Nashville Predators refinance $75m line of credit

Jeffrey93

Registered User
Nov 7, 2007
4,335
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It's neat to see how one guy asks if this is a sign of something bad coming...and everyone jumps all over him. Instead of just saying 'No I don't think so, sometimes it is but it doesn't appear to be in this case.' people choose to go overboard and start bringing up traditional vs. non-traditional hockey markets...people praying for failure...etc., etc.

If people on these boards would look in the mirror...they would see that they are no different. Yes, some focus on what is bad in these markets and seemingly ignore the good....while others ignore the bad and focus on only the good.

Doomsday proclaimers are one thing...but realize I was told the Coyotes are a success because minor hockey participation in Arizona has increased.

It works both ways, no need to fly off the handle anytime somebody asks if something a franchise did could be a bad sign.
 

King of Arcadia

Registered User
Feb 11, 2010
585
1
trouble or not you have to admire the Predators for icing a fairly competitive team year after year despite no major stars on their roster. :)
 

tarheelhockey

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Feb 12, 2010
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It's neat to see how one guy asks if this is a sign of something bad coming...and everyone jumps all over him. Instead of just saying 'No I don't think so, sometimes it is but it doesn't appear to be in this case.' people choose to go overboard and start bringing up traditional vs. non-traditional hockey markets...people praying for failure...etc., etc.

Yes but when that person has an openly-stated agenda of wanting to find a team for his hometown, it's pretty obvious why he's bringing up the subject of financial trouble.
 

Jeffrey93

Registered User
Nov 7, 2007
4,335
46
Parking Rights!!! How much for the parking rights to your driveway? :)

This is hilarious.

But I don't think you understand how parking rights work. It's HIS driveway....so he would have to pay somebody else about 3x the value of his home to keep those rights.

I'm pretty sure that is how it works anyway......
 

Seth Lake

Registered User
Jun 28, 2005
8,952
160
Nashville, TN
In the wake of a $75 million credit influx, Nashville Predators chairman Tom Cigarran sees a bright future for the team – one that won't include moving trucks.

Tuesday, the team announced a $75 million credit facility fueled by a cadre of local and regional banks, which Cigarran says should be notice the once-rocky financial situation for the team is firming up.

"If you go back to when we purchased the team in 2007, the business climate was totally different. It was pretty easy to get money," said Cigarran, who took over as chairman from David Freeman 11 months ago. "It's gone from very easy to very difficult. The fact we were able to do it at all says a lot. The local banks all chimed in, and they see some of the things we've been doing. And unless that happens, we won't be able to do the things that … will keep [the team] here forever. That's what we're about. When we re-organized back in Feburary, we said we are committed to do everything we can to keep the team here."

http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2011/1/5/this_team_will_be_here_forever

Unlike the hacks at the Tennessean with an agenda, J.R. Lind has been very detailed and unbiased in his reporting on Predators financial/business issues...
 

tarheelhockey

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It's certainly a good opportunity to lock the team into a sustainable long-term financial model. Sounds like they've mostly cleaned up their debt situation... the team is owned almost entirely by locals... attendance is coming up... if they can land a favorable arena lease, it would be almost a guarantee that they can weather any future attendance dips. Meaning they can afford to build a team the right way, without having to think of tomorrow's ticket figures, and attract a more stable long-term base of support.

Good on them. I've met Karl Dean and he seems like a reasonable guy, so I hope negotations turn out well. Preds fans have a lot to be proud of here.
 

Free Edler

Enjoy retirement, boys.
Feb 27, 2002
25,385
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Surrey, BC
Glad to see the Preds are getting more and more stable. Good on them for this turnaround, hopefully on-ice success follows. All they need now is a guy (or maybe a couple guys) who can put the puck in the net.
 

Gnashville

HFBoards Hall of Famer
Jan 7, 2003
13,683
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It's also funny how jealousy is starting to rear it's head here.

The article clearly states that:The Predators have one foot in the grave here in Nashville and are leaving voice-mails on the Winnipeg's Vice Mayor's phone daily. So I should expect the bankruptcy filing next week and the Winnipeg Predators to start playing in March. That is unless St. Jim Baldy the national hero of Canada gets involved. Then the Hamilton Predators or maybe they are looking at Quebec or maybe Halifax. Because a non-traditional market cannot be trending upward they are all failures and disasters ruining the game of hockey and should be move back to where they rightfully belong..:sarcasm::sarcasm:
 

Whileee

Registered User
May 29, 2010
46,061
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Investors = $$$

Not that I want to get involved in yet another discussion about the merits of hockey franchises in "non-traditional markets", but in calculating the future success of franchises it occurs to me that companies that make lots of money often want fewer owners, and companies that are losing lots of money want more owners.

It's true that "Investors = $$$", but a much better business model is "Lots of Paying Customers = $$$".
 

tarheelhockey

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Feb 12, 2010
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Not that I want to get involved in yet another discussion about the merits of hockey franchises in "non-traditional markets", but in calculating the future success of franchises it occurs to me that companies that make lots of money often want fewer owners, and companies that are losing lots of money want more owners.

It's true that "Investors = $$$", but a much better business model is "Lots of Paying Customers = $$$".

Expanding businesses often look for new investors. The Preds are coming out of a serious crisis that nearly caused them to relocate -- now that they have (or soon will have) their financial problems settled and the franchise has a near-guarantee of stability, it's the appropriate time to look for new investors.

It's actually laid out pretty clearly in the article SLake posted.

Shedding Del Biaggio and finalizing the $75 million opens the door for the partners to find some more new money, a process Cigarran expects to start within a few weeks.

"We couldn't start that until we got the financing done, until we had the Boots situation taken care of. All those pieces were like stepping stones," he said. "We're not going to run out of money when Boots presents his bill for $39 million, which he could have done in January. We have this bank financing. No investor was going to put money up [before]. ... We had to get those pieces in place."

Regarding new owners, Cigarran said "We are going to start in two or three weeks. We don't need a 100 people, we need, say, three. We want them to be compatible, look at this investment the right way." As for a time frame, don't look for news soon: It may be "a year or two years" before the new partners are in place.
 

AllByDesign

Who's this ABD guy??
Mar 17, 2010
2,317
0
Location, Location!
It's also funny how jealousy is starting to rear it's head here.
The article clearly states that:The Predators have one foot in the grave here in Nashville and are leaving voice-mails on the Winnipeg's Vice Mayor's phone daily. So I should expect the bankruptcy filing next week and the Winnipeg Predators to start playing in March. That is unless St. Jim Baldy the national hero of Canada gets involved. Then the Hamilton Predators or maybe they are looking at Quebec or maybe Halifax. Because a non-traditional market cannot be trending upward they are all failures and disasters ruining the game of hockey and should be move back to where they rightfully belong..:sarcasm::sarcasm:

Wow... I wasn't expecting an entire bowl full of sarcasm first thing in the morning... I'm going to need a BM after that.

Okay, if things are so rosy in Nashville, why are they wanting new investors? Colour me skeptical....

Really... did it say wanting?? I will re-read the article, but I don't recall it was out of necessity. I will get back to you.
 

Evil Doctor

Cryin' Hank crying
Apr 29, 2009
2,400
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Cambridge, ON
I beg to differ with you- many posters are hoping and praying for failure. Their reasons seem to vary.

There are many posters that are praying for franchises to fail because of the inclination of opinion that hockey in non-traditional markets can't possibly work... Trying to convince otherwise is a futile task.

You must be new to the Business forum. Welcome.

I stand by by what I said, not one person here 'hopes and prays' that a franchise fails. Commenting on problems the NHL is facing is not the same as 'hoping and praying' a franchise fails. Too many Bettman apologists extrapolate any criticism as being 'pro-relocationist' or 'anti-sunbelt'. You've been on the receiving end of that label on many occasions yourself AllBy...
 

tarheelhockey

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I stand by by what I said, not one person here 'hopes and prays' that a franchise fails. Commenting on problems the NHL is facing is not the same as 'hoping and praying' a franchise fails. Too many Bettman apologists extrapolate any criticism as being 'pro-relocationist' or 'anti-sunbelt'. You've been on the receiving end of that label on many occasions yourself AllBy...

On the contrary, certain forumers here have expressed in very clear terms their hopes that a southern franchise fails so it can be relocated.
 

Whileee

Registered User
May 29, 2010
46,061
33,043
Expanding businesses often look for new investors. The Preds are coming out of a serious crisis that nearly caused them to relocate -- now that they have (or soon will have) their financial problems settled and the franchise has a near-guarantee of stability, it's the appropriate time to look for new investors.

It's actually laid out pretty clearly in the article SLake posted.

I have the funny feeling that certain forumers are guilty of posting without reading the articles.

I read the article, and I understand the concept of new investors generally, and specifically in this case.

Given the history, this is clearly a positive thing for Nashville.

I was simply musing about the fact that seeking new investors for a rather stable business model (how are the Nashville Predators "expanding" as a business?) generally indicates some problems, at least short term, in the underlying profitability. Consider the various NHL franchises that have been seeking new owners / investors over the past several years and I think that they tend to have underlying problems with the basic business model. We seldom hear about owners of the very profitable franchises seeking out new investors with whom to share the profits.
 

tarheelhockey

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I was simply musing about the fact that seeking new investors for a rather stable business model (how are the Nashville Predators "expanding" as a business?) generally indicates some problems, at least short term, in the underlying profitability. Consider the various NHL franchises that have been seeking new owners / investors over the past several years and I think that they tend to have underlying problems with the basic business model. We seldom hear about owners of the very profitable franchises seeking out new investors with whom to share the profits.

They aren't "expanding" in the sense of opening new locations, but they are certainly in a position now to direct their time and resources toward expanding their brand. The past few years have been largely tied up in front-office issues ranging from the owner getting arrested to the arena getting flooded. With Del Baggio's share still hanging out there, a bit more capital would probably do them a lot of good in terms of affording better (or at least more expensive) players, running more sophisticated ad campaigns, and generally being able to add more oomph to their operations.
 

Evil Doctor

Cryin' Hank crying
Apr 29, 2009
2,400
6
Cambridge, ON
Really... did it say wanting?? I will re-read the article, but I don't recall it was out of necessity. I will get back to you.

Er...the whole point of the re-financing was to make it easier to attract investors...

Predators Chairman Tom Cigarran said refinancing the debt allows the team to recruit additional local investors

Want...Recruit...that's a hair way too fine for me to split...

The point of course is not the refinancing, so they want to save a few bucks (if I understand the process). The point is the need for new investors, which, I believe, by definition, is out of necessity.
 

AllByDesign

Who's this ABD guy??
Mar 17, 2010
2,317
0
Location, Location!
I You've been on the receiving end of that label on many occasions yourself AllBy...


It has been a preconceived notion that I am anti-sunbelt because I reside in Manitoba... as if it is a residential pre-requisite of the province. I am anything but a pro-relocationist.

I disagree with particular comments made by fans in sunbelt areas on the merrits of their arguments. If the point they are trying to make is week or flawed I will voice my opinion as such. It doesn't mean I don't think hockey can thrive in those areas, I believe in the contrary. I just don't always agree with the angle that may be taken. Other people think I am just a devil's aadvocate or even a flip-flopper. Either way, I think NHL hockey can flourish anywhere there is a population with money to spend.
 

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