A few weeks ago, Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano was having lunch with his two top lieutenants, Larry Quinn and Dan DiPofi. Their conversation was punctuated by people — some 15 or 20 fans — who approached Golisano to say thank you for saving the franchise and for building a team that is about to enter the NHL playoffs for the first time in five years.
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Golisano has used his business acumen to help
reverse the Sabres’ heavy losses. |
“Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t thank me for saving the Sabres,” Golisano said. “I thought I knew what the Sabres meant to this community, but I’ve been overwhelmed by seeing what they really mean to this community.”
It has been three years since Golisano, the 64-year-old Rochester, N.Y., billionaire and Paychex Corp. founder, bought the then-bankrupt Sabres and ended the most tumultuous off-ice period in the team’s 36-year history. Since then, the self-funded three-time New York gubernatorial candidate has emerged as one of the Buffalo Niagara region’s most influential businessmen.
Politicians from presidents to state senators court him for support. Guests in the owner’s box at HSBC Arena this season have included former President Bill Clinton, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld and state Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno.
Within NHL circles, he is acknowledged as an owner on the rise.
“He’s ideal for us, as a league,” said Jeremy Jacobs Sr., Boston Bruins owner and Delaware North Cos. chairman. “With Tom, his word is his bond. He’s got a growing respect from everyone in the NHL.”
“Tom has really thrown himself into the game,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. “He lets his passion drive his intellect. Quite frankly, this franchise wouldn’t exist in Buffalo today if it weren’t for Tom Golisano.”
Given the hot public discussion over the fate of small-market teams in the NFL, Golisano’s saviorlike status (and his bank account) make him an obvious choice to buy the Buffalo Bills, should longtime owner Ralph Wilson or his heirs decide to sell.
“If the Bills were ever in danger of leaving the community, I might inquire as to how I could help [keep them in Buffalo],” said Golisano, who met Wilson once, when their wives were playing tennis. “But would I buy the team? I don’t know.”
Golisano enjoys the trappings of a billionaire’s existence, including hiring Chubby Checker to perform at his 60th birthday party. But for all his hobnobbing with the powerful, his allies say, Golisano remains true to his working-class upbringing in suburban Rochester. He gets as much pleasure being greeted by everyday hockey fans on the street as he does playing a round of golf with an ex-president.
Before buying the Sabres, Golisano had been to less than 10 hockey games.
“The funny thing [is], Tom really wasn’t a hockey fan, per se,” said Bruno, who has known Golisano for 14 years. “But he understood what the Sabres meant to Buffalo and felt they played an important role in the community. That’s just the type of guy that Tom Golisano is.”
During Golisano’s most recent gubernatorial run in 2002, the Sabres’ financial picture began to implode due to the unraveling of Adelphia Communications Corp., the Rigas family’s corporate empire. In the summer of 2002, Golisano had a few moments to spare while in Buffalo for a campaign visit. On the advice of lawyer Steve Pigeon, who was working for the Golisano effort and helped stoke his interest in the Sabres, they stopped by HSBC Arena.
“Tom is a person who has the tremendous personal instinct that can assess a situation and get to the heart of the matter,” Pigeon said.
It was around the same time that Quinn made his pitch to Golisano about how the Sabres could be not only a community asset but, with the right management, a profitable organization.
In March 2003, the NHL accepted Golisano’s $92 million bid. Besides the stability and passion, Golisano brought his sense of entrepreneurship and business acumen to the team.
The first full season he owned the team, 2003-04, the Sabres lost approximately $10 million. Last year, because of the canceled season, the team lost another $8 million, roughly. This year, Golisano expects the team to finish in the black.
James Fink writes for Business First in Buffalo, an affiliated publication.
