St. Louis Blues Sale Update
Its been over a year since Dave Checketts put the St. Louis Blues up for sale and the process is still dragging on. With the recent sale of Atlanta and the pending sale of the Dallas Stars, interest has finally started to pick up with the Blues. Last week the number of potential buyers exploded from one to as many as five.
From the start, minority owner Tom Stillman and a group of local investors have been the only real potential buyers of this franchise. Stillman owns 10% of the Blues and the other assets associated with the team. When Checketts officially put the team up for sale, Stillman and his group offered to buy the team for just over $100 million.
The offer was rejected but the group still remains large as a potential buyer. The Blues were valued by Forbes last year at $165 million and Checketts asking price is in the $200 million range. If this group is to buy the Blues they will have to substantially up their offer and hope Checketts comes down for the sake of the team and city.
Early this week, Matthew Hulsizer threw his name into the ring for ownership of the team as well. Hulsizer is coming off of a failed attempt to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes organization. Hulsizer reportedly offered between $165 and $170 million and also wants Checketts to stay on board os the director. Checketts has maintained that he will not stay with the team and as of yet has not been approached by anyone about staying on.
Hulsizer’s bid for Phoenix was not rejected by the NHL Board of Governors but by a local organization, the Goldwater Institute. Hulsizer would have been paid by the taxpayers to operate the Phoenix Arena as part of the deal and that’s when the Institute stepped in. They issued news releases and paperwork threatening the sale and led the process to a prolonged court battle that eventually led to Hulsizer walking away.
Hulsizer has deep pockets but he won’t get the sweetheart deal he was going to get in Phoenix and will pay more out of pocket for the Blues. But he has the desire and willingness to pay and lead this team and could be a good fit for the city.
As of this time the other potential buyers are unknown but one or two may be the losers in the Dallas bid. With the Stars being bought by Canadian businessmen Tom Gaglardi, there are a few prospects from the Texas area who could intrigue fans.
One such person is Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Cuban had been pursuing Stars and as well as American Airlines Arena to package the Stars and Mavs for Dallas fans. With the sale of the Stars, might Cuban turn his attention to a struggling but proud franchise in a championship deprived city?
Fans on www.stlouisgametime.com have taken up a twitter petition to Cuban with the hopes of him seeing his worth in the city and their hopes for him to buy the team. While no names have surfaced, if Cuban’s name pops up in any report it will make St. Louis a very nice destination for any player in the league.
On Thursday, Checketts talked with the St. Louis Post Dispatch and said he hoped to have the list of potential buyers narrowed to one within a few weeks. Checketts, the Blues, and the city of St. Louis hope to have this whole situation settled by the start of the season but much remains to be done. If the deal gets done, fans can look forward to a great season with no worries except who will the Blues trade for the push them into the playoffs.
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