The worst that can happen at 3/26 LH Meeting?

New York Islander Fan Central | 3/25/2009 10:59:00 AM |
I keep reading we are coming down to the end of this process and we will find out about the teams future.

Isn't this more we will find out about the owners status in terms of his future?

What is Charles Wang ready to tell us about the future of his hockey team tomorrow if the TOH does not approve this project?

He cannot move this team until 2015 unless TOH approves the project and Nassau cannot negotiate a lease. Anyone think Kate Murray or TOH is going to greenlight this just so Nassau can not negotiate a lease?

If TOH turns down the project the lease is binding unless Tom Suozzi and Charles Wang have a secret deal that has not been reported to let him out of his lease early, a few articles have talked about lawsuits and jail-time if the team was moved before 2015.

There is also Smg's lease which runs until 2014 no one is talking about and the Cable contract that runs until 2030.

Is Mr Wang ready to sell if the project is turned down because that's his only option unless the NHL will let him terminate the franchise which is absurd considering Msg is an older facility and a few teams in this league play in old buildings like Detroit that have had attendance issues at times despite their success.

If the franchise were terminated or operations suspended he losses what he paid for the club and still has player contracts to honor starting with DiPietro and Yashin.

If the New York Islanders had their parking, full ticket sales and concessions combined with revenue sharing even in their current situation they would not be losing more more than most clubs in older buildings.

Most NHL teams still lose money and plenty of it, Msg before the lockout was losing 25-40m a year which we have referenced several times. A lot of folks reference Forbes but they have no hard data from the NHL or any team, that's total guesswork from them.

So I'm asking, what bad news is he ready to tell us beyond he needs to Lighthouse or he will have to sell which is terrible news but should not necessarily mean this team relocates.

And absolutely not before 2015. Tom Suozzi cuts some kind of deal to let him out of his lease early that is going to be fought long and hard and may be tougher to do than approve the Lighthouse.





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