Gary Bettman noted revenue generated by fan attendance comprises about 50% of NHL revenuesGETTY IMAGES
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that the league "will lose more than a billion dollars" by staging the '20-21 season in largely empty arenas, but owners and players are "intent on playing a 56-game schedule to provide diversion for fans and keep hockey on the sports map," according to Helene Elliot of the L.A. TIMES. Bettman during a pre-season Zoom presser yesterday said, “We’re going to run through more money, or say it differently, lose more money at the club level and at the league level by playing than by not playing. But the owners unanimously are OK with that because they know how important it is for our fans and for the game." He added, "The magnitude of the loss, when you add it all up, starts with a ‘b’. We’re out of the ‘m’ range and into the ‘b’ range." Bettman noted that revenues generated "directly or indirectly by fans -- including ticket sales, suite sales, parking and concessions -- comprise about 50% of NHL revenues." Bettman: “All of our teams have the ability to get through this. We’ve made some financial arrangements that make sure a cash flow is what it needs to be, although that’s not found money, that’s debt, and our clubs, our owners, are having to write checks.” Playing this season in a bubble "wasn’t considered because Bettman said it would have been unreasonable to ask players to be away from their families for six months" (L.A. TIMES, 1/12).
BETTMAN NOT BULLISH ON FANS: Bettman "does not anticipate that fans will be allowed back into the majority of arenas this season." For now, the Coyotes, Panthers and Stars are the only teams in the league allowing a limited number of fans into their buildings. On Long Island, Andrew Gross cites a source as saying that the Islanders do "not believe they will have fans at Nassau Coliseum during the regular season" (NEWSDAY, 1/12). The Lighting recently announced they would hold off having fans at Amalie Arena given a COVID-19 surge. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that the Blue Jackets "could allow fans in the coming days." But Bettman "insisted the small number of fans is less about generating revenue than strengthening the connection between member clubs and their fan bases" (THEATHLETIC.com, 1/11). The Penguins yesterday announced that they will "not be able to have fans at the four scheduled home games at PPG Paints Arena in January." Team officials said that a "limited amount of family and friends of players and team personnel will be permitted to attend as capacity allows." Protocols put in place by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, as well as local officials, "limit gatherings to 500 people at indoor arenas" (TRIBLIVE.com, 1/11).
SEASON OF DISRUPTIONS AWAITS: In Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont writes it is "abundantly clear that league officials know they’re facing the potential for COVID-induced headaches." The Stars already have "seen their training camp shut down for days." Still, Bettman and Daly "preached patience and persistence, with Bettman reiterating that health and safety of players was paramount." One "interesting side note to the protocols" is that in all 31 NHL cities, "one hotel has been designated as the only place visiting teams will stay" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/12). Bettman said, "We’ve issued 12 protocols, spanning 213 pages. They will need to be done in order for us to address and get through the pandemic, and we will vigorously enforce them.” In California, Jim Alexander notes the protocols include "guidelines for training camps, practice facilities, travel, and player conduct." There are "sections on positive tests, cleaning and disinfecting, locker room and equipment protocols, even a passage mandating that, once the regular season begins, players with confirmed positive tests will be announced publicly." Yet "all those ounces of prevention aren’t insurance against potential chaos." The "contortions the NFL had to go through to get its regular season done, and the problems already facing the NBA ... remind us again that in Pandemic Sports, nothing is guaranteed" (Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE, 1/12).
GETTING TO THE END: SPORTSNET.ca's Chris Johnston wrote this is a "grin-and-bear-it campaign" for the NHL. The league will "largely be a TV-only property starting Wednesday night and, while the realigned divisions hold great promise for those who love the game [in Canada] in particular, the league’s head office is bracing for a bumpy ride." Games have "already been rescheduled," and further "challenging situations are bound to arise." The "most powerful men in the NHL made no attempt to sugarcoat the current situation." Johnston: "The league isn’t approaching these coming months any differently than you and I are individually. All it is trying to do is get through the pandemic as safely as possible while keeping the lights on for better days ahead" (SPORTSNET.ca, 1/11).
PLAYERS' BURDEN: THE HOCKEY NEWS' Ken Campbell wrote despite Bettman's gloomy financial projections, shutting down while all the other leagues played "would have put the NHL seriously behind them in terms of exposure and fan engagement." It also would have "extended for another year its national television contract with NBC, thereby depriving it of putting its property up for auction after this season." And "that is a deal that is going to be so mammoth that it will help make up for a lot of those lost revenues." Because of escrow, the league is "going to be made whole." So the "real question is not how much revenue the league will lose this year, but how much will the players be paying back in future years in the form of escrow payments." Sources said that that number stands at $250M "from the bubble playoffs the league held last season." And while it is "impossible to peg exactly how much the league is going to lose this season, it’s expected the players will have to pay back" anywhere between $450-650M to "make the owners whole" (SI.com, 1/11).
