bluemandan
Ya Ma Goo!
- Mar 18, 2008
- 3,835
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How bad do things have to get in St.Louis before they realize that no local buyers will materialize and nobody from the outside will step in an subsidize the franchise that continues to bleed money despite selling out nearly every home game? Is it within the realm of the possible that St.Louis, which has almost lost a team at least once that I can recall off the top of my head, might lose their team to Hamilton? I understand that St.Louis is a great sports city and the hockey tradition there is pretty good (and the youth hockey programs are among the best in the US) but if there are no local buyers what can the NHL do? You can't materialize a buyer out of thin air.
I realize this is all very premature and we're not anywhere near the point where this is a concern but I'm curious as to whether or not this will eventually become an issue and possibly even a reality. I'm sure the NHL would hate to lose the St.Louis market.
Who is this "they" you refer to? Towerbrook? The NHL? Fans in St. Louis?
Worse than Ralston Purina bad. RP literally abandoned the team, not even showing up for a draft. Yet there is still a team in St. Louis. While the team is currently for sale, you should keep in mind that the current owners, Towerbrook, is not a local entity. I believe that a couple of offers have been made for the Blues, including ones from a group lead by current ownership frontman Dave Checketts, as well as one from minority owner Tom Stillman.
Just because the Blues are for sale doesn't mean that St. Louis is not a viable market. I imagine that the fan-base could deal with a small to moderate price increase in tickets and still come out to support the team.
I also seem to remember reading somewhere that Towerbrook was selling the Blues because of something dealing with the capital gains tax here in the USA, not because they couldn't afford to operate the team.
Also, I don't know that the Blues are "bleeding" money. Now, they aren't making a profit, but there is a difference between that and "bleeding" money.
The Blues are also the only team in St. Louis without an exemption to some tax or something in the city. Give them the same exemption that the Rams and Cardinals have, raise ticket prices by an average of $5 dollars or so, and I think that the Blues could have been profitable this past season. (Just a guess, I don't have numbers to run or anything.) The team could make $3+ million just with the ticket price increase. (Its almost four if they draw the way they did last season.)
I think that with the reopening of the Kiel Opera House this fall, a deal with the city of St. Louis, and a small increase in ticket prices, that the St. Louis Blues could be profitable even without making the playoffs.
There are a couple of other franchises in worse shape, in worse markets that will relocate before the NHL considers moving the Blues. Keep in mind that there are only so many viable locations in Canada and the USA.