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NHL Anti-Thread: Bad Business Decision Aggregator


The_Admiral

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Couple mildly interesting notes here:

 

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/professional/blues-may-benefit-most-from-rams-departure/article_d0030b9b-5fb8-504c-b3b5-4791f6c2a8c0.html

 

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The Blues have made strides in strengthening the organization since Tom Stillman’s local ownership group took the reins in 2012 and added Zimmerman in 2014. Among other moves, they restructured their business operations, allowing the organization to limit its losses.

 

“I think we’ve made a lot of progress,” Stillman said. “Initially it was like stabilizing the patient. Then from there, it’s been improving performance. I think we’ve made a lot of progress down that road. Now we’ve got a chance. We’ve got the opportunity to be viable, to be healthy, to be competitive. We are in a better position, but we want and need to go quite a bit further.”

 

To do so, the Blues need to maximize and create new revenue streams in order to keep up with the rest of the NHL. The average revenue among the 30 teams last season was $133 million, according to Forbes.com, and the Blues were below that at $111 million. Despite that fact, the Blues have the highest salary-cap hit in the league this season, according to Generalfanager.com, at $73.5 million (including injured players).

 

“Success is a completely different zone here from the NFL and our amazing, iconic baseball team (the Cardinals),” Zimmerman said. “We have to fight to hang with the big boys (in the NHL). We’re spending the same amount and yet have $100 million less than Montreal, and Toronto and Chicago. We’re not crying poor at all, but this is about a constant fight just to stay competitive.”

 

It’s a challenge that is further complicated by several self-inflicted business decisions by previous owner Dave Checketts, along with an aging Scottrade Center.

 

Stillman’s ownership group inherited a concession contract with Levy Restaurants that in 2008 paid Checketts $10 million in a front-loaded 20-year agreement. The Blues do receive commissions, which are in line with other clubs, but the income would be more substantial if not for the upfront payment. A similar situation exists with the team’s broadcast agreement with Fox Sports Midwest, a deal that included a large advance and doesn’t expire until after the 2019-20 season.

 

Additionally, because of an agreement between Checketts and the city to refurbish the Peabody Opera House, the Blues remain on the hook in a roundabout way for the five percent “amusement” tax on ticket sales. The team no longer pays the tax per se, but instead funds an equal amount to service the Opera House bonds.

 

That would seem to eliminate the chance of a tax break such as the Cardinals received in 2002, when city aldermen approved the complete abatement of ticket taxes and 25 years of real estate tax relief. (The Rams did pay the amusement tax, amounting to $1.8 million annually).

 

 

- "Restructured their business operations" is a nice way of saying that they got so cash-poor that they had to hock their Peoria affiliate, helping to cede downstate Illinois to the Blackhawks

 

- They can't just call the Cardinals the Cardinals, huh? Are people in St. Louis required to heap adjectives on the Cardinals before mentioning them, like how you always have to tell your wife she looks nice before you go out?

 

- That the Blues are mostly running a solid middle-market operation and still bleeding money in payroll costs is a dynamite argument for widening the salary range. Owners clawed back 7% of revenue and it's still not enough for a team in the middle? This could also be a sign that once this Steen/Backes window closes, payroll cuts are coming if...

 

- Just like the Brewers, the Blues are locked into a TV contract that can't properly reflect any gains in viewership. That Levy contract sounds like a doozy, too, though if I'm not mistaken the Blackhawks did something similar when the United Center switched from Bismarck (a division of WirtzCorp) to Levy, and the Blackhawks seem to be doing fine if you don't listen to the lying owner and the newspapers he owns or influences.

 

All that being said, I hope the loss of the Rams does direct some money the Blues' way, because I'm all about strengthening hockey in the midwest (even though St. Louis is kind of the midwest's weird bastard half-brother) and I want a healthy, vibrant, competitive Blues team for the Blackhawks to kick around.

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I think the other message here is that Stillman fits in fine with the long parade of local Blues owners who don't actually have money.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

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2 hours ago, rams80 said:

I think the other message here is that Stillman fits in fine with the long parade of local Blues NHL owners who don't actually have money.

 

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| ANA | LAA | LAR | LAL | ASU | CSULBUSMNT | USWNTLAFC | OCSCMAN UTD |

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Also, "aging Scottrade Center"? It's not even 22 years old! Now I know by Atlanta Braves standards, this makes it the Polo Grounds, but that's nothing with proper upkeep. Whatever we're supposed to call the Ice Palace this year is just under 20 years old and Lightning ownership has it looking state-of-the-art. The United Center is the same age and looks to be in great shape. Maybe Dave Peacock can ramrod a National Car Rental Arena through the legislature and the Blues can move to the riverfront.

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♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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So Melnyk is proposing a new Senators arena at Lebreton Flats (a parcel of land in downtown Ottawa that no one is doing anything with). If he's using his own money to do it, okay, whatever, cool, probably good for the Senators and the city. Where it gets weird is that a competing group that doesn't own the Senators is also proposing a new arena at the site, with this group being backed by the Desmarais family, one of a few that more or less runs Quebec. My suspicion is that this is being done ultimately to squeeze Melnyk out of the league and finally capitalize, if you'll pardon the expression, on the Senateurs as a bilingual team, thereby leaving no room for Quebec City.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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22 hours ago, the admiral said:

Also, "aging Scottrade Center"? It's not even 22 years old! Now I know by Atlanta Braves standards, this makes it the Polo Grounds, but that's nothing with proper upkeep. Whatever we're supposed to call the Ice Palace this year is just under 20 years old and Lightning ownership has it looking state-of-the-art. The United Center is the same age and looks to be in great shape. Maybe Dave Peacock can ramrod a National Car Rental Arena through the legislature and the Blues can move to the riverfront.

 

Well, the time to ask for upgrades would be right after another pro team just left the city. Like, hey, we're happy to be here, but make our arena better or we might think about leaving like that other team.

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7 hours ago, tigerslionspistonshabs said:

 

Well, the time to ask for upgrades would be right after another pro team just left the city. Like, hey, we're happy to be here, but make our arena better or we might think about leaving like that other team.

Worked for the Astros.

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On January 26, 2016 at 2:12 PM, the admiral said:

Also, "aging Scottrade Center"? It's not even 22 years old! Now I know by Atlanta Braves standards, this makes it the Polo Grounds, but that's nothing with proper upkeep. Whatever we're supposed to call the Ice Palace this year is just under 20 years old and Lightning ownership has it looking state-of-the-art. The United Center is the same age and looks to be in great shape. Maybe Dave Peacock can ramrod a National Car Rental Arena through the legislature and the Blues can move to the riverfront.

 

The Flyers Center is 20 and in great shape  because it's kept up well and upgraded all the time. I haven't been in any brand-new indoor arenas to compare, but other than not having a giant wall of suites (which I guess is a trend now) I can't imagine there being a huge difference.  

 

if designed right and maintained well, 20 years between 96-16 is like an hour compared to the 20 years between 76-96, which is like... well, 20 years. 

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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I've gone to St. Louis twice to see a game and it's definitely fine. Compare it to the other similar rinks I've been to (Anaheim, San Jose, Glendale, Ottawa, Montreal) and I think it's in as good a shape as any of those. Even compared to the larger spaces (Los Angeles, Denver, and Dallas) it's good. None of those or St. Louis is at a Detroit/Joe Louis level quite yet and probably won't be for a while.

 

 

Spoiler

(Is this post a slight humblebrag of my NHL travels? Maybe. And I'll be adding Chicago to the list in two and a half weeks.)

 

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The immediate neighborhood or lack thereof is probably a bigger concern than the arena itself: I think it's just a bunch of bus stops and train stations underneath overpasses. Just about every major American city has expressway viaducts, but there's something about the ones around downtown St. Louis that just make the whole area feel so grim.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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7 hours ago, the admiral said:

The immediate neighborhood or lack thereof is probably a bigger concern than the arena itself: I think it's just a bunch of bus stops and train stations underneath overpasses. Just about every major American city has expressway viaducts, but there's something about the ones around downtown St. Louis that just make the whole area feel so grim.

I can confirm this. My wife and I had lunch at a hotel restaurant by Union Station/Scottrade and other than the fake lake in the station the area was pretty damn run down and desolate.

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baaaaaahahahaha what a :censored: in' garage league.

 

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/a-guy-like-me/

On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said:

For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA.

PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12.

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1 hour ago, Sodboy13 said:

baaaaaahahahaha what a :censored: in' garage league.

 

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/a-guy-like-me/

 

Like what is this? What kind of league is this?

Quote

So when someone from the NHL calls me and says, “Do you think this is something your kids would be proud of?”
… That’s when they lost me.
That was it, right there. That was the moment.
Because, while I may not deserve to be an NHL All-Star, I know I deserve to be the judge of what my kids will — and won’t — be proud of me for.

 

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34 minutes ago, monkeypower said:

So when someone from the NHL calls me and says, “Do you think this is something your kids would be proud of?”
… That’s when they lost me.
That was it, right there. That was the moment.
Because, while I may not deserve to be an NHL All-Star, I know I deserve to be the judge of what my kids will — and won’t — be proud of me for.

 

Yea I hope his kids are proud of their father who is probably the worst player to okay in the NHL in the past 10 years who got voted into the ASG solely for the basis of a joke. 

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51 minutes ago, TRoyConcepts said:

 

Yea I hope his kids are proud of their father who is probably the worst player to okay in the NHL in the past 10 years who got voted into the ASG solely for the basis of a joke. 

 

 

Did you even read the article? 

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On 11/19/2012 at 7:23 PM, oldschoolvikings said:
She’s still half convinced “Chris Creamer” is a porn site.)
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39 minutes ago, LMU said:

Scott is the equivalent of the nerd voted Homecoming King. I'm half expecting him to receive wedgies and wet willies during the game.

 

Am I supposed to feel bad after reading this? The people who voted him into the game to make a stand against his existence should feel bad.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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So you didn't.

On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said:

For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA.

PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12.

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