More Nashville Stuff

[lfd250 1]

if you guys are such great predictors of the future, surely youd have won the lottery by now.

lets give these guys the first year to see if the corporate support starts turning around, there are supposedly a lot of fence sitters waiting for the new owners before they'll jump on board (even though that makes no sense if they really wanted to help the team).

As it is, it's likely that the team will make a profit this season (slashed payroll, no marketing, higher ticket prices). And then when this re-worked lease kicks in it'll be even more favorable to the owners, it's already going to kick in even more money than leipold was losing on average, and then throw in the fact that AEG is getting on board with arena management (they'll already diverted a Celine Dion concert to the arena as a show of good faith), I think a lot of people outside of Nashville will be surprised by how well this thing works out over the next 5 years

Sorry there, but your team probably wont make the minimum for Rev. Sharing. Unless all of your season ticket holders by another round. There's more to a team then corp support. but hey more power to ya for getting a local group. Of course if I were Leipold I'd be sueing the hell out of Bettmen for the difference in cost between the canadian guy and the local group.

[vangvace 12]

Sale approved by NHL now awaiting city at bottom

The NHL also rubber-stamped the sale of the Predators to an investment group led by David Freeman, the CEO of a venture capital firm. Outgoing owner Craig Leipold attended the meeting, and Freeman -- who isn't allowed to attend a board meeting without a finished deal -- could formally close the sale with his group by Monday.

"We're looking forward to welcoming David Freeman into the league," Bettman said. "We think local ownership, coupled with the good work the mayor has done to modify the lease term, bode very well for the future of this franchise."

Freeman's group still needs approval from Nashville's Metro Sports Authority and the city council to implement the revenue-maximizing changes to the arena lease for the Predators

[Opie 308]

Bulls*** I will believe a sale when it is finally done and even then I will still be skeptical!

[eva unit zero 271]

Sorry there, but your team probably wont make the minimum for Rev. Sharing. Unless all of your season ticket holders by another round. There's more to a team then corp support. but hey more power to ya for getting a local group. Of course if I were Leipold I'd be sueing the hell out of Bettmen for the difference in cost between the canadian guy and the local group.

If you sued Bettman for the difference, you would have to pay Bettman 10m...because as of right now, the difference is that the local group ponied up a non-refundable deposit while Balsillie wouldn't.

[Opie 308]

If you sued Bettman for the difference, you would have to pay Bettman 10m...because as of right now, the difference is that the local group ponied up a non-refundable deposit while Balsillie wouldn't.

Something I learned reading through the crap about Tampa's sale/non-sale is that in order for a sale to be binding the purchaser must pay a percentage of the total cost up front.

So for example, in Tampa the amount due was 5 million, do you know what the % is?

[Legionnaire11 0]

I don't think it's a %. I think it's $10M no matter what. And I believe the tampa group was going to pay that $10M in two payments of $5M rather than a lump sum like the Nashville group paid.

could be wrong. But $10M was the number for Balsillie bid in Pittsburgh, and it was the number for Balsillies $220M+ bid on the preds as well as as the Nashville group's $193M bid on the preds. So I don't see why it would change to a % of the sales price for the tampa bid

[Opie 308]

Cool I wasn't sure because I knew it was $10 for Nashville and the article said $5 for Tampa.

[Legionnaire11 0]

they may have just meant that they were paying a % of the $10M deposit

[2probert4 8]

they may have just meant that they were paying a % of the $10M deposit

I was at the Wild game , and that friggin Tootoo whistle is annoying, even the Nashville fans were wanting to slap it down his throat.

[lfd250 1]

If you sued Bettman for the difference, you would have to pay Bettman 10m...because as of right now, the difference is that the local group ponied up a non-refundable deposit while Balsillie wouldn't.

You must not have been paying attention. Bettman was putting the denied stamp on it even before it came down to the deposit. So why would he fork over the 10 million. Balsillie threw out that purchase price to see the reaction. When he heard Bettmen say no matter what he wasn't going to let the team move, why pay the 10 million. However, me being the owner of the Preds has every right to sue Bettmen if I feel he is causing me to take a much smaller price. If the 220 million is a "fair market price." Yes, I know a sue happy world, but hey 20+ mill is 20+ mill especially after "losing" money for so long

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Weak.Screw Nashville.

Wow- I didn't expect you of all people to post an ill-thought-out knee-jerk sentence that failed to contribute to a thread in even the slightest sense.

Keep it up there chum. You're certainly gathering a fan club.

Back on topic: good for the Preds. Anyone who thinks Hockey's got a shot at returning to its early-mid nineties popularity in the states without mainting its current franchises in the south is crazy.

But the more important fact here is that I enjoyed the Nashville-Detroit rivalry last season and I'd love to see it return to form.

To hell with the elitest ******-bags that pratter on about the superiority of "traditional hockey markets". Guess what- Mexico City has ice rinks. Get over it guys and girls. Hockey is a beautiful game that deserves to fourish everywhere.

Sometimes this forum feels like the plot of Cool Runnings.

[2probert4 8]

Wow- I didn't expect you of all people to post an ill-thought-out knee-jerk sentence that failed to contribute to a thread in even the slightest sense.

Keep it up there chum. You're certainly gathering a fan club.

Back on topic: good for the Preds. Anyone who thinks Hockey's got a shot at returning to its early-mid nineties popularity in the states without mainting its current franchises in the south is crazy.

But the more important fact here is that I enjoyed the Nashville-Detroit rivalry last season and I'd love to see it return to form.

To hell with the elitest ******-bags that pratter on about the superiority of "traditional hockey markets". Guess what- Mexico City has ice rinks. Get over it guys and girls. Hockey is a beautiful game that deserves to fourish everywhere.

Sometimes this forum feels like the plot of Cool Runnings.

I'm about to echo the sentiments of Predator and Red Wing fans alike when it comes to this topic... "Nobody gives a damn anymore."

[Jwo 7]

Wow- I didn't expect you of all people to post an ill-thought-out knee-jerk sentence that failed to contribute to a thread in even the slightest sense.

Keep it up there chum. You're certainly gathering a fan club.

Back on topic: good for the Preds. Anyone who thinks Hockey's got a shot at returning to its early-mid nineties popularity in the states without mainting its current franchises in the south is crazy.

But the more important fact here is that I enjoyed the Nashville-Detroit rivalry last season and I'd love to see it return to form.

To hell with the elitest ******-bags that pratter on about the superiority of "traditional hockey markets". Guess what- Mexico City has ice rinks. Get over it guys and girls. Hockey is a beautiful game that deserves to fourish everywhere.

Sometimes this forum feels like the plot of Cool Runnings.

The Thrashers-Wings rivalry is better

[Legionnaire11 0]

Well rumor is that the first part of the ownership transfer is going to occur today. Where Leipold hands over control of the franchise. However Leipold will still be carrying some of the debt until the second part of the deal is closed with the banks.

It's explained in this article

Also, go ahead and cross David Legwand off your UFA wish list. He just re-signed 6 years, $27M with the Preds.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

Wow- I didn't expect you of all people to post an ill-thought-out knee-jerk sentence that failed to contribute to a thread in even the slightest sense.

Keep it up there chum. You're certainly gathering a fan club.

Back on topic: good for the Preds. Anyone who thinks Hockey's got a shot at returning to its early-mid nineties popularity in the states without mainting its current franchises in the south is crazy.

But the more important fact here is that I enjoyed the Nashville-Detroit rivalry last season and I'd love to see it return to form.

To hell with the elitest ******-bags that pratter on about the superiority of "traditional hockey markets". Guess what- Mexico City has ice rinks. Get over it guys and girls. Hockey is a beautiful game that deserves to fourish everywhere.

Sometimes this forum feels like the plot of Cool Runnings.

I think your position is a bit naive. Just because there are ice rinks in Mexico City or Winnipeg, Botswana or Uruguay for that matter, it doesn't mean that's going to be a place hockey flourishes.

I hardly think the NHL's problems with fan base are going to be made or broken by the Nashville franchise. Currently, its a bleed on the league. A 29 team league without Nashville would be a stronger league than it currently is. Hell, there's a couple other teams that argument could be made for. That being said I am not a contractionist. I would like to see as many teams as the talent can sustain. However, those teams have to be in viable markets. If the past years and the most recent weekly drama out of Nashville isn't proof enough that it takes more than having an ice rink to build a thriving fan base then I don't know what is.

This isn't Field of Dreams. Just because there's a rink in Nashville doesn't mean they're going to come. Hell, they've proven they aren't going to come.

They have their shot to improve things. If it doesn't, bye bye Nashville. I welcome a new city getting a shot.

Edited December 7, 2007 by GordieSid&Ted

[lfd250 1]

I think your position is a bit naive. Just because there are ice rinks in Mexico City or Winnipeg, Botswana or Uruguay for that matter, it doesn't mean that's going to be a place hockey flourishes.

I hardly think the NHL's problems with fan base are going to be made or broken by the Nashville franchise. Currently, its a bleed on the league. A 29 team league without Nashville would be a stronger league than it currently is. Hell, there's a couple other teams that argument could be made for. That being said I am not a contractionist. I would like to see as many teams as the talent can sustain. However, those teams have to be in viable markets. If the past years and the most recent weekly drama out of Nashville isn't proof enough that it takes more than having an ice rink to build a thriving fan base then I don't know what is.

This isn't Field of Dreams. Just because there's a rink in Nashville doesn't mean they're going to come. Hell, they've proven they aren't going to come.

They have their shot to improve things. If it doesn't, bye bye Nashville. I welcome a new city getting a shot.

Not me, lets make the league smaller! More talent on less teams, equals good hockey. That's how you create more scoring.

[2probert4 8]

Well rumor is that the first part of the ownership transfer is going to occur today. Where Leipold hands over control of the franchise. However Leipold will still be carrying some of the debt until the second part of the deal is closed with the banks.

It's explained in this article

Also, go ahead and cross David Legwand off your UFA wish list. He just re-signed 6 years, $27M with the Preds.

and thats about 15 mill more than that underachiever deserves. They didnt have a choice though, they let him walk and people start staying away more than what they are. Weber will get signed or lots of people get mad

[Legionnaire11 0]

hahaha, you really are out of touch with Nashville aren't you? Legwand is far from an underachiever, he's the best player in franchise history, and he's among the best defensive forwards in the game.

Did you also think it was a mistake to trade Dunham?

[2probert4 8]

hahaha, you really are out of touch with Nashville aren't you? Legwand is far from an underachiever, he's the best player in franchise history, and he's among the best defensive forwards in the game.

Did you also think it was a mistake to trade Dunham?

LegionHomer wrote: " Legwand is far from an underachiever"

Yeah, his numbers just support that # 2 overall pick that the Predators traded up to in order to get him. Guy couldn't handle being a # 1 center, and that was most of the reason they went for Arnott. He tends to disappear for stretches, yes his game has improved in his 9th and 10th seasons, still not anything great.

LegionHomer wrote: "he's the best player in franchise history"

Not saying much, they've been in existance for over a decade now, most of those seasons were bottom of the barrel of the NHL.

LegionHomer wrote: " he's among the best defensive forwards in the game. "

Yeah those Selke nominations are just piling up year after year

Guy isnt garbage, but he's never put it all together on a consistant basis, so that makes him an underachiever. Be sure and clean those Predator blue glasses that you wear, wouldn't want you to bump into any walls or anything.

[Dabura 12,232]

To hell with the elitest ******-bags that pratter on about the superiority of "traditional hockey markets".

It's more viability than superiority (though I suppose the former begets the latter).

The traditional markets are cherished by the league and hockey fans alike because they're the sport's lifeblood; no matter what happens, they will always be hockey-friendly places. What I think Bettman and the various other powers-that-be fail to realize is that hockey is a bona fide cultural force in most of these markets. Take the pre-game ceremony and post-game ovation for Chelios at the Wings-Habs game: that's honest-to-goodness hockey fanaticism, the kind you can't engineer. Certainly not in a place like Nashville, that's for sure.

I'll probably be skewered for this, but parallels can be drawn between the expansion situation and the U.S.'s recent involvement in Iraq. The U.S. was doomed to fail from the start for a number of reasons, but the one that is most relevant to this discussion is this: we didn't fully understand what we were dealing with. Making the war a matter of "Us vs. Them," of "Freedom for the People" simplified the volatile state of Iraq to the point of absurdity; cultural, religious, political -- all manner of complex forces already present in Iraq were ignored. The result is the mess we're in today.

Similarly, Bettman and co. seem to be working with a very flimsy grasp of those things which make certain markets viable and other markets inhospitable. Sure, you can establish an NHL franchise in Mexico City, but that doesn't mean the city at large is going to care all that much, let alone sustain it long-term. As the NHL is first and foremost a business, that is not a risk worth taking. Nashville certainly wasn't a risk worth taking, as the league had (and still has) enough things to worry about without also having to dote on franchises withering away in infertile markets, draining resources and diluting talent like gigantic leeches. Cancerous leeches.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for spreading the hockey love. But there are smart ways of doing it and there are stupid ways of doing it. This whole Nashville debacle is what you get when you try a stupid way.

Edited December 8, 2007 by Dabura