Carolina Hurricanes get 20 year lease extension

[mikecubs]

Peter Karmanos Sells Carolina Hurricanes To Texas Billionaire

Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon has signed a purchase agreement to buy a majority stake in the Carolina Hurricanes from longtime owner Peter Karmanos.

The team announced the agreement Thursday, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the team would not move.

The move marks the latest step toward the end of Karmanos' lengthy attempt to sell the team he moved from Hartford to North Carolina two decades ago, angering Whalers fans. Karmanos will retain an equity stake in the franchise.

Dundon is the 46-year-old former CEO of Santander Consumer USA, a Dallas-based lending firm. He's also an investor in the Top Golf chain of golf and entertainment facilities and a key financier of a new golf course in Dallas.

"I am thrilled to continue to build upon what Peter Karmanos started in Raleigh," Dundon said in a statement from the team. "The Hurricanes are a team on the rise, and I believe we have an opportunity to take the franchise to the next level. I'm ready to get to work."

Dundon will control all team operations once the deal receives league approval and is finalized.

"Tom has had tremendous success in business, and I fully expect that to continue as he takes control of the Hurricanes," Karmanos said in a statement. "I look forward to working with him, and bringing another Stanley Cup to North Carolina."

Karmanos had been publicly seeking a local buyer for at least three years. He acknowledged over the summer that he and a group led by former Texas Rangers CEO Steve Greenberg had agreed to a term sheet but did not come to terms on a purchase agreement. He also said he was looking for a sale price of about $500 million.

Karmanos bought the Hartford Whalers franchise in 1994 and moved it south three years later.

Reports about another possible relocation have plagued the Hurricanes even as team officials and even Bettman have persistently and repeatedly denied them. Bettman said at the All-Star game in January that "the club is not moving" and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly echoed that sentiment by saying the league is committed to Raleigh in the same manner it has stuck with the Phoenix area during years of struggles for the Coyotes.

Karmanos in 2015 said "we'd have to be idiots to move from here," largely because of the team's PNC Arena lease, which extends through 2024 and is considered one of the most team-friendly in the league.

In its most recent franchise valuations, Forbes magazine ranked the Hurricanes last in the NHL at $230 million. Bill Foley paid a $500 million expansion fee to the league to bring the Golden Knights to Las Vegas.

Carolina ranks next to last in the league in attendance this season, averaging 11,863 fans through 13 home games, after finishing last in the NHL in each of the previous two seasons. The Hurricanes drew an average of just 11,776 fans to their 18,680-seat home arena in 2016-17 and filled it to just 63 percent capacity — their lowest per-game average since they moved into the building for the 1999-2000 season. They averaged just 12,204 at home the year before.

The best way to improve those numbers, of course, is with a winning team — and it's been a while since Carolina had one.

The 2006 Stanley Cup champions have made the postseason only once (2009) since the club captured its lone title. They have the longest playoff drought in the NHL at eight years. The Hurricanes entered Thursday night's game at San Jose with an 11-10-5 record, tied for last place in the Metropolitan Division, and were six points out of a wild-card playoff spot with 27 points.

www.courant.com/sports/hockey/hc-carolina-hurricanes-sale-1208-20171207-story.html

[pokeybandit]

Where do they find all these idiots? How much money has this team lost over the years... guess it’s nothing more than tax write-off

[mikecubs]

According to the team president the team actually made $2M last year.

nsjonline.com/article/2017/08/hurricanes-waddell-says-team-made-2m-room-for-growth/

I think Carolina can be similar to Nashville someday if this guy is a good owner. Raleigh has over 3M people within an hour drive, has no other pro sports competition(and likely never will) and is one of the fastest growing cities in the US or Canada. Raleigh isn't hopeless like the Panthers/Coyotes.

[pokeybandit]

Dec 11, 2017 15:07:00 GMT -6 mikecubs said:

According to the team president the team actually made $2M last year.

nsjonline.com/article/2017/08/hurricanes-waddell-says-team-made-2m-room-for-growth/

I think Carolina can be similar to Nashville someday if this guy is a good owner. Raleigh has over 3M people within an hour drive, has no other pro sports competition(and likely never will) and is one of the fastest growing cities in the US or Canada. Raleigh isn't hopeless like the Panthers/Coyotes.

BS..... let’s see let’s say actual attendance is around 10,000 (butts in seats) with cheap seats. There’s is no way this sh** venture can make money

[mikecubs]

If it was BS they wouldn't have been bought by a billionaire. An edge ice/Anthony LeBlanc group would have showed up. Forbes has them as making $3M last year. They probably are fudging on it being sold for $500M or whatever they announce however.

When you look historically at the Hurricanes attendance/the only 3 seasons of leaked gate data that we have show they aren't the Panthers/Coyotes.

In 06-07 the Hurricanes were tied for 18th in gate $ with $28.7M
In 07-08 they were 21st with $28.7M
In 10-11 they were tied for 21st with $27.06M

That's not a world beater/Canada/the Rangers/Blackhawks etc... but worth keeping. There's absolutely no reason they can't be Nashville 2.0/Tampa 2.0 post Karmanos. They made $2M despite having been run into the ground by Karmanos. The new owner sees it as Karmanos is a loser, Raleigh is a good sized 1 team market and it's highly unlikely another major sport will ever come. A few playoff appearances here and there and you can be a respectable lower 1/3rd market.

I really hope Quebec gets a team but it should be the Coyotes/Panthers/Islanders NOT Carolina.

[mikecubs]

Per Forbes the Coyotes lost $19M last year. They play in an over saturated market with 3 other teams. They play in the middle of no where. The market can't handle 2 arenas(concert wise) and they want a 3rd built for them.

Per Forbes the Panthers lost $11M last year. They play in a remote arena next to the Everglades. LOL The downtown arena can't accommodate hockey if anyone is of the idea downtown can save them. The Heat extended their lease through 2034-35 a few years ago when they got some renovations. With the Marlins stadium deal ripoff there is 0 chance another arena/facility will be built.

The Islanders lost $8.6M last year. They couldn't sell the good seats at the Barclays Center. They are being kicked out because they failed to perform at the gate. New York has 2 other NHL teams and very few would miss them. It's questionable is NY can handle a 4th modern arena concert wise.

It should be Coyotes to Houston, Panthers to Quebec, maybe the Islanders to Seattle.

Losing Carolina would be a mistake. They made money and can be fixed better. They don't have the type of horrible flaws these other 3 do.

[Ric O.]

Dec 11, 2017 15:07:00 GMT -6 mikecubs said:

According to the team president the team actually made $2M last year.

nsjonline.com/article/2017/08/hurricanes-waddell-says-team-made-2m-room-for-growth/

I think Carolina can be similar to Nashville someday if this guy is a good owner. Raleigh has over 3M people within an hour drive, has no other pro sports competition(and likely never will) and is one of the fastest growing cities in the US or Canada. Raleigh isn't hopeless like the Panthers/Coyotes.

Wonder if they factored expansion money into that...

[pokeybandit]

And how much did the Jets make?

[mikecubs]

Dec 11, 2017 22:33:51 GMT -6 Ric O. said:

Dec 11, 2017 15:07:00 GMT -6 mikecubs said:

According to the team president the team actually made $2M last year.

nsjonline.com/article/2017/08/hurricanes-waddell-says-team-made-2m-room-for-growth/

I think Carolina can be similar to Nashville someday if this guy is a good owner. Raleigh has over 3M people within an hour drive, has no other pro sports competition(and likely never will) and is one of the fastest growing cities in the US or Canada. Raleigh isn't hopeless like the Panthers/Coyotes.

Wonder if they factored expansion money into that...

from the article(snip)

Despite ranking last out of 30 teams in attendance last season (11,776 per game), Waddell said the Hurricanes made approximately $2 million.

While each of the NHL’s 30 teams received a $16 million cut of the incoming Vegas Golden Knights’ $500 million expansion fee, Waddell said the Hurricanes made money even without the one-time influx of expansion cash.

“The Las Vegas money would be up and above that,” Waddell said of the team making a profit. “We made $18 million — it’s a true statement — but really you’d be selling something that’s not going to continue, let’s say.”

[mikecubs]

Dec 11, 2017 23:03:28 GMT -6 pokeybandit said:

And how much did the Jets make?

$10M

Now it would be a lot greater than that but remember the Jets and all Canadian sports teams basically take 20-25% of their local money and put it in a bon fire due to the Canadian dollar. Plus the Jets had rotten timing when it comes to their local TV deal. The Texas Rangers in baseball really signed the 1st massive TV deal in sports in 2011 right after the Jets signed their local TV deal. After the Rangers deal local TV rights exploded in MLB/NBA/NHL.

[stormtrooper]

The Triangle with close to 3M people and growing like nuts and in a state of 11M people, I am sure their sponsorship $$ are pretty strong. In 2006 they made some big $$ and not making the playoffs, attendance is down but start playing decent hockey 2 years in a row, the Canes will be back in the good for attendance.

[stormtrooper]

article on canes purchase

www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article193893624.html

[Ric O.]

^ According to that column it sounds like he will be a good owner and positive for the franchise. If the fans are still there in the woodwork it shouldn't take long to start filling the seats again.

[mikecubs]

Jan 10, 2018 11:16:01 GMT -6 stormtrooper said:

article on canes purchase

www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article193893624.html

Thank you for posting this! Very good sign that he is friends with Mark Cuban and it sounds like he will be a hockey version of Cuban. Cuban is one of the best owners in sports.

I really believe the Hurricanes are going to be a Nashville Predators 2.0

Despite the Cup win Karmanos is a loser. Look at the long playoff drought.

[mikecubs]

Dundon hasn't thought about moving Hurricanes

Dallas businessman Tom Dundon finalized a deal to become the majority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday and said he hasn’t considered moving the club amid low attendance numbers.

“I like the market. It’s not even something I’ve ever thought about,” Dundon told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic.


The Hurricanes sit second-last in the NHL in attendance this season, averaging 12,494 per game according to ESPN. Only the New York Islanders (12,041) are lower.

“As a matter of fact, what we’re focused on is improving the fan experience which means adding amenities to the building and also extending the lease. So, I’d say that’s the priority. I literally have not spent one moment thinking about any sort of move. It would be almost impossible to conceive of that happening,” Dundon said.

The lease of PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, expires following the 2023-24 season.

“I want this building improved and the fan experience improved immediately. So that comes with a lease extension which I intend to sign.”

Any team’s purchase agreement mandates that the team stays in the current market for a minimum of seven years.

Dundon’s 61 per cent share gives him the controlling interest in the Hurricanes, which he acquired Thursday from former owner Peter Karmanos, who bought the team in 1994 when they were the Hartford Whalers. After a successful first decade in Raleigh culminating in a Stanley Cup win in 2006, the club has missed the playoffs the last eight seasons.

Despite recent struggles, Dundon is optimistic about the future of his new club.

“They’re some good players. We’re competitive. We’re probably early in whatever that window is, I guess everybody wants to say their window should be permanent, but I’m fortunate to come in on the hockey side with something that’s able to compete now and hopefully incremental improvements from here,” Dundon told LeBrun.

Coming into play Thursday, the Hurricanes sit second-last in the Metropolitan Division at 19-15-8.

www.tsn.ca/dundon-hasn-t-thought-about-moving-hurricanes-1.965789