New ownership group: Lightning to stay

The Lightning's new ownership group has no plans to move the team out of Tampa, it announced during a news conference Tuesday morning at the St. Pete Times Forum. Watch video.

"Absolute zero thought of that,'' said former Florida Panthers coach and Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Doug MacLean, who will join Coral Springs developer Jeff Sherrin and Hollywood producer Oren Koules as co-owners. "Quite honest(ly), it never entered our minds.''

The group, called Absolute Hockey Enterprises, purchased the Lightning, its lease agreement with Hillsborough County, the St. Pete Times Forum and two pieces of adjacent property from Palace Sports & Entertainment. The deal awaits league approval, which is expected to be a formality. Sherrin declined to reveal the price "until we go through the NHL approval stage.'' He said there will be nine or 10 principal owners in all, including another partnership group that is out of town this week.

As a show of their commitment to keeping the franchise in town, MacLean, Sherrin and Koules said they will move to the Tampa Bay area. "I only have one hurdle,'' said Koules, a former minor pro hockey player who will work to improve the team's marketability, "and that's the humidity.''

MacLean said the group's goals are to "create a great business model, and we also want to win hockey games, because I think the two have to go hand in hand.'' With respect to the payroll (current owner Bill Davidson had set a $44-million ceiling for this season), MacLean said the new owners will step back and take a look at their business model and make decisions as a group. "It's something we're going to look at and evaluate the team on a weekly basis,'' he said.

Tom Wilson, the Lightning's chairman and governor, said Palace Sports had not planned to sell the team and had turned down previous offers. But they felt good about Absolute Hockey's passion for hockey, Florida roots and commitments to the game, the city and to making the Lightning the best franchise in hockey. "We never made money but for our Stanley Cup year, but that wasn't the driver,'' Wilson said. "To be honest, I can't really tell you what the driver was.''

MacLean said he met with Lightning GM Jay Feaster on Monday and will get together with coach John Tortorella today. He said the new ownership plans to keep the Lightning administration in place, specifically naming Feaster, Tortorella, team president Ron Campbell and director of player personnel Bill Barber as people they'd like to keep on board.

Mayor Pam Iorio issued this statement: "The City of Tampa has had a positive relationship with Palace Sports and Entertainment. We look forward to meeting with the new owners and continuing this valuable partnership. It is important to the city and to the region that the Tampa Bay Lightning remains a part of our community. We wish the franchise on-going success and we will do all we can as a partner to ensure their future.''

Photo by Ken Helle | Times: The new owners, from left to right: Jeffrey Sherrin, an Orlando developer, Oren Koules, a Hollywood producer, and former NHL coach Doug MacLean.

Comments

[Bandersnatch]

Not good to see these guys holding sweater #1---the Curse of Wendell Young?!?

This can't be a happy day in Pantherland. Doug MacLean was a crafty GM there and expanded his reputation as a winner. (They can now stop laughing after unloading Gratton on us.)
To say he did little good in Columbus is a distortion, they did wrong by him with the financial constraints. (Imagine how tounge-in-cheek he'll be when we want Denis run out of town---again.)

Very happy to have hockey people at the helm of our ship.

Go Bolts!

[Olan Hill]

Watch out Tampa!! Jeffrey Sherrin is from Orlando.....ironically a City that just approved a $500 Million Dollar Arena for the Orlando Magic. With the current least at the St. Pete Times forum ending in 2015 - look for a strong push by Orlando to steal the Lightning.

[Ray]

Definitely don't expect the payroll to go up unless they raise the season ticket prices bigtime. Just hope they realize that there's no big 'business' to drive those ticket prices up.

And this area is mainly made-up of the hospitality industry that has limited payroll to go toward entertainment, so hope they keep that in mind as well.

Geesh, an ex-Panthers coach owning the Lightning. Arrrrgggg!!!!

[agatha]

MacLean didn't like the 28th payroll as coach but he may sing a different tune as owner. Also not an ideal situation having an ex-coach looking over Jay's and Torts' shoulders. As a longtime fan, I'm wary of this ownership change.

[jim]

well, from what i see, i think there are going to be some player changes, ticket prices going up, and hopfully player payroll goin up to attract the quality players we need in certain places! goaltender is one major concern!

[74]

I just hope we don't have to hear Dollar Bill's clowns cry about losing money anymore. As Tort's would put it "I hope the door doesn't hit him on the way out". I think this current group will make the Bolts THE southeast pwerhouse!

[Andrzej]

As long as new ownership plans to keep the Lightning administration in place, we loose a chance for a success. Still we may expect to see on the roster the forwards who score only two goals per season and a big hole in the net.

[Nan]

I listened to most of the news conference today and it sounds promising anyway. It is too early to tell what will happen of course. This group of guys seems to be truly interested and excited about hockey and in running a solid business.

I hope that MacLean will have the common sense of a wait and see attitude with Feaster and Torts and let them be as he said they were going to do. He being a former coach and GM is making me nervous. Let's hope that he keeps his mind on owning and running a business and let Torts and JF do their jobs.

I like the sound of Koules working on marketing the players some more. Pittsburgh has put Crosby out there, Koules needs to get Vinny's face or another Bolt out there some more somehow.

This has been probably been the most exciting summer ever for the fans of the Lightning. I really can't wait for hockey season now!

[Other Fred]

I think that same general manager had a lot to do with our previous success. I hope that the new guys bump up the payroll a bit without increasing our ticket prices too much.

[Fred]

Thank God they are keeping the team in Tampa. Hopefully they will bump up payroll, and get a new general manager who won't over pay guys like Richards and do what is good for the whole team. Maybe then we could really compete again.

[olin]

Right On.....I agree Joe.....bring back freddy mo and sign up danny markhov now.

[Joe]

It is refreshing to note that the Lightning will have an knowledgeable ownership group that is, for change, interested in hockey.

MacLean is smart and sensible.

As for Koules, I presume that anyone who could make those "Saw" movies can figure out exactly how to dispose of Feaster, Campbell, and Tortorella.

[Eric]

I don't think they will slice payroll. I certainly hope not. MacLean made a comment about how he hated having the league's 28th lowest payroll last year in Columbus. I'm sure he didn't buy the team so he could deal with that again.

The Lightning have every opportunity to be a profitable organization. I can't imagine the new group doing worse financially than PS&E. Everything I've heard so far sounds positive-the team moving was my biggest worry when I first saw the news but that would seem to not be an issue.

[Mike13]

I just finished watching the press conference on TSN.ca and had just a couple of comments:

Oren Koules (the Hollywood guy) mentioned that he saw the new logos today and they look great. He also mentioned that they will be introduced to the press / public on 8/25. He did say something about coming out with a 3rd jersey and that they might hold some sort of contest.

I think it was Doug MacLean that said the Lightning was #3 in the US for attendance in the NHL (behind the Red Wings & Wild) and that they were really excited to be taking over a team with those kinds of numbers.

Doug apparently knows Jay Feaster from their days in the AHL. Jay was with the Hershey Bears and Doug was with Baltimore.

No word on the price of the club, but he did say that it was in line with what NHL teams are worth these days. David Freeman (CEO of Venture Capital) signed a LOI for $193-million for the Predators. Given the differences between the states of the two clubs, I would guess that they are paying closer to $200-million for the Bolts, if not more.

[joshua]

UhOh. Sounds to me like payroll is going down next year. Bye Bye Big 3.