Hot Long Island Mess Update
Here’s a nice nugget to chew on, as we all try to recover from a disgustingly disappointing season and playoff elimination. I’ve highlighted a few other things we can be thankful for, and here’s another: not rooting for a team that is now unwanted by it own owner.
Yeah, pretty much. (REUTERS/Christinne Muschi)
In today’s Newsday, New York Islanders owner Charles Wang talks about how he regrets buying the Islanders, and that if given the chance, it’s not a decision he would make again. Nice.
Some of the highlights from the article:
According to the team’s annual audited financial reports that were viewed by a Newsday reporter last month, Wang has spent $208.8 million – an average of $23 million per year – to keep the NHL franchise operating since his purchase. That’s after spending $74.2 million to buy the team and assuming $97 million in existing liabilities.
This year alone, Wang has provided $33.5 million in 12 payments, said a document provided by Islanders chief financial officer Art McCarthy. There’s still two months left on their July 1 to June 30 calendar, but McCarthy hopes the incoming season ticket deposits for next season are enough to push back Wang’s next payment until the fall.
“It’s ugly,” McCarthy said. “Plain and simple, it’s ugly.”
After buying the Islanders, Wang said he assumed – wrongly, it turned out – that Nassau Coliseum would either be refurbished or replaced within a few years. He says he wouldn’t ever have envisioned entering his second decade as the Islanders owner with home games still taking place at the aging arena on Hempstead Turnpike.
“Never in my life,” he said, “would I have anticipated this thing could be dragged out for seven, eight years.”
Beyond its need for subsidies, the Islanders’ value also has fallen during Wang’s tenure. Forbes magazine recently said the team was worth $154 million; Wang bought it for about $170 million.
“I don’t like to lose the money, so therefore that’s why I’ve said, ‘This is it. I’m not going to play. Just tell me where I stand by the beginning of the next hockey season,’ ” Wang said.
If Wang does not have an answer by then, he said, “I’m not saying I’ll move. I’m saying I’ll explore all my options.”
Potential landing spots include Kansas City, where a new arena awaits an anchor tenant, and Willets Point, Queens, where officials have expressed interest in having the Islanders.
The reason the Islanders currently lose so much money – they’re $95.2 million in the red the past three years, McCarthy said – is because their lease with SMG, which manages the arena, does not entitle them to revenue from concessions and parking and the Coliseum has limited suite possibilities. Their lease expires in 2015.
I know that being happy that we aren’t Islander fans is a daily joy in the life of every Ranger fan, but hooboy – these guys really are a bottle of spray tan and an 8-ball away from being Lindsay Lohan on ice skates. COME AT ME, BITCH!!
About the author: Rory is a recent college graduate from central New Jersey majoring in History and PR. A Ranger fan all her life, the bane of her existence is the New Jersey Devils, and she harbors a severe hatred for Martin Brodeur. Her favorite current Rangers are Henrik Lundqvist, Sean Avery, and Steve Valiquette, and her favorite all-time Rangers are Mike Richter and Jeff Beukeboom. Related posts:
