Principal partner of proposed pro hoops team for St. John’s is founder of large U.S. food company
Cape Breton native Irwin Simon is CEO and president of Hain Celestial; his partner in hoops venture says they are determined to make it work
The principal behind a league-approved bid to put a professional basketball team in St. John’s is a Glace Bay, N.S., native who heads up a large American company specializing in health foods.
Irwin Simon is chairman, president and CEO of the New York-based Hain Celestial Group, which the 59-year-old founded in 1993.
An illness meant Simon, who is back in New York after a trip to Europe, wasn’t available for an interview, but his friend, Robert Sabbagh, a minority partner in the effort to have a National Basketball League of Canada team play out of Mile One Centre, says Simon’s determination to have successful team in St. John’s cannot be underestimated.
“Irwin really wants to do this, and I truly think this is something he’s going to take a lot of pride in accomplishing,” said Sabbagh, owner of Bay Ridge Honda-volvo, a Brooklyn automobile dealership.
Sabbagh said the focus has been on St. John’s since last fall, when he joined Simon in talks with Toronto promoter John Graham about getting into sports ownership.
“This is the one thing Irwin wanted to do,” said Sabbagh.
“There were no discussions with any other teams or anything like that. Irwin really just wanted to do this.”
The initial talk was about owning a hockey team, and make no mistake, the push behind a possible NBL Canada franchise at Mile One is very much tied in to a pull to eventually obtain a hockey team, most likely in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, to skate at the facility.
“Irwin and I are both sports fans ... of both these sports,” said Sabbagh. “When the basketball team came up, we jumped at the opportunity. It’s kind of a cool thing.
“We have no guarantee of a hockey team, but we feel that with owning a basketball team and a hockey team, the resources can be combined and it can make for a better return for both teams ... if we’re lucky enough ever to get a hockey team.
“But this is not a package deal.”
In fact, there isn’t even a firm deal for basketball, since a lease arrangement must still be worked out with Mile One. What’s more, NBL Canada’s published deadlines for expansion approval have long passed, although the league is apparently providing leeway in this instance in order to have a new team ready for the start of the 2017-18 season in mid-november.
Mile One did reach a tentative lease agreement with St. John’s businessman Tony Kenny for operation of a basketball team at Mile One, but Kenny has not made a formal expansion application to NBL Canada, only what could be described as an expression of interest.
When it was pointed out he, Simon and Graham will be seen by many as outsiders in this process, Sabbagh said he is aware they’ll get tagged as such, but said no one should doubt their sincerity.
“I just hope … they see how enthusiastic we are about bringing a team, that it is truly genuine, that we want to do it,” said Sabbagh. “I don’t think they should be suspicious of anything ... only realizing that we want to bring a team there and win.
“If we have to (take time to) build, we’ll build. Irwin did it with Hain. My father did it with his automobile business. That’s how success usually starts.
“The plan is for long-term success and I know for Irwin, this isn’t about abandoning a business when it gets bigger. For him, this is personal.”
A graduate of Saint Mary’s University, Simon worked for Haagen-dazs and Slim-fast before moving to New York and founding Hain Celestial, which is best known for its many brands of health foods and organic snacks, including Terra Chips, but also produces beverages and personal care items.
The Wall Street Journal lists Hain as having annual sales approaching $2.9 billion and a work force of over 7,500.
Even then, financial clout is not guaranteed to translate into a deal with Mile One, which Sabbagh says is the group’s only focus when it comes to a venue for the team.
Well-known hockey executive and former St. John’s Icecaps chief operating officer Glenn Stanford had explored acquiring an NBL franchise, but deemed Mile One’s starting point in negotiations as making a suitable lease deal impossible. And while St. John’s businessman Kenny did get an agreement with Mile One, he never officially applied to the NBL, which instead has approved the Simon group, announcing the same on the league’s Twitter account Friday evening.
Graham had chafed a bit at what he saw as having to wait while Mile One focused on talks with Kenny, but appears confident he can now reach a deal with SJSE.
“We knew there were other groups in line, but we were not trying to jump to the head of the line,” said Graham.
“For us, it was just a matter of following a process and setting a course. Our course was to get the franchise application —and I know we’re the only ones to submit an application to the league — to pass the league’s financial wherewithal and meet with the league to get the approval.
“We’ve done all that. Now it’s a matter of sitting down and to negotiate with the venue and, hopefully, come to an arrangement.
“We’ve had enough conversations initially to understand the need of the venue to generate income, and we’ve listened to their concerns.
“We still have a call in with Mile One. I hope they would be returning that call. I believe there is no ego involved ... on either side.”
Graham has been the front man in the effort, but added Simon, “is not going to be an invisible owner.”
As for who will run the team, if it is established, Graham said he’s sees that as coming from Newfoundland.
“The structure and management has been established to some point as to how it would go.
“There are very capable local people we see (who) could be the face of this team and manage and run it.”