Posted by Carl Fogliani at 12:00 am on Mar 19, 2009 Comments Off on City of Stockton in the Hockey Business?
I was a little taken aback this morning when I read in the
Stockton Record that the City of Stockton, or shall we say the City
Manager (since it seems from the article that none of the elected
officials on council were aware of what was going on), is
attempting to cobble together a way to purchase the Stockton
Thunder hockey team from owner Michael Reinsdorf. The excuse
is that because they feel they have an unfavorable lease that the
city can then either keep the team or re-sell it to ownership with
a lease agreement that is favorable to the city. The only
person on council who opposed it immediately was uber-left
councilwoman Susan Eggman.
As many of you know, I am a rabid hockey fan. I have also
been an active participant in the debates over public financing of
sports teams and facilities. It is a much easier case to make
in spending public dollars for facilities than it is to actually
BUY a franchise.
The interesting side to this story is the dramatic success of
the Stockton Thunder hockey franchise that has become the crown
jewel of the ECHL with attendance that other franchises could only
hope for. This success has led the ownership to upgrade… Read More