The 2016 World Cup of Hockey is "expected to generate" more than $110M in revenue, according to sources cited by Ian Thomas of the SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Initial revenue estimates were in the $90M-$100M range, with the additional growth "coming from a strong commercial response from global television rights and advertisers." Corporate sponsorship revenue also exceeded $25M, "thanks in part to a jersey advertisement deal with SAP." NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman "declined to comment on revenue figures." He said that putting the World Cup back on the league's calendar was more about "bringing back something that is important to hockey." Bettman: "The money is secondary."
WHAT'S NEXT: Successes with the event has the NHL "thinking about what's next not only for this tournament but also for other international opportunities." Bettman said that the NHL exec team "will sit down with NHL PA Executive Director Don Fehr and his staff to determine the next steps." Internally at the NHL, there has been some "early discussion on where and how the next World Cup is played." The league "is mindful that there are few cities outside Toronto with a hockey audience that could fill an arena for 17-plus games." The league has "considered splitting hosting duties between multiple cities -- likely all NHL markets -- to drive demand." Bettman said that many cities, league owners, sports commissions and ice hockey federations have "expressed interest, but declined to reveal any of them." He said that the league has "not yet determined how future bidding processes might work." While no formal bidding timeline has been set, "markets including Edmonton, Chicago, New York City, Pittsburgh and Moscow-St. Petersburg have all expressed interest in hosting the tournament" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 10/3 issue).
NOT A CASH COW: The GLOBE & MAIL's David Shoalts reported while the estimated profit from the 15-day World Cup of Hockey -- reportedly about $60M in mixed Canadian and U.S. dollars -- "looks impressive at first glance, the number of ways it has to be split quickly waters it down." The profit is "split 50-50 between the league and the players' union." World Cup organizers admitted that the event "was not a cash bonanza." NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that it was "still a better financial deal for the league" than the Olympics. But Daly said, "It's a relatively minor commercial opportunity" (GLOBE & MAIL, 10/1). CBS SPORTS' Chris Peters wrote the tournament was "not a rousing success by any means, but the league did not embarrass itself, either." What the event "did provide was a very competitive tournament with hockey of the highest quality" (CBS SPORTS, 9/30).
