MacK_Attack 108 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 Minnesota Wild majority owner Bob Naegele will to announce later today that he has sold his interest in the team to Craig Leipold. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=22...amp;hubName=nhl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
auxlepli 17 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 I'd rather own the Wild than the Predators too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reds4Life 51 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 Yeah, Minnesota is much bigger hockey market than Nashville. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vangvace 12 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 I wonder how he will screw up the team and bend over the fans... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jwo 7 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 Smart move on his part. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lfd250 1 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 The kicker will be if he takes the Milwalkue (SP) minor leauge team away from Nashville and make it the wilds. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imisssergei 0 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 The kicker will be if he takes the Milwalkue (SP) minor leauge team away from Nashville and make it the wilds. That's not how things work. Teams sign contracts with minor league affilates. :clap: I'm glad to see Leipold get a team that has a solid foundation. He has the bankroll to spend enough to make them a much better team, and he loves hockey. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opie 308 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 How can this happen? He sells a team from a small market saying that a small market team cannot make any money in the NHL and then buys another small market team. While there are others out there that have shown interest to buy a team? I am so confused by this, how does he think this team will make money? By his own logic this is an impossible task he is taking on. I mean I know Min has a bigger fan base, but if his reasons that Nashville wouldn't work is the market size, than this shouldn't work either. But on the other hand if it will work because the fans are more hockey based, than why protest the moving of Nashville? I am so lost and confused by this?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
irishtemper14+25 11 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 now why would anyone sell the team that is in HOCKEYTOWN, so i mean that means they should be making a lot of money Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 How can this happen? He sells a team from a small market saying that a small market team cannot make any money in the NHL and then buys another small market team. While there are others out there that have shown interest to buy a team? I am so confused by this, how does he think this team will make money? By his own logic this is an impossible task he is taking on. I mean I know Min has a bigger fan base, but if his reasons that Nashville wouldn't work is the market size, than this shouldn't work either. But on the other hand if it will work because the fans are more hockey based, than why protest the moving of Nashville? I am so lost and confused by this?? Minny is more than twice the market size that Nashville is. Minneapolis-St. Paul is the 15th largest metro area in the country at 3.5 million. Nashville is the 36th largest at 1.5 million. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opie 308 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 Yeah min st paul is bigger but not so much bigger that it is now a major market team. And yes F.Michael how in the hell does this guy get a team. I am so perplexed, I think I should go home and forget I ever read this! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 Yeah min st paul is bigger but not so much bigger that it is now a major market team. And yes F.Michael how in the hell does this guy get a team. I am so perplexed, I think I should go home and forget I ever read this! 2 million more people! That's not "that much bigger"? Nashville's only four spots and 200,000 more than Grand Rapids. Minny is the size of Nashville and Kansas City combined. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mudvayneowns91 0 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 Plus isn't Minny leading in sell outs and/or filling the most seats out of seats avaliable? They're arena isn't huge, but I believe they do have a pretty strong following there Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opie 308 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 According to the sources I found Min St. Paul only has barely over 3.1 and nashville just under 1.5 so it is really 1.5 or twice the population. 2 million is not that much more when you compare it to a Major market cities. 2 million is a lot less than 17 million more (NY, NJ), or 5 million (dallas fort worth) more correct. Yes it is more than Nashville but it is still not a major market. By your logic Riverside San Bernadino (4.02mil) would be a better market than Min. Right? and if that were the case than Seattle would be a perfect location for the Preds, 3.26 mil just slightly above Min st. Paul. Either way my point is this, if he claims it takes a major market to support the NHL why did he go to a small market again. If he wants to own a winner that bad, build one!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2probert4 8 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 That's not how things work. Teams sign contracts with minor league affilates. :clap: I'm glad to see Leipold get a team that has a solid foundation. He has the bankroll to spend enough to make them a much better team, and he loves hockey. He wont spend there, as was the case in Nashville. What a joke, I guess now you can trash one organization and just go somewhere else and get a team. Leipold did at one time own the Milwaukee Admirals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 According to the sources I found Min St. Paul only has barely over 3.1 and nashville just under 1.5 so it is really 1.5 or twice the population. 2 million is not that much more when you compare it to a Major market cities. 2 million is a lot less than 17 million more (NY, NJ), or 5 million (dallas fort worth) more correct. Yes it is more than Nashville but it is still not a major market. By your logic Riverside San Bernadino (4.02mil) would be a better market than Min. Right? and if that were the case than Seattle would be a perfect location for the Preds, 3.26 mil just slightly above Min st. Paul. Either way my point is this, if he claims it takes a major market to support the NHL why did he go to a small market again. If he wants to own a winner that bad, build one!! By what logic? Stop putting words in my mouth. I called you out for calling Minneapolis a small market, which it is not, and I never, ever, ever linked it to hockey viability. And yes, Seattle would be a great location for the Preds. Way you see it, there are only a couple major markets in the country. If 2 million more is not much, then even Detroit is not a major market (4.4 million.) Neither is Boston, Atlanta, or San Francisco. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RedFX 48 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 Without question, the Nashville faithful is less than pleased about this. And by less than pleased, I mean everyone here wants his heart on a plate. After gutting the team and raising ticket prices more than 40% because he was in a bad financial situation, he goes and pulls this deal out of his hat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Third Man In 2,091 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 Geez. Couldn't they find ANYONE else to buy this team? Shouldn't there be some sort of moratorium on buying one team after bitching about losing money on another? At least when Leipold was dumping salaries, he didn't have enough foresight to send them Minnesota's way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted January 10, 2008 Without question, the Nashville faithful is less than pleased about this. And by less than pleased, I mean everyone here wants his heart on a plate. After gutting the team and raising ticket prices more than 40% because he was in a bad financial situation, he goes and pulls this deal out of his hat. I doubt Minnesota faithful will be too pleased either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imisssergei 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2008 He wont spend there, as was the case in Nashville. What a joke, I guess now you can trash one organization and just go somewhere else and get a team. Leipold did at one time own the Milwaukee Admirals. He will spend it just like he did for many years in Nashville. Only difference is in Minny, he will get much more ROI than he could have ever dreamed about getting in Nashville. Minny is a hockey city, Leipold is a hockey man. Look for Minny to do a lot of good things in the future. The 'trashing' of the Preds, if there was one, was due to the lack of local support. It goes beyond the lack of ticket sales. There was little support for the Preds. In fact, until it was announced that the team might be leaving, the 'support' it received was laughable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hckypete96 3 Report post Posted January 11, 2008 are there any talks of him moving the team? i know minnesota is a great hockey area but wasnt he talkin about wanting to move a team to hamilton? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted January 11, 2008 are there any talks of him moving the team? i know minnesota is a great hockey area but wasnt he talkin about wanting to move a team to hamilton? You're thinking of Balsillie. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hckypete96 3 Report post Posted January 11, 2008 ohhh my bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2probert4 8 Report post Posted January 11, 2008 He will spend it just like he did for many years in Nashville. Only difference is in Minny, he will get much more ROI than he could have ever dreamed about getting in Nashville. Minny is a hockey city, Leipold is a hockey man. Look for Minny to do a lot of good things in the future. The 'trashing' of the Preds, if there was one, was due to the lack of local support. It goes beyond the lack of ticket sales. There was little support for the Preds. In fact, until it was announced that the team might be leaving, the 'support' it received was laughable. He didnt spend anything until the last 2 seasons, and even then they were near the bottom of the league in team salary. When Leipold bought the Predators he admittedly did not know much about it. He has no hockey history, when he put that team in Nashville he was thinking he would have a gold mine, which of course its not. The support there is still laughable, regardless of what some of the resident Predator fans will say in here. They still aren't drawing that well, the last time Detroit was in they didnt sell that out (less than 15K) and the home game after that with Colorado they didn't draw 10K. Still some struggles down there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opie 308 Report post Posted January 11, 2008 By what logic? Stop putting words in my mouth. I called you out for calling Minneapolis a small market, which it is not, and I never, ever, ever linked it to hockey viability. And yes, Seattle would be a great location for the Preds. Way you see it, there are only a couple major markets in the country. If 2 million more is not much, then even Detroit is not a major market (4.4 million.) Neither is Boston, Atlanta, or San Francisco. Some how in my confusion I have not represented my thoughts well, I think Min is a great area for hockey and would not remove the wild. However, Leipold said hockey in Nashville could not survive in small market city. I am not trying to dog on Min, I am trying to figure out how Min is really that much different than Nashville, and to tell you the truth I know why, and that is fan base. Min is a hockey area, people love it. But Leipold's argument in Nashville was that fan support wasn't the issue it was city size. I am not arguing a team being in any city in this thread, I am trying to figure out why Leipold thinks this will be any different. If hockey in Min suffers in the next 2-5 years, you can put the blame squarely on two men's shoulders. He has bought into a team on the verge of winning (not the cup but being a serious playoff contender) with a great fan base. IF he turns that into a pumpkin come midnight, then Bettman deserves to be fired over this and this alone, let alone all the other bone headed s*** he has done. Sorry if you thought I was insulting Min, or dogging the team or city, I was just trying to figure out Leipold's logic based on what he said about Nashville. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
