Legionnaire11

is this reported anywhere else?

yup. all we can do is try to delay it as long as possible. It would really be something if we can start packing the place and we're sitting here in 10 years talking about how balsillie is selling the Preds because he can't move them

i think it will stil happen eventually. Just not as soon as everyone thinks. Most people are assuming that balsillie will play out this next season and then buy out the lease or take it to court or otherwise. Personally, I think he's going to lay low and try to wait out the city. He knows that we're mounting a huge ticket push right now, which pretty much guarantees 4 years in nashville, but if he slowly erodes the team (not deliberately, but does it smart) and the team misses the playoffs for a couple of years, he knows the fans will fade away. It's really shaping up to be a giant staring contest. Whichever side blinks first, loses. I see it too, luckily the prices for next season are set and renewals are already mostly done. But season after next, watching the ticket prices will be interesting. Especially with a ticket push, it would only be natural for prices to jump up. he can simply use supply and demand as an excuse for jacking them up "hey, attendance jumped 30%, so prices are going up 30%"

well, there was a huge announcement yesterday. There is a new group in town called "Our Team Nashville". It's a coalition of heavy hitter on the Nashville business scene who want to keep the Preds. despite the fact that we only need another 200 fans at every game to reach 14,000. Their goal for the coming season is actually to sell another 3,000 season tickets. Already in their first week of business they've got over 500 entities that want to purchase season tickets. if they all buy just 2 tickets, there's the first 1,000 already. not too bad. If their plan works, and we get 3,000, then look for at/near capacity every night.

F.Michael is spot on. Advertise during events/programs other than hockey. I mean... hockey fans are already watching, you don't need to market to them. Also, the NHL needs to build better business partners. Bud Light was probably the closest that they had to really having that. But they need more. Geico would be a good one, I think they're already with the NHL, just start pumping up that partnership more. Everyone knows Geico and their variety of commercials, get more NHL exposure with them. What about a charity organization? the NFL and United Way partnership is the best known in sports. You see those commercials everywhere. Outside of straight up fixing games. Do something more to get fans in major media markets excited about hockey. New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, Detroit. If those cities are going absolutely crazy for hockey, then the league is doing well.

http://forechecker.blogspot.com/2007/06/ba...-nashville.html

for the most part. They did create Rex Hudler. This info however is straight from Balsillie's lawyer, there's a link on the Preds boards to his interview on 590. And the latest news I posted is from one of the TV News channels. today should be even more eventful. at 3:30 there is a press conference with the group that is heading the efforts to get corporate support back on board. then at 5:05 Balsillie's lawyer will be on the radio in nashville. it'll be the first time that anyone from the Balsillie group has spoken to nashville, in nashville. next month is going to be a big push for tickets too. the big sports station 104.5 is putting together a rally which should make the one the Pens fans held look pretty lame. And there is a group of local bands getting together to put on a concert where all the proceeds are going towards purchasing a few season tickets that will go to the boys and girls club.

http://www.wkrn.com/nashville/news/predato...oost/100293.htm [June 7, 2007, 9:32 pm] "Predators Get A Ticket Sales Boost" The Nashville predators will get a big boost Friday to stay in town. That’s when the Nashville Chamber of Commerce will announce businesses are joining together to increase ticket sales. Why work so hard to keep the predators? Shannon Lillie wants the predators to stay in Nashville, if only for the money. When she's not singing at this lower Broad Honky Tonk, Shannon is works as a bartender. “Every year because of hockey fans, we know we're going to be busy†says Lillie. Shannon may be busy for years to come if business owners and a number of business organizations have their way. Chamber executives declined interviews Thursday, but they will announce a working agreement to keep the Preds here, working along side the convention and visitors bureau, the downtown partnership and the sports council. That's music to the ears of business owners. Brenda Sanderson and her husband own a number of bars along lower Broad. “All of us think it's very important the predators stay in Nashville†Brenda Sanderson said. Sanderson remembers two years ago when there were no games because of a player's strike. Instead of crowds like those that filled the streets Thursday for CMA, lower Broad was deserted. “It made a very grim winter,†Sanderson said. That's the reason Nashville's biggest business owners are cooperating to sell more tickets to the coolest game in town. So people like Shannon Lillie will have someone to sing to when the tourists aren't around. “We have a lot of people who drive in from out of town and other states just for the games and without them here, I could really tell a difference†Lillie said. Copyright 2007 by WKRN Nashville Tennessee. All Rights Reserved. because in the ownership transfer agreement, it says he has to operate the team "in good faith". It's basically a check/balance to ensure that every effort is made to make the team successful in it's current city. If he comes in, plays by the rules, runs the team in good faith and still can't make it work, then he shouldn't have any roadblocks on his way out of town. if he comes in and purposely tanks the franchise in order to get out of the lease, he'll have a much more difficult battle in the courts.

yeah, and all of the articles thusfar have been from canada. as for ticket prices, they're already set for next season and renewals have already been sent in. He could raise prices in two seasons, but not the coming season. and also, he can't just come in and "major league" the team, as stated in the transfer of ownership agreement, he has to operate the club in good faith in order to be granted a relocation. The NHL doesn't want guys to just come and buy up teams to move them around to their hometowns. They want to exhaust every possibility in the current markets before bailing on them.

I guess in SoOnt they conveniently leave out a few details of what they're telling you. First, he paid $220M for the Preds AND Powers Management. Even though Leipold lost $70M on the preds, Powers made $43M. So when you average it all out, the total losses were only $3M per season. And you can factor every 1,000 seats/game sold as $2-3M. So if the Preds average 1,000 more per game, or make a deeper playoff run, then they make a profit. Also, Balsillie got into a bidding war with the kansas city group. Their offer was up to $200M. Preds also signed a naming rights partner for the arena (now Sommet Center) wich is work $2-3M per year. So, hitting the 14k mark, and making a profit being totally realistic? How is the BoG going to approve a relocation then? BeeRYCE, there's going to be a surge in paid attendance this season. I guarantee it. It's because people want to save the team. How is that not incentive to buy more tickets? do you think a new owner is going to drive people away?

two years huh? we're going to blow away the 14k figure next season, and that guarantees another 3 seasons after that. at the very least preds will be in Nashville for 4 more years.

i think it's just a matter of differences in culture. Correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't most canadians raised to sing along with their anthem? and most of us americans are raised to stand silently during our anthem. So to say that canadians have more pride because they sing along with thier anthem is somewhat off base.

if they're fixing games to get the cup into non-traditional markets. Then why have the Preds been out in the first round every season? I mean, if all they have to do is swing a cup this way to stop the bleeding, then why is there a vote at the end of the month to approve the sale of the franchise? Geez, not only has bettman screwed up the game, and fixed it so that non-traditional markets are benefiting. But he can't even get his own twisted plan right to get the cup into the city that needs it the most. ...Wings fans, best in the whole NHL!!!! (not including the intelligent ones)

...also talked about how they can't move the team as long as a lease is in place. and as long as the preds average 14,000, then they could stay here until at least 2028 when the lease expires. heck, we don't even need 14,000 every season. this coming season is what is called a "cure" season in the lease. If we fail to average 14k, then the lease can be broken and the team can be moved. But if we do get 14k, then it resets everything for 3 seasons. so we could go 2 seasons after that with sub 14k attendance, and then another cure season would come around where we would have to reach that number again to keep the lease in place. Basically every season that we average 14k paid attendance, that guarantees an additional 3 seasons that the team stays in Nashville. I know after listening to that interview, I became a lot more optimistic about keeping the Predators in Nashville for a long, long time and every other Preds fan who listened to it feels the same way. Things are looking up!

so... does it matter if they have a premier television package? do you watch the game? do you enjoy it? does it affect your enjoyment of the game if it's getting less than a 1 rating? does that rating affect the on-ice product? seriously, I think half the "problems" the NHL has are being made up by it's own fans/journalists who have a small **** syndrome. Just beacuse the NHL isn't rivaling MLB or the NFL, then it's somehow a horrible thing that has to be fixed. When in reality, hockey fans are going to find the game on whatever channel it's being broadcast and they're going to enjoy watching it. If the majority of the country doesn't care about it, that doesn't mean that I can't love the game just as much as I always have. Get over it. It's a niche sport. Don't let that get in your way from just being a fan.

Al Strachan... what else is there to say? He didn't even make one general point in that whole article. Is it breaking news that the NHL has a poor television contract? Other than that, the league as a whole in the two seasons since the lockout, has posted record highs for attendance and revenue intake. So guys known for poor journalism to begin with (such as Strachan) need to review their views on the sport, they use their journalism powers to express their views on Bettman and non-traditional markets, while completely ignoring concrete facts. Unfortunately, too many so called "fans" of the game are too quick to jump on board. Instead of just enjoying the game that they supposedly love so much, they spend all of their time looking for reasons to rip on the leadership, markets, fanbases, etc. It's pretty pathetic actually that you hear this kind of stuff from NHL fans more than any other league.

that's IF they fail to meet the 14,000 requirement and the city doesn't pick up the extra tickets. There's a few other fees that would have to be paid as well, the total would be something around $33M and goes down a couple mil each year.

no, there was ONE report from sportsnet.ca that said 12,000 and that's what everyone ran with and quotes when they want to talk about how bad it is. actual paid attendance as 13,800. plus about 1,400 comps/freebies which made total attendance 15,200 last season. It's not hard to look these things up, but people hear one thing and run with it.

When will people get it right? paid attendance last season was something like 13,800

lets just wait and see. It's a shame that it had to come to this, but it looks like the corporations and local government here are finally waking up and jumping on board with the Preds. I fully expect us to blow away the 14,000 mark next season, plus there was a huge price increase on season tickets. So that, combined with an increase in attendance means that the Preds become much more financially stable, maybe even turning a profit next season. Also, take the HUGE losses with a grain of salt. While Leipold may have lost $70M in the last 9 years, Powers Management managed to make a $43M profit from the team. And while the $220M makes you say "dang, he has to move the team at that price" you have to note that Powers Management is also part of the deal. He's buying the Preds AND Powers Management. Plus Kansas City was in the running to buy the team, so that drove the price up as I think their final bid was up to $200M. Now, am I going to say that Balsillie has no intentions of moving the team? No, that would be stupid. But I do think he's going to give Nashville more of a chance than most people believe he will. Also, with the increase in attendance, if the team turns a profit, do you think the BoG is going to approve a move? no way. As part of Bettman's plan to get the league more exposure and grow the product in non-traditional markets, do you think he's going to approve a move? no way. This team will be in Nashville for at least 7 more seasons and possible forever. The real shame is that, as if we haven't taken enough crap from other fans around the league about attendance, now we have to carry around this burden and i'm guessing that the trolling over the next several seasons on Preds boards will be at an all-time high and 10x worse content than ever before. You think it's bad hearing all the time about how Detroit bought the cup, and how old the players are, i'd gladly take that in exchange for constantly hearing about how much the dumb rednecks down here don't deserve a hockey team.

Rankopedia is the most reliable site when it comes to definitive rankings... nah, it's a fun site, i've wasted a bunch of time on there since it started. But I wouldn't use it to prove anything. Wikipedia is 100x greater of an encyclopedia than Rankopedia is as a polling station, and that's saying something.

I guarantee that if Hartnell signed in Detroit all the talk about him being a dirty goon would disappear in a heartbeat. You guys would LOVE him. And don't forget that those 20-25 goals every season are on the third line here, playing with guys like Fiddler, Smithson, Nichol, Tootoo, Abid. and in seasons past with the likes of Greg Johnson, Denis Arkhipov and Vlad Orszagh. Not exactly any kind of great supporting cast. of course, the last thing I want to see is for him to go to Detroit or any other central team. I'd much rather re-sign him or send him to the east.

He can say what he wants, and Balsillie will say the same thing. But actions speak louder than words. And if the fans here drop the ball, and give Balsillie an opportunity to get out of town, I don't expect Bettman to be fighting too hard against it. btw Donald. Do you buy preds tickets?

Like I said, it's up to the fans. If Balsillie makes a good faith effort to promote the team and put a competitive team on the ice, then it's all up to the fans. Show up and they stay. Stay away and the team moves. If he tries to turn this thing into "Major League", doing all he can to keep attendance and fan interest low, then he is not following the good faith rules and would have a much, much more difficult battle in the courts. ...and by the way. EVERYTHING that has been discussed on the subject up to this point is pure speculation by fans and media, so to say that something is set in stone one way or the other is wrong.

things are looking better here for the short term future. Obviously we're guaranteed next season. Average 14k during next season and it looks like the Preds will be in town for 6 more seasons after that. Now, after that there really isn't anything we can do to keep them here. And Balsillie could take the thing to court at some point after next season and would have a good chance of winning a case. But that would still drag out for at least a season. But the main thing is that the fans and more importantly, the businesses in Nashville have direct control over the next 7 years. Step up and support the team and they're here for 7 years. Simple as that.