By Julie Hawrishok
Don’t blame the Sens, or the fans for that matter.
By now, most North American hockey fans are aware of the financial strife of the Ottawa Senators. Since the teams’ inception in 1990, more than $160 million in debt has been accumulated, not to mention an additional $210 million for the Corel Centre. Clearly, the team is skating on thin ice.
Majority owner Rod Bryden says that greater fan support is needed to salvage the team and keep it in Ottawa. He’s right — sort of. Despite ticket prices, people are showing up. On average the Senators fill 76 per cent of the Corel Centre and are ranked 16th out of 30 in league attendance. More could be done, but give the fans a break — free parking would be nice. But Bryden cannot blame the fans alone for the organization’s red ink.
Financing problems are not a new phenomenon in the National Hockey League. Last week, the Buffalo Sabres joined the Senators in filing for bankruptcy protection. In 1998, the Pittsburgh Penguins filed for bankruptcy but were eventually saved by superstar Mario Lemieux, who converted $25 million of his own deferred salary and cash into a holding fund for the team. In 1995, the Los Angeles Kings also filed for bankruptcy in order to allow for the team’s sale. These teams are still around today, so there is hope for the Senators!
For years, Bryden has asked various levels of Canadian government for financial help. In the early 1990s, he asked the provincial government to help pay for a $26-million highway interchange that would connect the Queensway to the Corel Centre. His request was refused. Some government support is warranted. Professional sports teams bring great revenue into a city. Pro sports have leant themselves to tourism quite nicely, and other provinces have recognized this.
The government in British Columbia spent $126 million to build B.C. Place, a multi-purpose stadium where the Canadian Football League’s B.C. Lions play.
The Alberta government is supporting two NHL clubs by having introduced a provincial lottery and tax on visiting teams in order to generate income for its teams. The Senators could take this same approach. Though a controversial tactic in the league, it’s generated cash for struggling teams. Also, neither the Edmonton Oilers nor the Calgary Flames pay for maintenance of their arenas, which are owned by the respective cities. The Oilers do not even pay rent at their arena – the Skyreach Centre – which is leased to Northlands Park, a sports management company. The City of Edmonton has and will continue to pay Northlands almost $2.5 million a year until 2004 to cover its losses.
The NHL currently isn’t a financially sound organization. Each NHL team gets about $5.7 million for TV rights in the United States and Canada. Each NFL club receives $77 million. And yet, the average salary in the NFL in 2001 was $1.1 million compared with $1.64 million in the NHL.
But league commissioner Gary Bettman maintains the league, on a whole, is actually operating with a profit. He remains confident that all 30 teams will stay afloat in their respective cities well into the future.
With the financial collapse of Buffalo and Ottawa in one week’s span, the last thing the league needs is a string of bankruptcies.