Discuss the St. Louis Blues, the NHL, or whatever.
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Wing Man.DaDitka wrote:cprice12 wrote:Awesome.The new ownership group, according to sources, will name former Blue and Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull to a management position.
There was also a report today that Walt want's in.....one question? WTF will they all be doing? Army is staying, JD is staying, Al is staying.....plus Brett...where does Walt fit in?
Hull is gonna be Manager of the beer sellers and Walt is be in charge of food vendors.DaDitka wrote:cprice12 wrote:Awesome.The new ownership group, according to sources, will name former Blue and Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull to a management position.
There was also a report today that Walt want's in.....one question? WTF will they all be doing? Army is staying, JD is staying, Al is staying.....plus Brett...where does Walt fit in?
Tom Stillman, a former hockey player at the collegiate level and a regular at the Blues' alumni skates, is about to score the biggest goal of his career — as the club's next owner.
On Tuesday, the NHL's Board of Governors unanimously approved a bid by a group of St. Louis investors that is led by Stillman. The final step is the closing of the sale, which is scheduled for today.
Stillman, who has been a minority owner of the Blues since 2007, will be introduced at a news conference Thursday at Scottrade Center. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is expected to be on hand.
Stillman's group will become the eighth owner of the Blues since the franchise's inception, following Dave Checketts/SCP Worldwide (2006-present), Bill Laurie (1999-2006), Kiel Center Partners (1991-1999), Mike Shanahan (1986-1991), Harry Ornest (1983-1986), Ralston Purina (1977-1983) and the Salomon family (1966-1977).
Stillman, who is CEO of Summit Distributing in St. Louis, heads a list of local investors that will pay an estimated $130 million for the Blues, the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League and 'significant interest" in the Peabody Opera House. In December, Forbes valued the Blues at $157 million, 27th among 30 NHL teams. The team was purchased in 2006 for $150 million.
The deal will come two years to the month, May 2010, after former Blues chairman Checketts announced that TowerBrook Capital Partners, a private-equity firm that has been the team's top investor since 2006 with a 70-percent stake, said it was divesting its interest.
Checketts, who has said SCP Worldwide had owned 20 percent of the club, attempted to find a group of investors to buy TCP's shares, but those efforts failed.
Meanwhile, Stillman built a group of investors featuring one area dignitary and several prominent local businessmen.
The group includes Stillman's father-in-law, former U.S. Sen. John Danforth, R-Mo; Steve Maritz, CEO of Maritz Inc.; Donn Lux, CEO of Luxco; and the Taylor family, owners of St. Louis-based Enterprise Holdings. Names of additional investors also are expected to be announced when the sale is made official.
"Local ownership is great if you can put it together," Bettman told the Post-Dispatch in January. "Tom is putting together a group of distinguished people from St. Louis, and if it all comes together, we think fans of the Blues have reason to be very comfortable and excited about the future of the club."
The new owners will name former Blue and Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull to a management position, according to sources.
No other changes to the team's management staff, which includes Blues President John Davidson and general manager Doug Armstrong, are known at this time.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/p ... z1uNHVsZMQ
That's all well and good but the only problem with that is that for guys like Parise and Weber to sign for a team like the Blues is to overpay significantly (ala Paul Kariya). Then when they didn't live up to the oversized contracts, we'd all be subjected to 'Same ol' Blues' posts repeatedly.glen a richter wrote:Stability = UFA signings = Parise + Weber
dmiles2186 wrote: not being able to lock up some of the young guys (Petro/Shatty/etc.)
To raise money to fund his partners' purchase of the Blues in 2005, Checketts made some bad deals. One glaring example is the concessions contract at Scottrade Center; in exchange for getting up-front cash, Checketts signed away the concessions rights for short money.
The Blues are near the bottom of the NHL in generating revenue. Fans already are clamoring for Stillman to increase the player payroll and go on a wild spending splurge in the summer free-agent market. That's unlikely, if not impossible.
It's wise to temper expectations. Stillman must find a way to reorganize by cutting costs and increasing revenue, and that won't be easy. There's no way for Stillman to avoid the pain that comes with slashing overhead and expenses. Fans will probably feel it, too. Stillman can't expand the revenue base by keeping ticket prices among the lowest in the NHL.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... z1uTkrHV4H
I've always said the Blues need to raise prices substantially. Having one of the lowest ticket prices in the NHL and wanting ownership to spend big money on free agents isn't going to work. Some folks may bitch about that, but do you want the team to be able to get some good free agents in here, or not?DaDitka wrote:From Bernie in the Post Dispatch..
To raise money to fund his partners' purchase of the Blues in 2005, Checketts made some bad deals. One glaring example is the concessions contract at Scottrade Center; in exchange for getting up-front cash, Checketts signed away the concessions rights for short money.
The Blues are near the bottom of the NHL in generating revenue. Fans already are clamoring for Stillman to increase the player payroll and go on a wild spending splurge in the summer free-agent market. That's unlikely, if not impossible.
It's wise to temper expectations. Stillman must find a way to reorganize by cutting costs and increasing revenue, and that won't be easy. There's no way for Stillman to avoid the pain that comes with slashing overhead and expenses. Fans will probably feel it, too. Stillman can't expand the revenue base by keeping ticket prices among the lowest in the NHL.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... z1uTkrHV4H
cprice12 wrote:DaDitka wrote:From Bernie in the Post Dispatch..
To raise money to fund his partners' purchase of the Blues in 2005, Checketts made some bad deals. One glaring example is the concessions contract at Scottrade Center; in exchange for getting up-front cash, Checketts signed away the concessions rights for short money.
The Blues are near the bottom of the NHL in generating revenue. Fans already are clamoring for Stillman to increase the player payroll and go on a wild spending splurge in the summer free-agent market. That's unlikely, if not impossible.
It's wise to temper expectations. Stillman must find a way to reorganize by cutting costs and increasing revenue, and that won't be easy. There's no way for Stillman to avoid the pain that comes with slashing overhead and expenses. Fans will probably feel it, too. Stillman can't expand the revenue base by keeping ticket prices among the lowest in the NHL.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... z1uTkrHV4H
I've always said the Blues need to raise prices substantially. Having one of the lowest ticket prices in the NHL and wanting ownership to spend big money on free agents isn't going to work. Some folks may bitch about that, but do you want the team to be able to get some good free agents in here, or not?
I remember last year when the Blues announced ticket increases, people here freaked out. But that's always been my stance--the Blues have had remarkably low ticket prices going on 5-6 years now. For them to make the jump, for them to sign the big names that people want them to, the fans are going to have to shell out more to go to a game.cprice12 wrote:I've always said the Blues need to raise prices substantially. Having one of the lowest ticket prices in the NHL and wanting ownership to spend big money on free agents isn't going to work. Some folks may bitch about that, but do you want the team to be able to get some good free agents in here, or not?DaDitka wrote:From Bernie in the Post Dispatch..
To raise money to fund his partners' purchase of the Blues in 2005, Checketts made some bad deals. One glaring example is the concessions contract at Scottrade Center; in exchange for getting up-front cash, Checketts signed away the concessions rights for short money.
The Blues are near the bottom of the NHL in generating revenue. Fans already are clamoring for Stillman to increase the player payroll and go on a wild spending splurge in the summer free-agent market. That's unlikely, if not impossible.
It's wise to temper expectations. Stillman must find a way to reorganize by cutting costs and increasing revenue, and that won't be easy. There's no way for Stillman to avoid the pain that comes with slashing overhead and expenses. Fans will probably feel it, too. Stillman can't expand the revenue base by keeping ticket prices among the lowest in the NHL.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... z1uTkrHV4H
Well, just making the playoffs isn't really the goal.DaDitka wrote:Anther note to those who think we have to raise payroll and sign 'big names'.
5 of the bottom ten teams in playroll in the 2011-2012 season made the playoffs (that's right HALF of them)
St. Louis
Phoenix
Florida
Ottawa
Nashville
Agreed, and some of them advanced against much higher payrolls. The point is that we can contend for the cup without having a top 10 payroll.cprice12 wrote:Well, just making the playoffs isn't really the goal.DaDitka wrote:Anther note to those who think we have to raise payroll and sign 'big names'.
5 of the bottom ten teams in playroll in the 2011-2012 season made the playoffs (that's right HALF of them)
St. Louis
Phoenix
Florida
Ottawa
Nashville
