilton. The explanations are ludicrous and the alternatives even more laughable.
Earlier this month, the league unanimously voted not to allow Basillie to become an NHL owner because of “character” and “integrity” issues. Now excuse me while I spit out my cup of Coke Zero. Remember the last owner of the Buffalo Sabres? Or the Nashville Predators? Last time I checked there were a handful of NHL owners under Bettman’s watch either going to jail or awaiting sentencing, so it’s fair to say he has no idea what someone with integrity is all about. Yes, Basillie didn't follow the rules when he sought out the Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins while they were under financial duress, but it's not an integrity issue, and he didn't do anything that would land him in jail. It's a passion issue which at least demonstrates he's got some.
Basillie’s bid for the franchise is $212.5 million, and the NHL is instead backing the bid of Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s bid of $148 million. For a revenue-driven league starved for a lucrative TV deal the other North American pro leagues enjoy, it’s amazing they’d actually want less money but again, I’m not rich and old so I don’t quite get the logic.
But the most amazing thing about the whole scenario was revealed in the leaked negotiations Reinsdorf and the city of Glendale (a suburb of Phoenix, sort of their version of Kanata) are currently undertaking. Reinsdorf wants $23 million, A YEAR, in “new revenue” through a modified lease agreement. That’s money the taxpayers of Glendale will have to swallow. Furthermore, if after five years the team is still losing money (and since it’s been losing money for 13 years there’s no reason to think it’ll stop anytime soon), Reinsdorf wants the city to pay him $15 million for EACH year of losses!!!
And if they can’t pay him that money he wants the right to sell and move the team without penalty.
The saga of Jim Basillie’s attempts to buy the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes has taken blow after blow by Gary Bettman and his men, who have no interest in seeing the Blackberry billionaire get his wish to buy an NHL team and move it to Hamilton. The explanations are ludicrous and the alternatives even more laughable.
Earlier this month, the league unanimously voted not to allow Basillie to become an NHL owner because of “character” and “integrity” issues. Now excuse me while I spit out my cup of Coke Zero. Remember the last owner of the Buffalo Sabres? Or the Nashville Predators? Last time I checked there were a handful of NHL owners under Bettman’s watch either going to jail or awaiting sentencing, so it’s fair to say he has no idea what someone with integrity is all about. Yes, Basillie didn't follow the rules when he sought out the Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins while they were under financial duress, but it's not an integrity issue, and he didn't do anything that would land him in jail. It's a passion issue which at least demonstrates he's got some.
Basillie’s bid for the franchise is $212.5 million, and the NHL is instead backing the bid of Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s bid of $148 million. For a revenue-driven league starved for a lucrative TV deal the other North American pro leagues enjoy, it’s amazing they’d actually want less money but again, I’m not rich and old so I don’t quite get the logic.
But the most amazing thing about the whole scenario was revealed in the leaked negotiations Reinsdorf and the city of Glendale (a suburb of Phoenix, sort of their version of Kanata) are currently undertaking. Reinsdorf wants $23 million, A YEAR, in “new revenue” through a modified lease agreement. That’s money the taxpayers of Glendale will have to swallow. Furthermore, if after five years the team is still losing money (and since it’s been losing money for 13 years there’s no reason to think it’ll stop anytime soon), Reinsdorf wants the city to pay him $15 million for EACH year of losses!!!
And if they can’t pay him that money he wants the right to sell and move the team without penalty.
In my view, these concessions pretty much admit that there's no way the team in Phoenix is viable without handouts. But maybe I do understand the Reinsdorff bid a little more clearly now. Maybe the NHL figures they can milk the city of Glendale for $75 million first before deciding what to do with the franchise.
It is any wonder the U.S. government had to bail out Wall Street?
Fortunately, it appears (to my knowledge) it’s just a proposal; nothing has been agreed upon yet and Reinsdorf still hasn't beaten out Basillie, but the NHL is doing everything it can to make sure that happens. They have petitioned the court not to allow Basillie the ability to bid on the team in a bankruptcy proceeding being held in September, even though it would pay off every creditor and is the best deal on the table. It might become a precedent-setting case if the courts decide the league has no right to decide who can or cannot buy a bankrupt team if it’s in the best interests of creditors to have the “undesirable” bidder wishing to become a franchise owner.
You know who I want to win, but logic never seems to prevail with the NHL. Hockey in a desert in front of 78 people costing taxpayers $15 million a year seems to be their version of a good idea. How can logic compete with that?
It is any wonder the U.S. government had to bail out Wall Street?
Fortunately, it appears (to my knowledge) it’s just a proposal; nothing has been agreed upon yet and Reinsdorf still hasn't beaten out Basillie, but the NHL is doing everything it can to make sure that happens. They have petitioned the court not to allow Basillie the ability to bid on the team in a bankruptcy proceeding being held in September, even though it would pay off every creditor and is the best deal on the table. It might become a precedent-setting case if the courts decide the league has no right to decide who can or cannot buy a bankrupt team if it’s in the best interests of creditors to have the “undesirable” bidder wishing to become a franchise owner.
You know who I want to win, but logic never seems to prevail with the NHL. Hockey in a desert in front of 78 people costing taxpayers $15 million a year seems to be their version of a good idea. How can logic compete with that?
# posted by SBP : 4:41 PM
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