NHL Threatens to Take Rangers from MSG

[St. Jimmy]

NHL SUES TO KICK OUT GARDEN MSG SPOKESMAN: LEAGUE USING 'BULLYING TACTICS' June 19, 2008 -- The NHL is threatening to kick the owners of the Rangers out of the league or force them to sell the team as punishment for accusing league officials of violating antitrust laws. The NHL filed court papers Wednesday that included a draft letter from commissioner Gary Bettman proposing discipline against Madison Square Garden, L.P., that could lead to suspension or termination of its ownership of the Rangers. The Garden responded by accusing the NHL of using "bullying tactics." In its court filing, the NHL asked a judge to agree Madison Square Garden breached its contract by challenging league rules. Madison Square Garden sued the NHL in September, saying it violated antitrust laws by monopolizing control of team promotions. A judge ruled in November that the league seemed within its rights to take control of the team's Web site. Madison Square Garden, which is owned by Cablevision Systems Corp., owns the Rangers, the NBA's Knicks New York Knicks , the WNBA's Liberty and several venues, including Madison Square Garden, home of the Rangers, Knicks and Liberty. MSG spokesman Barry Watkins said today that the league was consistent but wrong in its handling of the dispute. "Not surprisingly, the NHL is once again proving why an independent judge must address our claims. Despite trying to resolve our differences privately, the league has responded with excessive fines and now threats that have nothing to do with the merits of our position," he said. "The NHL shouldn't be afraid of the judicial system. We will pursue our case vigorously and will not be intimidated by the NHL's bullying tactics." MSG first went to the courts just as the league was preparing to fine the organization $100,000 per day if the company did not give the hockey league complete control over the Rangers' Web site and other promotions. Madison Square Garden had accused the hockey league of having "veered into unlawful behavior" by seeking to control the licensing of teams for all commercial purposes and to stop teams from marketing apparel, merchandise and memorabilia. MSG asked a judge to order the league to stop limiting team promotions and to clarify the boundaries of hockey league rights. In its court submission, the league asked the judge to agree that MSG had violated its contract by violating a provision that bans owners from going to court to challenge the NHL's constitution or its league rules or procedures. The league said such a breach can lead to disciplinary proceedings in which a vote of three-quarters of the members of the league can decide to issue fines, suspend or terminate membership in the league, order a sale of the club to a new owner or suspend or expel individuals involved in the team's management. At the end of his letter, Bettman noted that the NHL constitution also prohibits league members from resisting or trying to prevent termination in the league through the courts.

NHL SUES TO KICK OUT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN - New York Post


Expulsion from the league is unlikely. But if the Rangers were somehow kicked out of the league, you could see an exodus of teams to start a new league. Highly unlikely, but something to think about.

[Juanky]

If the Rangers are kicked out of the NHL, the NHL dies.

[Swift]

Throughout this whole MSG ordeal, the NHL has been a petty little bitch.

Gary Bettman had the NBA on the ropes with the whole Donnaghy scandal and basically swung and missed.

The NBA's locked into the #3 spot and the NHL might as well forget ever being so much as on even footing in the winter sports scene with the NBA.

[JJ]

Eh, I don't think anyone really cares about the Donnaghy situation. The Finals raitings were more than double the Stanley Cup ratings despite it and both leagues got their respective dream match ups.

NBA finals had their best ratings in 8 years too.

[Juanky]

Well, hasn't the NBA been more popular than the NHL for a long time?

[Swift]

Originally Posted by JJ Eh, I don't think anyone really cares about the Donnaghy situation. The Finals raitings were more than double the Stanley Cup ratings despite it and both leagues got their respective dream match ups. NBA finals had their best ratings in 8 years too.

There's no way the NHL ever out rates the NBA, none, the TV contract sucks, and whenever your flagship station is versus you're locking a lot of people out.

I'm talking in terms of the entertainment dollar as people stopped renewing tickets or buying tickets over the WWE feel the NBA has/had going for it.

[Hugg]

Originally Posted by Swift There's no way the NHL ever out rates the NBA, none, the TV contract sucks, and whenever your flagship station is versus you're locking a lot of people out. I'm talking in terms of the entertainment dollar as people stopped renewing tickets or buying tickets over the WWE feel the NBA has/had going for it.

The NBA drew 21,394,757 fans during their regular season this year, 90.3% capacity.
The NHL drew 21,289,679 fans during their regular season this year, 94.0% capacity.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Swift There's no way the NHL ever out rates the NBA, none, the TV contract sucks, and whenever your flagship station is versus you're locking a lot of people out. I'm talking in terms of the entertainment dollar as people stopped renewing tickets or buying tickets over the WWE feel the NBA has/had going for it.

Is that actually true though?

Are NBA ticket sales declining and are people not renewing? I haven't seen anything about this nor do I know this to be true. (I'd like to see something on it if it is in fact).

I mean Boston had to cap season ticket sales this year and Utah had a 95% renewal rate. The NBA also says going in to the season season ticket sales have been up 5 to 10 percent over the last decade.

[St. Jimmy]

NBA per team average: 713,159 = 17,394 per game
NHL per team average w/o Canadian markets: 637,053 = 15,537 per game

Five of the six Canadian markets make up the top 10 in NHL per game attendance.

[Hugg]

But with the Canadian dollar being basically on par with the American dollar, what does that matter?

I mean, at the end of the day, I guess I don't understand the pissing match hockey fans like to get into about popularity. The league is profitable. Beyond that, who cares? I don't give a shit what the ratings are if teams are making money (the majority are and the ones that aren't are losing manageable amounts).

[St. Jimmy]

The numbers you posted paint a rosy picture about NHL attendance compared to the NBA. In the US, there really is no competition for the entertainment dollar. It's the NBA one and the NHL second. Yes, we all knew this but I thought it would post some actual numbers about the NHL in the US (where I believe Swift's point is centered on).

That's why it matters