Western Conference team to be sold, pending league approval and it's not the Coyotes
Since the Nashville Predators joined the National Hockey League in 1998, they have had a pretty steady ownership group. When the team first came into existence it was Craig Leipold who owned the team. Then when the Predators were going through financial trouble in the mid-2000s, Leipold sold the team to a group of businesses that banded together to keep the team in Nashville. They called the investment group, Predators LLC. Since 2007 the team has remained under that ownership group but now it looks like they are going to sell the team to a single hillionaire. It seems that they will be recovering their initial investment and then some with the sale.
Predators LLC originally purchased the Nashville Predators for $175 Million in 2007. The team is now valued at $680 Million, almost 4 times its original value. As of right now there are no details of the exact purchase price but we do have some clarity who will be buying the team.
Bill Haslam is the former Mayor of Knoxville, TN and former Governor of Tennessee. Haslam is estimated to be worth $2.3 Billion dollars. He was the second richest person to ever be elected to public office. Haslam was born and raised in Tennessee, so it makes sense for him to purchase a team there. His brother owns the NFL's Cleveland Browns so buying sport franchises isn't anything new to the family.
It will be interesting to see what a different directive from ownership will mean for the Nashville Predators. Currently being owned by a group of local businesses in the area means the team is more connected with the City and it's people. If a single billionaire takes over the team, we could see a bigger focus on profit versus success of the team. For Predators fans I hope they don't turn into the NHL's version of the Cleveland Browns.
