THE CANADIAN PRESS
The NHL is returning to Winnipeg with a hefty price tag attached to the franchise.
There was no glossing over the harsh financial reality of operating a team in the league as the estimated US$170-million sale and relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers was announced on Tuesday.
Not only did True North Sports & Entertainment spend a significant amount of time detailing the price of tickets, but NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also made it clear that every one of them better be accounted for.
"It isn’t going to work very well unless this building is sold out every night," said Bettman.
The 15,015-seat MTS Centre will be the smallest arena in the NHL and Winnipeg re-enters the league at a time when it has never been more expensive to do business.
The salary cap is expected to climb for a sixth straight season in 2011-12 and could reach more than $62 million. If that were to happen, every team would have to spend at least $46 million to reach the salary floor.
The Thrashers currently have $35.9 million tied up in 15 players for next season. There are seven pending restricted free agents — included captain Andrew Ladd and defenceman Zach Bogosian — and another three players eligible for unrestricted free agency. All told, the payroll could exceed $50 million.
Decisions must also be made about the entire hockey operations staff, including general manager Rick Dudley. He signed a four-year contract extension in January but won’t necessarily make the move north.
"We have got a lot of work to do," said Winnipeg co-owner Mark Chipman. "I have a very high regard for Rick, (but) haven’t spoken to him and expect to do so very shortly."
Thrashers president Don Waddell, who has been with the franchise since its creation, told a conference call Tuesday that he wouldn’t be moving to Winnipeg. He also said that True North would interview members of the organization before deciding if they’ll stay on.
Longtime Manitoba Moose GM Craig Heisinger has already been promised a position with the NHL team.
"He will have a very significant role in our hockey operations," said Chipman. "Exactly which title and which role, we’ve been kicking around for a couple of weeks as this became real. But we owe it to Rick Dudley and the rest of that organization to get (talking) with them as quickly as possible because they’re people with families and expectations.
"We’ll be turning ourselves to that right away."
In the meantime, True North is asking fans to open their wallets and show support for the new franchise. Tickets will range in price between $39 and $129.
The new owners are hoping to attract commitments for 13,000 season seats before the NHL’s board of governors meets on June 21 to vote on the transfer of ownership and relocation.
Atlanta loses another team; Bettman says NHL had no choice
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — First, the Flames. Now, the Thrashers.
Atlanta has become the first city in the NHL’s modern era to lose two hockey teams as the Thrashers’ owners agreed Tuesday to sell the struggling franchise to a group that will move it to Winnipeg next season.
"Our objective was always to find a solution to keep the team in Atlanta, and we spent a considerable amount of time, effort and resources trying to do so," said co-owner Bruce Levenson. "This is not the outcome we wanted and it’s extremely disappointing that a buyer or significant investor did not come forward that would enable us to keep the team in Atlanta."
The deal is reportedly worth US$170 million, including a $60-million relocation fee that would be split by the rest of the league.
The Thrashers entered the league in 1999 as an expansion franchise, but ownership problems, a losing team and dwindling attendance doomed the club.
The team ranked 28th out of 30 teams this year with an average attendance of less than 14,000.
For weeks, the two sides had been working through complex legal details on the sale and relocation of the team, while leaving open the possibility that a local buyer would emerge late in the process. No one ever came forward with a serious offer, according to the Thrashers’ ownership group, Atlanta Spirit, and the city’s mayor, Kasim Reed.
"It is going to hurt the city but we will withstand it just fine and we will get through it," Reed said.
Bettman said the league didn’t want to leave Atlanta but had little choice.
"No real local purchasers emerged," he said. "When the Atlanta ownership made it clear they wanted out, we reached outside the Atlanta market."
Waddell had said there remains some hope for a late development until a sale is made official and approved by the NHL board of governors.
But considering Atlanta Spirit, which also owns the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and the operating rights to Philips Arena, has been trying for years to sell the hockey team, that seems highly unlikely.
Also, any potential owner would have to agree to become a tenant at Philips Arena, a major impediment because it would cut into potential revenue from sources such as concessions, parking, luxury suites and other events.
"We don’t like to move a franchise," Bettman said. "We’re not happy about leaving Atlanta. This was never about whether Winnipeg is better than Atlanta. The decision to come to Winnipeg was only made after the Atlanta ownership made the decision they were going to sell even if it meant the team was going to leave Atlanta."
