Post by misterman on Dec 20, 2007 13:58:53 GMT -5
Ignore the headline.... looks like Coyotes ownership is looking to unload.... that or bankruptcy
Sale of Tampa Bay franchise moves closer
DAVID SHOALTS
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
December 19, 2007 at 8:57 PM EST
TAMPA — There was a spate of meetings yesterday among potential owners of the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the one that mattered took place 1,800 kilometres north of here.
In the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, movie producer Oren Koules met with executives from the current owner of the Lightning, Bill Davidson's Palace Sports & Entertainment company. By the end of the day, Koules and his partners, fellow movie producer Mark Burg and California financier Russell Belinsky, had an agreement that Davidson's company will negotiate exclusively with them.
A source familiar with the negotiations said both sides expect the deal to be nailed down and ready for the league's approval by late January.
"I'd say Oren [Koules] will get it done if I were a betting man," the source said. "He is far ahead [of other bidders]. He's got the money raised, he's got the bank debt in place."
Related Information
* Columbus Blue Jackets
* Minnesota Wild
* Phoenix Coyotes
* Tampa Bay Lightning
The Globe and Mail
Koules and his partners, who call their group OK Hockey, are expected to pay Davidson's company $206-million (all currency U.S.) for the Lightning, the lease and management rights to St. Pete Times Forum and 5.5 acres of land around the arena.
This does not mean former Columbus Blue Jackets president and general manager Doug MacLean and his partners are out in the cold, but it is getting chilly. MacLean and his main partner, real-estate developer Jeff Sherrin of Coral Springs, Fla., were partners with Koules until a nasty falling-out last month.
MacLean, Sherrin and two Tampa lawyers are trying to put together a group of local investors to make a bid for the team. They are holding meetings this week with potential investors, but are not yet in position to make an offer. However, the source said Palace Sports has not closed the door on them, likely in order to keep things moving with Koules's group.
The source also said there is a third group that may make an offer. But he declined to reveal its identity.
The partnership between Koules and MacLean and Sherrin fell apart, according to sources, because of money and a personality clash between MacLean and Koules. Koules was said to have put up $50-million of the initial $60-million raised for the group, which was known as Absolute Hockey.
A source said MacLean, who is a man of strong opinions and is not shy about expressing them, did not see eye to eye with Koules. This did not help when Koules was said to have had reservations about the financial aspects of the $200-million offer for the Lightning.
After the split, the warring partners went to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for mediation. He ruled that MacLean and Sherrin would get some financial compensation and did not bar any of the parties from negotiating their own deals for the Lightning.
Barring any further snags, look for the NHL governors to approve the deal at their meeting at the NHL all-star game on Jan. 25.
Elsewhere on the NHL ownership front, there are some interesting developments. One is the Phoenix Coyotes situation. A source says owner Jerry Moyes wants to unload the team.
The Coyotes were doomed to lose money in perpetuity by former owner Steve Ellman. His lack of capital led to building a new arena in the remote West Valley community of Glendale, where local politicians picked up most of the tab.
The problem is, the well-heeled hockey fans and the corporate money is in the East Valley in Scottsdale. Very few of them were willing to make the long drive to Glendale after the Coyotes left downtown Phoenix. Moyes wound up with the team after bailing out Ellman. Now he wants out.
But, said a source with many dealings with the Phoenix business community, the arena's location means Moyes is stuck.
"I can't think if anyone in Phoenix who wants to buy that team because of where it's located," the source said.
The Coyotes were once on Jim Balsillie's radar screen. But when they signed a lease in Glendale, the Research In Motion tycoon, who tried and failed spectacularly in moving the Predators from Nashville to Hamilton, lost interest. However, that could change if the team winds up in bankruptcy, which can play havoc with lease agreements.
Balsillie's old sparring partner, Craig Leipold, is having trouble with his plans to land another NHL team now that he finally sold the Predators. Media reports said Bettman promised Leipold first crack at the Minnesota Wild when club chairman Bob Naegele Jr. was ready to sell.
But a source in the banking community says the Wild recently upped their asking price to $250-million from $200-million. That cooled Leipold's ardour.
"That's a ridiculous price," the source said. "The Wild used to make money when they had a low payroll. But they bulked up the payroll and now they don't make money."
link: www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071219.wsptshoalts19/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/home
Sale of Tampa Bay franchise moves closer
DAVID SHOALTS
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
December 19, 2007 at 8:57 PM EST
TAMPA — There was a spate of meetings yesterday among potential owners of the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the one that mattered took place 1,800 kilometres north of here.
In the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, movie producer Oren Koules met with executives from the current owner of the Lightning, Bill Davidson's Palace Sports & Entertainment company. By the end of the day, Koules and his partners, fellow movie producer Mark Burg and California financier Russell Belinsky, had an agreement that Davidson's company will negotiate exclusively with them.
A source familiar with the negotiations said both sides expect the deal to be nailed down and ready for the league's approval by late January.
"I'd say Oren [Koules] will get it done if I were a betting man," the source said. "He is far ahead [of other bidders]. He's got the money raised, he's got the bank debt in place."
Related Information
* Columbus Blue Jackets
* Minnesota Wild
* Phoenix Coyotes
* Tampa Bay Lightning
The Globe and Mail
Koules and his partners, who call their group OK Hockey, are expected to pay Davidson's company $206-million (all currency U.S.) for the Lightning, the lease and management rights to St. Pete Times Forum and 5.5 acres of land around the arena.
This does not mean former Columbus Blue Jackets president and general manager Doug MacLean and his partners are out in the cold, but it is getting chilly. MacLean and his main partner, real-estate developer Jeff Sherrin of Coral Springs, Fla., were partners with Koules until a nasty falling-out last month.
MacLean, Sherrin and two Tampa lawyers are trying to put together a group of local investors to make a bid for the team. They are holding meetings this week with potential investors, but are not yet in position to make an offer. However, the source said Palace Sports has not closed the door on them, likely in order to keep things moving with Koules's group.
The source also said there is a third group that may make an offer. But he declined to reveal its identity.
The partnership between Koules and MacLean and Sherrin fell apart, according to sources, because of money and a personality clash between MacLean and Koules. Koules was said to have put up $50-million of the initial $60-million raised for the group, which was known as Absolute Hockey.
A source said MacLean, who is a man of strong opinions and is not shy about expressing them, did not see eye to eye with Koules. This did not help when Koules was said to have had reservations about the financial aspects of the $200-million offer for the Lightning.
After the split, the warring partners went to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for mediation. He ruled that MacLean and Sherrin would get some financial compensation and did not bar any of the parties from negotiating their own deals for the Lightning.
Barring any further snags, look for the NHL governors to approve the deal at their meeting at the NHL all-star game on Jan. 25.
Elsewhere on the NHL ownership front, there are some interesting developments. One is the Phoenix Coyotes situation. A source says owner Jerry Moyes wants to unload the team.
The Coyotes were doomed to lose money in perpetuity by former owner Steve Ellman. His lack of capital led to building a new arena in the remote West Valley community of Glendale, where local politicians picked up most of the tab.
The problem is, the well-heeled hockey fans and the corporate money is in the East Valley in Scottsdale. Very few of them were willing to make the long drive to Glendale after the Coyotes left downtown Phoenix. Moyes wound up with the team after bailing out Ellman. Now he wants out.
But, said a source with many dealings with the Phoenix business community, the arena's location means Moyes is stuck.
"I can't think if anyone in Phoenix who wants to buy that team because of where it's located," the source said.
The Coyotes were once on Jim Balsillie's radar screen. But when they signed a lease in Glendale, the Research In Motion tycoon, who tried and failed spectacularly in moving the Predators from Nashville to Hamilton, lost interest. However, that could change if the team winds up in bankruptcy, which can play havoc with lease agreements.
Balsillie's old sparring partner, Craig Leipold, is having trouble with his plans to land another NHL team now that he finally sold the Predators. Media reports said Bettman promised Leipold first crack at the Minnesota Wild when club chairman Bob Naegele Jr. was ready to sell.
But a source in the banking community says the Wild recently upped their asking price to $250-million from $200-million. That cooled Leipold's ardour.
"That's a ridiculous price," the source said. "The Wild used to make money when they had a low payroll. But they bulked up the payroll and now they don't make money."
link: www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071219.wsptshoalts19/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/home