Predators Must Decide Whether To Put City On Notice

City Of Nashville Might Have To Pay For Tickets If Predators Invoke Lease Clause

Predators Owner Craig Leipold said that team execs have “not decided whether to invoke a clause in their lease that could force the city to decide whether to pay for thousands of tickets at the end of next season or give the team a way out of its lease,” according to John Glennon of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. The team has two months to contact the city regarding the clause. The Predators averaged about 13,500 fans per game this season, and if average attendance is below 14,000 next season, the Predators could ask the city of Nashville to buy enough tickets to “boost the team to that level.” If the city chose not to buy the tickets, the Predators could pay an exit fee of about $18M to leave Nashville. The Predators “might invoke the clause” because the NHL is requiring teams to reach 13,200 in paid attendance next season and 14,000 in ’08-09 to qualify for full revenue sharing. The Predators received more than $10M in revenue sharing last season. Leipold: “We’re a revenue-share receiver and without that fund, it will be very hard for us to survive in the market.” Glennon noted the team’s season-ticket base is about 8,800 (TENNESSEAN, 4/23).

BUYING IN: Leipold said that he is “in communication with a local business owner interested in buying a minority share of the team.” Leipold: “He’s a season ticket holder that owns a company in Nashville and he has indicated an interest in coming in at a relatively small level. That’s encouraging” (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 4/23).