The Globe and Mail

In the next few weeks, do not be surprised if Toronto Maple Leafs bosses Larry Tanenbaum or Richard Peddie, or Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano are spotted along Highway 401 on the way to Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., intently looking at their odometers.
Now that BlackBerry tycoon Jim Balsillie is on the verge of buying the Nashville Predators, a National Hockey League franchise with an out-clause in its arena lease, the Leafs and Sabres are once again thinking about potential invasions of their territory. Those close to Balsillie have said his intention was always to buy a team that could be moved, preferably to his adopted hometown of Kitchener-Waterloo or Hamilton.
Outgoing Predators owner Craig Leipold made it clear at Thursday's news conference, announcing the sale for $220-million (all figures U.S.), that it is likely the team will be moved.
"I have come to the conclusion that I cannot make it work here," Leipold said. "It's painful to say that. We are one of the elite teams [on the ice] and we are, by far, one of the lowest-revenue teams."
Balsillie did not attend the news conference, citing prior appointments. "This is still Craig Leipold's franchise until the deal is completed, so for me to comment at this time on any number of topics relative to the franchise would not be appropriate," Balsillie said in a release.
However, even high-ranking NHL executives expect the Predators to be moved in two years after the out-clause in their lease with the city of Nashville is exercised.
A source close to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Thursday that Kansas City, which has a new arena and has been courting potential teams, is the preferred location in the short term. But the source acknowledged that a move to Canada is not out of the question.
While the Leafs have quietly made it known they are not interested in competitors at any price, they say it is much too early to worry about Balsillie and the Predators. At this point, Balsillie has only signed a letter of intent to purchase the Predators from majority owner Leipold and the deal has yet to be approved by the NHL's board of governors.
"We know nothing about this, just what was in the newspapers [Thursday] morning," said Peddie, the president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. "When the league gets to us, and they will, I know we'll hear about what is happening. But right now, we'll have no comment."
However, should Balsillie attempt a move to Canada, he can expect support from at least one of the six Canadian-based teams. Cal Nichols, chairman of the Edmonton Oilers, said another team in Canada would be a good thing.
"I'm a Canadian, so I would be glad to see the possibility," Nichols said. "I'd like to see a team in a market where it could succeed, whether it's in Canada or the U.S."
At first, Balsillie looked at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum as a potential home. He later turned his sights on Kitchener-Waterloo, where the company he founded, Research In Motion, is based. The Kitchener-Waterloo area also falls just outside what the NHL calls the Leafs' and Sabres' "home territory," which extends 80 kilometres from each city's corporate limits.
Under NHL rules, a team can only move into another team's home territory with its permission. That permission comes with a hefty price tag. In the two allowed moves in recent memory, former New Jersey Devils owner John McMullen had to pay the owners of the New York Rangers and New York Islanders a total of $35-million when he moved the Colorado Rockies in 1982. When the Anaheim Ducks joined the NHL as an expansion franchise in 1993, then-Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall pocketed half the $50-million franchise fee as the price for invading his territory.
While Kitchener-Waterloo would get Balsillie around the territory problem, there are other issues, such as television rights, which could complicate matters.
Under the lease agreement with the city of Nashville, Balsillie has until June 19 to officially invoke the out-clause in the lease. The clause states that if the team averages fewer than 14,000 fans a game in the coming season, it can move in another year by paying an $18-million fee.
This could be helpful to Balsillie, as it takes from 18 months to two years to build an arena. He could build a new rink in the two years it will take to move.
However, the Nashville deal allows the city to buy enough tickets to make up the required difference from the club's paid attendance, which was averaging 12,806 by the end of January, 23rd among the NHL's 30 teams. But the city of Nashville has already poured millions of dollars into the team as part of the lease agreement and may not be willing to throw good money after bad.
The Predators were unable to capture the corporate market in Nashville. Leipold recently sold the naming rights for the arena, but it took a few years after Gaylord Entertainment walked away from its rights agreement.
Leipold said Thursday the Predators were always near the bottom of the league in revenue, despite his marketing efforts. According to NHL figures obtained by The Globe and Mail, the Predators were 24th in net revenue after taxes, averaging $516,440 in games from the start of last season to the end of January.