New Hurricanes Investors Likely To Be in Place By Season Opener

Hurricanes Owner Peter Karmanos Jr. yesterday said that an "announcement on new team investors likely would be made before the Oct. 7 season opener," according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER. Karmanos said that he "had closed on the sale of about $20 million equity in the Hurricanes to seven or eight investors." Using his "valuation of the team at $240 million, that would be a little more than 8 percent minority ownership." Karmanos said that he is "working on selling another $20 million in equity." Karmanos added that the franchise is "on solid ground financially and in a strong market." Karmanos: "Our biggest weakness is not having a large enough season-ticket base. A lot of that is a reflection of the economy and I think as the economy picks up we'll do better in suite sales, advertising, all that stuff" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 9/27).

OUT OF REACH: In St. Louis, Amir Kurtovic reports with the Oct. 8 start of the Blues season "quickly approaching, industry experts agree that there are only two sure bets in the team's hunt for a new owner: It won't happen before the season starts, and the sale price will not reach $200 million." Sources said that the team's "high debt ratio, a high asking price and bad timing -- numerous other NHL teams are up for grabs -- are hindering the sale of the Blues." St. Louis-based Sportsimpacts Dir Patrick Rishe said that he "would be shocked if anybody was willing to pay close to the $200 million sought" by Chair Dave Checketts' ownership group (ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/23 issue).