Franchise Notes

In St. Paul, Charley Walters cites a source as saying that the T’Wolves “could lose nearly” $30M between last season and the upcoming season, and that it “wouldn’t be surprising for some of the Wolves’ limited partners to be asked to invest more capital” (PIONEER PRESS, 10/17).

STEADY COURSE: While the Buccaneers have started the season 1-4, team officials said that they “don’t see evidence of a broad decline in ticket demand.” Bucs Dir of PR Jeff Kamis said that every home game this season “is sold out, while the waiting list for season tickets is at an all-time high of 130,000.” StubHub PR Dir Sean Pate said that the average sale price of Bucs tickets sold on the Web site for the first two home games was $155 each, up from an average of $134 last season (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 10/14).

WHALE OF A JOB: In Vancouver, Ed Willes wrote the hiring of Chris Zimmerman as President & CEO of Canucks parent Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment “signals something of a new era” for the team. The Canucks “might have maxed out virtually every imaginable revenue stream,” but the team “is still running on the momentum of the Brian Burke administration.” The Canucks missed the playoffs last season, but have sold “virtually every ticket for every game this season. The suites are also sold. And the merchandising is through the roof.” Zimmerman: “Sometimes it’s easier to come in when things aren’t going well. You can look at five things that need fixing and go, ‘There are some easy wins.’ That isn’t the situation here” (Vancouver PROVINCE, 10/15).