Coyotes Auction Could Drastically Alter NHL, Sports Landscape

The landscape for hockey and the sports industry "could be drastically altered by the events that take place today and tomorrow" as the NHL and RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie vie for the Coyotes in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix, according to Kevin McGran of the TORONTO STAR. Univ. of Toronto's Rotman School of Management Dean Richard Powers said the "repercussions on professional sport could be monumental." Powers said of Bankruptcy Judge Redfield Baum, "If he sticks to his job, I don't see how Balsillie can't be the successful bidder. However, to the extent he moves outside his mandate, and starts dealing with relocation fees and relocation issues, and what professional sports can and cannot do in terms of granting franchises, that's where it's anybody's guess" (TORONTO STAR, 9/10). CANWEST NEWS SERVICE's Don McGowan writes if Balsillie is "barred from taking part in the auction, it would likely prompt an antitrust lawsuit some observers believe would be tied up in the courts for years." Willamette Univ. sports law professor Jeffrey Standen: "This is just a nightmare for the professional leagues if this goes the wrong way for them." Standen said that a "favourable decision for Balsillie could eliminate the power of a pro sports league to determine who owns its teams and where those teams play." Standen added that a ruling in favor of Balsillie also "could create a scenario where prospective owners could skirt U. S. antitrust laws ... in order to acquire a franchise." Tulane Univ. Sports Law Program Dir Gabriel Feldman said the NHL "has a lot more at stake than the location of one team and the identity of one owner." Feldman: "If they lose this case, their concern is they lose control of the league" (CANWEST NEWS, 9/10). The GLOBE & MAIL's David Shoalts notes Baum "has jumped through many figurative hoops to avoid a precedent-setting decision" (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/10).

HAMILTON BOUND? SPORTSNET.ca reported Balsillie "will soon name" former Blue Jackets President & GM Doug MacLean as an advisor to PSE Sports & Entertainment. MacLean is "expected to help bridge the gap between getting the Coyotes out of the courts and on to Hamilton ice in the event Balsillie lands the team" (SPORTSNET.ca, 9/9). Meanwhile, Balsillie reps yesterday said that the NHL's market analysts, Daniel Barrett and Michael Rapkoch, "were 'clearly on a mission to propose the highest relocation fees possible,' when they suggested the league deserved" $101M or $195M, respectively, if the Coyotes relocate to Hamilton. Balsillie's expert, Smith College sports economist Andrew Zimbalist, said that the Hamilton market "merits between [$11.2-12.9M] in relocation fees," and that the NHL analysts "want 1,200[%] of the highest relocation fee ever awarded." Zimbalist estimated that a Hamilton team "would have a market value of about" $175M, while Barrett and Rapkoch estimated the value at $261.8M and $279.8M, respectively (HAMILTON SPECTATOR, 9/10).

Writer Says It's A Shame NHL Won't Let Balsillie Help Them

EMBARRASSMENT FOR LEAGUE: In N.Y., Jeff Klein writes an NHL loss in the Coyotes auction "would be the latest in a string of embarrassments for the league related to the Coyotes' bankruptcy" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/10). The GLOBE & MAIL's Stephen Brunt writes NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman "must now understand his great miscalculations," as "worrying more about image than substance, pretending that all was well in Phoenix while allowing the door of bankruptcy to swing wide open, was a massive tactical error." But Bettman and the NHL "may still carry the day, Pyrrhic as that victory will seem, given the smoking crater that is the Phoenix Coyotes" (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/10). In Toronto, Gary Loewen writes the NHL "needs to accept that hockey hasn't taken root in the deep south," and "along with the Coyotes, the NHL could deep-six the bulk of the Southeast Division and few fans would weep." The league "would be stronger, and more appealing to true fans" (TORONTO SUN, 9/10). In L.A., Austin Knoblauch wrote it is a "shame the NHL won't let Balsillie help them when it could use somebody who has a lot of money and a passion for the game." Balsillie is "probably going to continue to be a pain for the league if he doesn't get the Coyotes." There are other NHL teams that are "not on the most sound financial footing, and it could be just a matter of time before Balsillie tells his lawyers to go play fetch once again" (LATIMES.com, 9/9).