Only 13,000 people in Nashville!!!

The season opener for the Predators drew only 13,000 people.

So much for this groundswell of support over the summer.

I read something that the sale for the team continues...that deal within the city of Nashville fell thru. Does this put Balsillie back in the running??

Must’ve been a Hank Williams Memorial unveiling in town that night that kept the crowds away. :slight_smile:

An Argo-Cat fan

8) NO !!!!!!!

I don't know about that:

Research in Motion Profit, Sales Double

[url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iYnWRQtlJem1-2i4kOSN74PQjX5gD8S2SFP00]http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iYnW ... gD8S2SFP00[/url]

Balsillie may want to re-apply if the Preds came up for sale again. However, it would be over Bettman's dead body. Like it or not, the NHL couldn't make it any clearer that they don't want to locate any more teams in Canada regardless of the many arguments that could be made for it. Canadians can't even over-pay for a team that no one else wants.

An Argo-Cat fan

Come to the CFL Jim!! Ok, so the players don't wear boots with blades on them and carry around a piece of lumber in their hands but really, other than that, there isn't much difference between hockey and football, really and honestly! :wink:

Bettman and the NHL do seem to have a thing about placing another team in Canada, though he has stated a lot of interest has come from Winnipeg. Of course absolutely no interest has ever been shown from Hamilton (cough) that he would acknowledge.

Unfortunately for Hamilton and Southern Ontario, Maple Leaf Sports must have compromising photos of Bettman in bed with sheep or something considering the overwhelming sway and influence the Leafs seem to have in denying any NHL hockey competition in this area of the country.

(There was apparently no problem with the new Kansas City Arena pre-selling it's corporate boxes but there was hell to pay when Balsillie dared do that at Copps, the hypocritical SOBs in the NHL (Bettman)...)

...

longtime, face facts, Hamilton is just not a desirable place in the minds of many to locate a pro sports franchise in. Now yes, we can get world class scientists and business people I've heard but pro sports, it's a hell hole I've heard and we know that commissioner's running pro sports leagues (not CFL) must be brighter than Ph.D's or M.B.A.'s, n'est pas? 8)

This post reminded me of the $1000 I put down for 2 season's tickets to the Phantom Predators.

A couple of weeks ago I talked to a guy in the supermarket who said that they had returned his deposit without him asking (which was fine with him). So I just checked my credit card history and my deposit has not been returned.

So then I went to the ticketmaster website and curiously, it says:

"Predators Sports and Entertainment has advised that it is still planning to purchase the Predators Hockey Team and media reports to the contrary are erroneous"

I'm not sure how recent this information is, but maybe Balsillie has something up his sleeve. Maybe Bettman is relenting a bit on the condition that they don't conduct the entire deal through the media.

Any other idle speculation on the topic?

red24

8) There will be no NHL team coming to Hamilton as long as Balsille is the potential owner !!! Gary Bettman has no use for this guy, as do most of the NHL owners !! Whether you want to admit it or not, the Toronto maple Leafs will never allow it to happen either. They are the ones that raised the biggest stink when Balsille started pre-selling season tix in Hamilton !!!

Remember that Hamilton starved hockey fans, as you continue to cheer on your precious Maple Leafs !!!

It’s Bettman(MLSE) vs. Balsillie.

If Balsillie can convince MLSE that a Hamilton team would be good for them and the league, then Bettman will follow suit.

It’s all about dollars.

Balsillie is in no rush.

I still believe it’s possible despite the obstacles, mainly becuase if anyone can pull this off, it’s Balsillie. He’d be a great NHL owner.

If the following is true, then Basillie bringing the NHL to Hamilton is dead:

[url=http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2007/10/12/balsillie_back_in_hunt_for_preds]http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2007/ ... _for_preds[/url]

Don't bet on it. This is just a way for eveyone to save face.

Once Balsillie appeases Bettman and gang and gets his foot in the door, it's only a matter of time unitl he gets his team in Hamilton, whether he's "rewarded" with an expansion franchise or not.

I was sort of figuring the same thing, Captain, but some of the terms that are mentioned in the article may preclude any sort of relocation, such as the $75m relocation fee payable to the City of Nashville.

However, Basillie could work the deal if the present group fails in their bid attempt, and then offer Leipold around $145m for the team, plus the relocation fee to the City of Nashville of $75m which would bring his total costs back to his first failed bid amount of $220m. Hmmm.

Then again, considering the recent rise in RIM shares (increased Market cap by around $28BB since June) and the USDCAD FX rate, Basillie could probably afford to overpay for this franchise...

$75m is chump change for Balsillie.

Plus, they'd still have to average over 14,000 for two consecutive years. The home opener had 13,000.

Purchaseco will respect the previously stated opinion of Metro’s legal department to the effect that the 2006-07 hockey season was not the second consecutive “full season? of sub 14,000 paid attendance. As such, the Early Termination Notice issued by the Predators in June, 2007 will be void and of no effect. Further, any such notice could not occur until after the 2007-2008 season results are known.

We're half way there already.

Yeah, as hard as it is to believe, Balsillie is tons richer today than he was when he put his bid in in the summer. How the NHL is not bending over backwards to get this guy into their club is beyond me.

He's not only super rich, he's a hockey guy through and through and a very nice one at that.

$75 million is the maxiumum amount he would have to pay to get out of the lease. It can be reduced by cumulative operating losses, but will not be less than $25M.

Of course, I realize now that the $50M in operating losses would be paid by none other than Balsillie, so effectively he's paying the full 75M one way or another.

What I don't understand is why Balsillie would want the team now? They reduced their payroll to the league minimum and got rid of all of their major player assets. Seems now like the team is doomed to fail in Nashville, they're not going to be challenging for finishing first in the league this year.

red24

I was sort of figuring the same thing, Captain, but some of the terms that are mentioned in the article may preclude any sort of relocation, such as the $75m relocation fee.
75 million less any cumulative losses. With some creating accounting, the penalty for leaving will be less than $25 million.

averaging 13,866 in their first 3 games so far this season (http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnf ... x?team=150)

This site must include "freebies"...the numbers for last year look a little off from the articles that I read previously...

Well if your shoppping for an NHL team and your choices are Florida, Atlanta, Phoenix and Nashville, I’d still take Nashville.

Another reason is that of the above mentioned cities, Nashville is the smallest market. It would be easier for the NHL to let that one go rather than one of the other much bigger cities.