Owner, distraught over lost AHL revenue, is optimistic about future
Owner Martin Lind of the Colorado Eagles, an American Hockey League partner of the Avalanche, has seen “significant hemorrhage” to his northern Colorado businesses because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Loveland-based Eagles haven’t played since March 11, when they defeated the visiting Texas Stars 3-1 at the Budweiser Events
Center. And Lind’s massive development project just east of Interstate 25 in Loveland has been put on hold. Dubbed by Lind as “the new downtown of northern Colorado,” the project includes a new 10,000-seat arena for the Eagles and multiple youth rinks to help build hockey in the area. It also includes plans for a 300-room hotel overlooking an entertainment strip where the Larimer County Fairgrounds (a.k.a. The Ranch) currently sits.
“The hockey is one division of our companies. We’ve got real estate, oil and gas, family entertaining, golf, restaurants,” Lind said. “Personally, every commercial contract I had under contract has been terminated or postponed.”
Still, Lind remains optimistic for what’s to come and says each of his “core group” of employees continues to get paid as if COVID-19 hadn’t struck. Larimer County owns the Budweiser Events Cen
ter, and those employees work for Spectra. It is unclear whether those workers are still receiving checks, and a message left with the company was not returned. But Lind said the Eagles’ staffers — marketing and ticketing for instance — remain on the payroll.
“We’re moving forward with positive things we can do with the Eagles,” Lind said. “We put a rerun of a game last winter online, and 2,500 fans watched it. Our people are working on slowing down their relationships and really make sure they’re more intimate with everyone — sponsors, fans, vendors — we do business with.”
Eagles players will continue to get paid by the Avalanche through Saturday, when the AHL regular season was officially set to end. Colorado was scheduled to host the Stockton Heat to complete the season. As the only AHL independent owner in the Pacific Division, Lind isn’t responsible for those salaries. The Avalanche owns all of those contracts and has 100% control over player-personnel.
Lind is confident the NHL and AHL will resume their seasons in some capacity.
“We’re part of the NHL, and they’re not giving up on the season. They are meticulously studying every opportunity to preserve this Stanley Cup run this year,” Lind said. “So I’m confident that if the NHL can gear back up, they’re going to need to develop the players and we’re going to come right back at it and finish the season or complete the playoffs or whatever the protocol happens to be at that time.
“I don’t worry about it because it’s in much smarter, much better hands than me. I have an awful lot of faith that relationships matter, and I have outstanding relationships with (Avs general manager) Joe Sakic (and his staff), Craig Billington, Chris MacFarland, all the guys, and I just think it’s going to be OK — we’re going to figure it out.”