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).
