The league’s plans for realignment and a revamped playoff format, which was approved by the NHL Board of Governors for the 2012-2013 NHL season, will not move forward because the NHLPA refused to consent to the changes.

“It is unfortunate that the NHLPA has unreasonably refused to approve a Plan that an overwhelming majority of our Clubs voted to support, and that has received such widespread support from our fans and other members of the hockey community, including Players,” said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. “We have now spent the better part of four weeks attempting to satisfy the NHLPA’s purported concerns with the Plan with no success. Because we have already been forced to delay, and as a result are already late in beginning the process of preparing next season’s schedule, we have no choice but to abandon our intention to implement the Realignment Plan and modified Playoff Format for next season.” (via NHL)

The league is currently looking into their available legal options and will pursue any claim they feel has merit.  Meanwhile, the NHL will maintain both its current alignment and its current playoff format going forward — until changes dictate otherwise.

Following their recent selection by the NHLPA’s Executive Board, Mike Cammalleri (Montreal Canadiens) and Chris Campoli (Chicago Blackhawks) will join current members David Backes (St. Louis Blues), Chris Clark (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres) on the Competition Committee. Cammalleri and Campoli replace Mike Commodore and Mathieu Schneider as voting members of the Committee. Schneider will remain on the Committee as the NHLPA’s non-voting member.

The full NHL/NHLPA Competition Committee will meet on Monday, June 13^th at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Boylston room on the first floor. Please note that media availability will be held at the conclusion of the meetings. The listed time is an approximate end time.

Early reports are estimating that Hulsizer will pay the NHL nearly $165 million for the embattled team.  The NHL paid $140 million to buy the Coyotes out of bankruptcy.

NHL owners will need to sign off on the deal before its finalized, although Glendale representatives and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly are already reporting that a sale of the team is in place.

Hundreds of Phoenix Coyotes fans are filled with excitement.

The team saw the biggest drop in attendance amongst all NHL teams last year, finishing with an average attendance of roughly 12,000 a game (67% capacity).  Also, prior to the bankruptcy filing and the NHL’s purchase, the team was losing nearly $40 million a year — in part due to poor business decisions and a bad American West Arena lease.

Regardless, the NHL seemed doggedly determined to keep the team in Arizona, even turning down Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie’s offer to pay upwards of $210 million to buy the team and move them to Canada.

Now, it looks as though Hulsizer will give the NHL exactly what they wanted.  Whether Hulsizer can help change the culture in Glendale still remains to be seen.

Spotted at Sports Media News

NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS VIEWERSHIP CONTINUES TO CLIMB

Blackhawks Clincher On NBC Sports Up 33 Percent

NHL.com Ranks Second in Growth Among All Sites from March to April

NEW YORK (May 24, 2010) – NBC Sports’ coverage of yesterday’s decisive Game 4 between the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, earned a 2.0 overnight rating and a 5 share, a 33 percent increase over last year (Detroit/Chicago, 1.5/4), as Chicago advanced to its first Stanley Cup Final in 18 years by completing a sweep of San Jose.  Hockey-mad Chicago delivered a 14.1/32.

Saturday’s Philadelphia Flyers/Montreal Canadiens Game 4 earned a healthy 1.6/4 (no comparison in 2009). The Philadelphia market delivered a 12.0/27.  Both games won every half hour against competition from the other networks.

Top Five NHL Markets of Weekend:
1.        Chicago – 14.1 (Sunday)
2.        Philadelphia- 12.0 (Saturday)
T3. San Jose – 4.4 (Sunday)
T3. Buffalo – 4.4 (Sunday)
4.        Buffalo  - 4.2 (Saturday)
5.        Pittsburgh – 3.6 (Saturday)

Top Five Non-NHL Markets of Weekend:
1.        San Diego – 2.8 (Sunday)
2.        Sacramento – 2.5 (Sunday)
3.        Richmond – 2.2 (Sunday)
4.        San Diego – 2.0 (Saturday)
T5. Indianapolis -1.9 (Sunday)
T5. Las Vegas – 1.9 (Sunday)

FIRST TWO ROUNDS ON VERSUS MOST-WATCHED IN HISTORY
VERSUS’ coverage of the first two rounds of 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs was the most-watched first two rounds on cable on record with an average of  775,000 viewers for the 54 telecasts (Stanley Cup Playoff cable viewership became available by Nielsen for the 1994 playoffs).

The 1.0 HH rating and average viewership (1.041 million) for the second round were up 25 percent and 28 percent, respectively, over last year’s Conference Semifinal (.8 HH rating and 816,000 viewers). Throughout the duration of the Conference Semifinal, VERSUS ranked as a top 10 cable network in primetime viewership (8-11 p.m.) among Adults 18-49 and 25-54 and was one of the top five most-watched cable networks among Men 18-49 and 25-54.

NBC and VERSUS have combined for the most-watched first two rounds since 1997 (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2).

DIGITAL STRATEGY PAYS DIVIDENDS

The NHL is engaging and connecting with more fans than ever on its digital platforms and the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs has continued that trend. Some highlights:

· For the first 40 days of the playoffs, video starts on NHL.com are up 148 percent over last year

· Unique visitors to NHL.com are up 31 percent

· Page views are up 50 percent
· Mobile page views are up 183 percent
· April was the most trafficked month in the history of NHL.com in terms of unique visitors surpassing 17 million
· NHL.com ranked as the number two site in terms of percentage change in unique visitors from March to April according to comScore (see chart below).
comScore’s Top 10 Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors (U.S.)
April 2010 vs. March 2010

1. MLB.COM – 67%
2. NHL.com Network – 35%
3. Buzzle.com – 19%
4. chachha.com – 16%
5. The Mozilla Organization – 15%
6. The Home Depot, Inc. – 12%
T7. Vevo – 11%
T7. Ford Motor Company – 11%
T7. Examiner.com Sites – 11%
T7. Conduit.com – 11%

Sorry Winnipeg, but you’re going to have to wait even longer to see professional hockey return to your city.  The Glendale city council voted to pony up the $25 million dollars necessary to keep the beloved Phoenix Coyotes in Phoenix.  That is, if the money is needed in the first place.

But city manager Ed Beasley and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly both told the council that the sale of the Coyotes is still expected to close by the end of June and the payments may never be needed.

Beasley also said that both Ice Edge Holdings and a group headed by Chicago sports mogul Jerry Reinsdorf are still talking about buying the Phoenix Coyotes. Reports have had Reinsdorf’s group dropping out in recent days. (via Houston Chronicle)

The unanimous council vote allows Mr. Beasley to begin to make plans to cover the Coyotes expected $25M operating loss in the 2010-2011 season.  What does that entail exactly? Something not yet seen in the sports world; taxpayers not just paying for a stadium, but directly paying for the teams operating losses.  (note: its been said that any revenue generated would not come from public dollars, and that this revenue may be generated through things like ticket surcharges)

So, what can save the taxpayers?  New ownership.  The NHL currently owns the club, and while they did agree to cover the Coyotes operating losses after the 2009-2010 season when they bought the team in bankruptcy court last September, it was agreed that the city would have to cover the future losses.  New owners would obviously handle any operating losses in 2010-2011, which would hopefully keep the citizens of Glendale from paying the various increased fees.

By the way, the franchise hasn’t turned a profit since moving to Arizona in 1996.

So what does this all mean in the grand scheme of things?  Hockey will stay in Phoenix for the time being, and will continue to operate at a loss and with decreased attendance. Meanwhile, the roughly 700,000 people that live in Winnipeg will continue to clamor for a hockey team…but to no avail.

It almost doesn’t seem fair.

…and maybe, more importantly, it almost doesn’t make sense.

Clearly, its just not Upper Deck’s year.

Last week the NHL signed a licensing deal with Panini America to produce hockey cards along with Upper Deck, which previously held an exclusive NHL license.  That’s all well and good, except for the fact that any exclusive autograph deals and exclusives previously held by NHL players with Upper Deck are now nullified.

In his letter, Adam Larry, the Director of Licensing and Associate Counsel for the NHLPA, noted that “both Upper Deck and Panini will be permitted to use images of ALL NHL players in their products” — but also that those two manufacturers  “are the only trading card companies that players should sign autographs or appear on packaging for.”

The letter states that “Neither Upper Deck nor Panini can sign a player to an exclusive autograph deal” and that “Neither Panini nor Upper Deck can: (I) preclude a player’s image from appearing on trading cards made by the other company; or (II) prevent memorabilia (jerseys, equipment, etc.) of a player from being included in trading cards made by the other company.”

Interestingly, the only exclusives that can be signed are for packaging deals where the players can endorse a product by appearing on the boxes or wrappers of products.

The letter also states that “in the event a player currently has a deal with Upper Deck that runs past June 30, 2010, that provides for exclusivity in the trading card category beyond packaging, those provisions will now be null and void. (However, Upper Deck must still abide by all the other terms of the agreement (such as payment obligations).” (via Beckett Blog)

Without knowing any of the monetary details behind trading card licensing deals, you would at least have to assume that exclusivity carries some form of monetary value.  Either in price to the consumer or maybe in the amount you have to pay for the exclusive athlete.  Upper Deck used to enjoy that value…no longer.  Not surprisingly, Upper Deck will be producing fewer NHL cards this year…not that the NHLPA is worried.

The letter also notes that Upper Deck will not be producing as many NHL sets as it had in its previous five years as an exclusive but that the NHLPA expects “the shortfall to be more than made up for however by the new licensee Panini.”

Things are almost going hilariously bad for Upper Deck in 2010.  You may remember that they’ve already had two losing lawsuits this year regarding Yu-Gi-Oh cards and unlicensed MLB cards, and now they’ll be producing fewer NHL cards due to their loss of exclusivity.

Things could be going better, no?

20-year-old scoring phenom Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks will be the new face of the NHL 10 videogame from EA SPORTS^TM! Kane is the youngest player ever chosen for the cover of the NHL franchise and his image will be on the front of all packaging when NHL 10 is available in North American retail stores this September.

Having emerged as one of the most skilled players in the NHL in just two seasons, Kane won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 2008 and this year led the Blackhawks to the Western Conference Finals. He has scored more than 20 goals and registered more than 70 points in each of his first two seasons.

“It’s exciting to be on the cover of my favorite videogame after playing just my second year as a professional,” said Kane. “When you look back at some of the great players who have had this opportunity, it’s an honor to be a part of the EA SPORTS family and contribute to a game I’ve been playing for more than 10 years.”

EA SPORTS also announced that it has signed Canadian junior hockey scoring sensation John Tavares, expected to be the top pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, to promote the release of NHL 10. Tavares will join Kane, the first overall draft pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, as spokespersons for NHL 10.

“It’s exciting for me to team up with Patrick to promote EA SPORTS and get the chance to play NHL 10 before it’s in stores,” said Tavares. “Now I’m looking forward to the draft and finding out which team will select me.”

“At EA SPORTS we believe in identifying the most talented up-and-coming athletes in the world to help us develop the most authentic sports games,” said Jordan Edelstein, Vice-President of Marketing for EA SPORTS. “We believe Kane is one of the next great American hockey stars and Tavares will have an immediate impact in the league.”

Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom was earlier named a cover athlete on NHL 10 packaging in Sweden. Additional regional cover athletes for Finland, Denmark and Switzerland will be named at a later date.  NHL 10 will be in retail stores across Europe on September 18.

Congratulations to Patrick Kane.  Although I’m almost positive most casual hockey fans have no clue who he is, NHL has been out long enough that it will sell if they put me on the cover (well, maybe).  This again brings up the weird conundrum with hockey.  They have only a few house hold names, but how do you ever create new household names if you don’t start to market your players?  Do the other sports have this same issue? Can this all be attributed to the strike or just due to the generally lower amount of interest for hockey in America?  Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Although quality of the game will play a large role as to which game generates more sales, it would also be interesting to note if the cover athlete of NHL 2k10, Alex Ovechkin has any effect on which game consumers decide to buy.

EASports — Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane the new face of NHL 2010

2K Sports announced today that Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, the 2009 Maurice “Rocket” Richard Award winner and Hart Memorial Trophy candidate, will be featured as the cover athlete and spokesman for the next iteration of the popular NHL 2K franchise, NHL® 2K10.

In celebration of the announcement, Ovechkin will be participating in 2K Sports’ first-ever outdoor hockey motion capture session tonight in the Roman Plaza at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from 8:30-11:30pm PT. The open-air rink recalls the September 27, 1991, LA Kings vs. New York Rangers hockey showdown when Wayne Gretzky led the Kings to victory in a similarly unusual and picturesque open-air setting at the famed Las Vegas resort. Joining Ovechkin on the ice will be Vancouver Canucks center and 2009 Selke Trophy finalist, Ryan Kesler, along with play-by-play commentator for the San Jose Sharks, Randy Hahn, who will act as host MC. Only media will be allowed into the rink area for this private event, as synthetic ice will be laid down to create a special hockey rink and 2K Sports’ game producers will put Ovechkin through a number of dynamic drills to capture his signature style data for NHL 2K10.

As far as interesting hockey figures go, Ovechkin has to be at, or very close to, the top of the list.  Even though I’m required to hate him when he plays the Penguins, I have to admire the fact that he always seems to be genuinely enjoying himself on the ice.  A great, if not obvious choice by 2k sports to use the guy who is arguably the most charismatic hockey figure for the cover of their game. And, in case you’re wondering, Ovechkin has appeared on video game covers before (see EA Sports NHL ’09).  As an aside, How many casual sports fans can name 10 hockey players? Again, not that Ovi isn’t a great choice, but how often are hockey game creators pigeonholed into choosing from a very short list of people due to the fact that no casual fan will know any of the more obscure players?  Speaks a lot about the popularity of the NHL and its players, does it not?

PlanetBox360 — Alex Ovechkin Announced as cover athlete for NHL 2K10

Breaking it down in 3, 2, 1…

The league’s focus is on attracting sponsors that will ultimately lead to more television money. The league is banking on digital media and special events like its outdoor Winter Classic, played this year at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, and season openers in Europe to excite its fan base and help sponsors reach a bigger audience, said Chief Operating Officer John Collins…

The league is right to focus on building its television audience by targeting its young fans with digital offerings, said Neal Pilson, former head of CBS Sports and now a New York- based broadcast consultant.

“By 2013 the digital, Web and mobile audience will be sufficiently larger so the NHL will be able to combine those users with their TV audience to attract sponsorships that will support a major TV deal,” Pilson said in an e-mail.

Okay, lets start here.  First off, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  The Winter Classic is/was/will be a great idea.  Other special events, i.e. season openers in Europe, are pretty good as well, because you’re hoping to expand the market, etc. etc.  The potential problem is with the digital, web, and mobile audiences.  By 2013 will those audiences be larger? Of course. I don’t know if its due to more people discovering that medium for the first time, or because of the quality product being produced.  It is very possible that digital audience is only sustained for a short time period.  Lets face it, digital media still has a long way to go before it becomes a viable alternative to television (still a lot of lag time/buffering required on many sites, need HD capabilities, etc. etc.).  The possibility that you see “false-positives” on the increase in digital viewers does exist, and I think it will continue to be prevalent for a few years to come. My other potential concern is being able to show that a large web audience is worthy of a major TV deal.  Sure, it shows that you have a larger audience, and more potential television viewers, but, if digital media is as fantastic as mentioned in the first part of the argument, then will those digital viewers turn to television instead when they can take a laptop or a phone anywhere they go and see the game in high quality video?  There seems to be a definite overlap in those two audiences, and while I’m hopeful, I’m worried that the NHL may not be able to tally a large enough audience to leverage it into a major TV deal.

Of course, maybe the NHL can get away with the audience overlap?

This is good news for the NHL, Pilson said. The more viewers it lures to Internet and television, the more sponsors will follow and the networks won’t be far behind.

“So long as a sports rights holder can sell an attractive audience, the agencies will buy that sport for their clients,” Pilson said.

First you get the viewers, then you get the sponsors.  Once you have the sponsors, then networks will work with you.

Tony Montana couldn’t have said it better himself.

Bloomberg –  NHL borrows from NFL as it pursues a bigger TV contract

The Forbes analysis values a team’s brand as the “portion of a team’s overall value that is derived from their name, as opposed to their market and league.” The magazine said the value of Penguins’ brand has grown by 88 percent over the past three seasons.

The Penguins will record their 113th straight sellout tonight, and the team recently signed a naming rights deal with Consol Energy for the new Consol Energy Center. The Penguins have the most-visited NHL team website in the United States, set a record for local television ratings on FSN Pittsburgh for the second straight year, and continue to establish new standards for suite sales and sponsorship sales.

Wow. I live in Pittsburgh and I had no clue about the record website attendance.  I’ve only visited once myself…obviously other people are a bit more fanatical about the website than I am.  I’ve experienced first-hand the strange animal that is Pittsburgh sports.  While I’m sure, as the article mentions, that the Penguins staff put together a great marketing plan/brand strategy, for Pittsburgh fans, all it really takes is for the team to competitive and people will buy their merchandise (actually, even in those few years recently that the Steelers haven’t been good, there was never any lack of Steelers merchandise sales).

In any case, the Penguins brand is on the rise.  Now the question becomes, how will the Penguins continue to capitalize off of their brand?  Hint Hint: there is no hockey equivalent to the Terrible Towel….

NHL.com –  Forbes Magazine analysis says Penguins have fastest growing brand in NHL

The Coyotes’ ownership group yesterday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to implement a court-approved sale of the franchise to RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie’s PSE Sports & Entertainment. The group would pay $212.5M for the franchise, contingent on its relocation to southern Ontario. The money would help pay the franchise’s secured creditors in full, as well as $97.5M to its unsecured creditors. Balsillie also has agreed to post debtor-in-possession financing of $17M to allow the team to continue operating through the bankruptcy proceedings.

Okay…hockey franchise files Chapter 11 bankruptcy because they can’t afford to pay their creditors back  (the Coyotes have been dealing with this problem for awhile) and in the meantime, they’ve found someone to buy the team and pay off their creditors.  Sounds okay, right?  Oh, the NHL didn’t know about it? Oh…

In Phoenix, Harris & Watters report the bankruptcy filing came “less than an hour before” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman “planned to broker a deal to sell the [Coyotes] and strip team owner Jerry Moyes of his duties.” The NHL and the city of Glendale, which leases Jobing.com Arena to the Coyotes, “have objected to Moyes’ tactics,” and other investors still “could outbid” Balsillie’s group. Moyes’ financial adviser Earl Scudder said that Moyes “has no option but to file for bankruptcy because that was the only way to void the team’s lease with Glendale.” Harris & Watters notes the move “shocked Glendale, which contributed $180[M] for the $220[M] arena that opened in 2003.” NHL VP/Media Relations Frank Brown said that the NHL “must approve all sales and relocations.” However, attorneys involved in the bankruptcy filing said that a bankruptcy judge “could overrule the NHL if the court finds the sale is in the best interest of creditors.”

Awesome. I’m guessing that Jerry Moyes knew that Bettman was planning to sell the team and strip him of his duties, so he filed bankruptcy, which  invoked the automatic stay; a bankruptcy provision which freezes an sales of property or any actions any creditor could bring against you.  The result? Bettman can’t sell the team unless its through the bankruptcy court, and the court itself will go with the “best deal”; the deal that pays out the most to secured and unsecured creditors.  So, like the article says, other investors could outbid Balsillie’s group, but they’re now on a deadline because a.) the Coyotes have already filed bankruptcy b.) their chapter 11 bankruptcy plan already looks fairly feasible with over $97 M going to pay off unsecured debt, and 100% payment to secured creditors.

This should be interesting.  The NHL does have to approve the relocation of a team (how ballsy is the move by Balsillie?) but if the very likely bankruptcy court approves the sale of the team to Balsillie scenario occurs…what happens then?  Balsillie is only buying the team if he’s allowed to relocate it, and if that’s the best offer that pays back the largest portion of the teams unsecured debt…then the question of whether or not federal bankruptcy law can trump the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement will come into play.

From Bettman’s side though…when should you fall on your sword?  Is it even worth trying to save a Phoenix franchise that lost almost $45 million this season?

SportsBusinessDaily — Coyotes file for Chapter 11, reach deal to sell team to Balsillie

Versus, over 16 games through April 22, averaged a 0.4 rating, a 33% rise from 0.3 mark during the corresponding period in the NHL’s 2008 post-season, according to Nielsen Media Research.

All told, the Comcast-owned service delivered 449,379 viewers on average, a 50% jump from 300,033 through 16 opening-round contests last year.

On the demo front, the competition channel registered a 39% gain among men 18 to 49 and a 52% advance among guys 25 to 54, according to Versus officials.

What has caused this dramatic downturn in the sports economy?  Well, a few things.  Obviously, if you have an American economy that is consistently struggling, then at some point, due to trickle-down, the sports economy would be effected as well.  I personally think though, that some of the issues in the present sports economy are self-inflicted.  Everyone, including the league sports themselves, seemed to believe that they would be unaffected by a recession. Therefore, the sports world was not exactly running rampant with contingency plans.

Do the Yankees and the Mets plan billion dollar stadiums if they were prudently spending money and examining economic forecasts?

What about “Jerry Jones Stadium” and the surrounding shops and amenities that won’t be built before the stadium opens…Would the plan to create a $1.2 billion dollar “glory park” been scaled back if the Cowboys had consulted more than just engineers and subcontractors?

Economic decisions in sports always seem to be reactionary, in part because most sports executives have the same mindset as a majority of sports athletes; that air of invincibility and an almost utopian outlook on life.  It’s like Murphy’s Law (Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong)  in reverse. Lets call it “Steinbrenner’s Law”, shall we?

The other underlying concept in sports today, besides Steinbrenner’s Law, is the globalization of American sports.  That’s globalization not in terms of playing basketball in both American and Europe, but in terms of NBA basketball, with current NBA stars, being played in America and Europe.  See the sports economy paradox?

If American sports teams are laying people off and receiving bail-out loans why are you attempting to expand leagues to overseas markets, and seemingly spreading yourself too thin? To generate new streams of revenue because overseas markets are untapped and American teams are struggling and receiving bail-out loans.

I’m not quite sure how you reconcile the idea of moving a Super Bowl to London when you’ve frozen bonuses and laid off workers, and will lose revenue from your American fan base.  Or how you are working on creating basketball leagues in Europe when half of your teams needed to borrow $175 million dollars, some due to $15 million-plus operating losses.  I don’t think sports executives are completely able to reconcile that situation either.  But I do think they are looking into the future, which might look a little like this…

THE FUTURE OF THE SPORTS ECONOMY

If nothing else, the recession has taught sports leagues to take economic theory seriously.  Contrary to popular sports belief, simple economic concepts like supply and demand do apply to sports teams (ask the Yankees upper management about their empty $2,600 seats for more information about economic theory).  And while I’m sure  sports teams have some sort of economic consulting guru on staff, I foresee many teams increasing their spending in the economic forecasting department.  Its not enough to look at the prior year’s numbers to set this year’s ticket prices; national foreign policy, future oil prices, unemployment rates, etc. have to come into play too, in order for any team to maximize their profits.

And what of the dreaded “C-word”?  Is contraction in the future of sports?  Possibly.  Lets face it, there are currently a number of sports economies that are ill-equipped to handle sports teams.  You can’t continue to lose money hand-over-fist every year without some sort of change.  For those struggling sports economies, the answer is simple, contract or relocate.  And yes, those are the only two answers.  The Washington Nationals are not going to start pulling thousands of extra fans anytime soon.  And at some point, the numerous sports teams that relied or rely on new stadiums to generate enough revenue to keep them out of bankruptcy?  Well, every sports team can’t win that war, everytime.  Relocation or contraction is the only answer.

The time of the invincible sports team, or even the invincible sport, is over.  The future of the sports economy brings with it a hard look at league structure, and will force upper management to look at various issues such as contraction, relocation, or global expansion?  How do I maximize profits in a down economy, and do I lean more towards economic forecasting to look at ancillary factors that may effect my business?

You know what makes the sports-economy so great? All of the things discussed in this article could be so completely wrong, almost to the point of hilarity.  Baseball might be on the moon in 10 years, who knows?  Can’t beat the ever-changing sports economy, can you?

Just when you thought the jobs of mascots everywhere were safe, saddening news comes out of Tampa Bay, informing everyone that the Tampa Bay mascot, Thunder Bug, has been laid off (actually the guy inside ThunderBug, who is named Matt Hitchcock was laid off).  More from TampaBay.com,

“The Tampa Bay Lightning today announced a restructuring aimed at creating more efficiencies and eliminating redundancies by reducing the size of its workforce. When the current ownership purchased the team, it elected to take a full hockey season to observe and analyze the business before making major decisions regarding its long-term direction.

“With the 2008-09 season completed, the franchise feels it is necessary to form a structure that best supports the business going forward. Today, in a toughening economy, we certainly understand the impact that these decisions have on the lives of the families affected which doesn’t make the decisions any easier. However, we feel an obligation to our fans and sponsors to create the best possible organization to ensure our success in the future. We appreciate all the hard work and service these dedicated employees have performed for this organization and we wish them all the best moving forward.”

Besides ThunderBug, the Lightning also released 19 other employees, which brought the yearly total up to 27 employees (yes, we are in April, why do you ask?).  As mentioned in the press release, OK Hockey (the 8 person collective that took over ownership of the Lightning in 2008), spent the last year analyzing the current situation, and they are now seeking to maximize profits with the hockey team.  The rush to “right the ship” is apparent; the downward spiraling economy, and a $105 million loan, used to finance the purchase of the team and due in 2011, has accelerated the panic in Tampa Bay.  This year’s 24-40, 66 point performance (14th in the Eastern Conference) probably didn’t help matters much.

The panic is definitely real when six-foot lightning bugs wearing hockey jerseys find themselves without jobs.

Tampa Bay.com — Some layoffs at OK Hockey, including ThunderBug

The Montreal Canadiens hockey club — winners of 24 championship Stanley Cups since 1916 — is for sale, local media said Wednesday.

Owner George Gillett, an US businessman who co-owns the English Premier League football club Liverpool F.C. and a NASCAR auto racing team, asked bankers in March to evaluate his options, including an asset sale, to repay loans.

Gillett hopes to sell the team and a hockey arena in downtown Montreal to pay back 75 million dollars in loans due in July.

Gillett bought an 80.1 percent stake in the hockey franchise for 275 million dollars (223 million US) in 2001.

Forbes magazine estimated the value of the team and the Bell Centre arena last year at 412 million dollars (334 million US).

Interest in pop stars buying hockey franchise aside, the bigger question might end up becoming, what’s going to happen with the English Premier Soccer club, Liverpool FC?  Both Gillette and Denver Broncos owner Tom Hicks are majority owners in the franchise, and both are experiencing some financial hardships (see: Tom Hicks looking to sell parts of Dallas Stars, Texas Rangers).  Might a sale of one of the UK’s most popular soccer clubs be next?

Back to Dion though, pretty interesting investment opportunity.  She’s already extremely wealthy and extremely famous but she could seemingly transcend her current levels of wealth and publicity by becoming the owner of a sports franchise by possibly opening herself up to a new audience (I assume that every Canadiens fan isn’t a Dion fan…but what if she brings them a championship?) and new revenue streams (why not pay yourself to sing the national anthem at hockey games?).

Still, not to beat the idea of the “recessions effect on sports”  into the ground but would we see moguls like Gillett and Hicks looking to invite minority owners into their clubs if the recession was not in its present downturn? Probably not.

Google News — AFP: Canadiens hockey team for sale