Preds Owners Have To Ante Up

((HT: Tennessean/Schrade))

This is, probably, the last thing the owners of the Nashville Predators needed to have happen while the NHL playoffs were going on without them...

Brad Schrade tells us that the owners get to pay the city after the 2008-2009 season.

Not making the NHL playoffs cost the Predators local owners, who recently had to kick in more money to Nashville's hockey enterprise because of a cash flow shortage.

While being characterized as a minor matter, it underscores the fragility of professional hockey operating in smaller and Southern markets. Former Predators owner Craig Leipold said he lost millions in Nashville before selling the team to the local ownership group in December 2007. During his tenure, Leipold had to make capital calls to generate additional cash flow.

A lawyer representing local owner Herb Fritch said the recent call for additional money among the owners resulted because of a "slight revenue shortfall" when the team didn't make the playoffs at the end of the season. Attorney Bob Tuke said the amount called was not significant, although he did not have specific figures.


"It's a cyclical thing," Tuke said. "This is not a big deal."

Tuke, a Nashville lawyer and a 2008 U.S. senatorial candidate, started representing Fritch a few months ago as financial relationships among the owners grew more complicated in the wake of the William "Boots" Del Biaggio scandal.

Del Biaggio was brought into the ownership group in late 2007 because the local owners wanted an outside partner with financial wherewithal to help with the purchase.

That mirage of a deep-pocketed California financier disappeared last June when Del Biaggio filed for bankruptcy. He now faces prison time for a scheme involving his 27 percent stake in the team, which he defrauded investors out of millions to acquire.

Tuke said there's no rancor among the local owners.

"Everybody seems to get along really well in the local ownership group," Tuke said. "Generally, the financial condition is good. It will be a lot better when we get the issue of Del Biaggio resolved."

The local owners have made an offer to buy Del Biaggio's shares out of bankruptcy.

The managing partner of the local group, David Freeman, declined an interview request to talk about the capital call. Team spokesman Gerry Helper said he wouldn't "confirm or deny" if there was a call for additional money.

"These are issues that are ownership-related issues that are not for public discussion," Helper said. "Those are handled amongst the owners and that's where they should stay."

When Metro renegotiated its agreement with the team to play at the city-owned Sommet Center, provisions were included in the lease that called for millions in additional tax dollars directed to the team to help make it viable in Nashville.

That agreement also allows the local ownership group to break its lease with Metro under certain provisions tied to attendance and the financial success of the team. Metro Sports Authority vice chairman Steve North said there's interest in the financial success of the team, but no official action for the authority to take. He said the team has been living up to its financial obligations.

"I certainly want our major tenant in which we have invested and promised to invest substantial sums of money, I want them to be solvent, to be successful and be able to fulfill our expectations when we made that kind of investment," North said.

Despite the tough economic times, ticket sales are on track with where they were a year ago with renewals well over 70 percent, Helper said. New sales are slightly ahead of last year, he said. The team sold about 8,700 season tickets last year, which include full and partial season packages. For information about purchasing tickets go to predators.nhl.com.

Check out their new spokesperson...