BULLS OF THE WEEK
There is the notion that there’s no such thing as a good, long goodbye. Yet in the case of Wednesday night’s farewell to Rexall Place, it was good given what it did to highlight what is called “projected value” in the game of franchise valuation.
And after 42 years at the former Northlands Coliseum, the final Edmonton Oilers game and long postgame ceremony at Rexall Place had projected value written all over it.
The intangibles included repeated references to the five Stanley Cups the Oilers captured between 1984 and 1990.
One night with Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier won’t remedy the revolving door of coaches and poor culture that has so far prevented the Oilers from realizing the fruits of four — and what could be five — No. 1 picks in seven years of abject ineptitude, but it’s something that president and CEO Bob Nicholson, GM Peter Chiarelli and head coach Todd McLellan can certainly build upon.
Yet the biggest aspect of projected value for the Oilers comes in the form of what their new downtown home — Rogers Place — will mean for owner Darryl Katz.
With the Oilers going from the fourth smallest building in the NHL (capacity of 16,841) to the 15th biggest at 18,641, the impact on the franchise’s enterprise value will be significant. In my books, no NHL club will see a bigger percentage spike in valuation than the Oilers during the next three seasons.
Ticketing revenue alone should climb by 20 per cent on the increased capacity of 1,800 seats and the enhanced options for luxury suites and premium seating at Rogers Place.
When you add the impact of a new $6-million annual Rogers Place naming rights deal that is among the top five in the NHL, Katz and the Oilers will be making at least 30 per cent more per year in annual revenues than they have in each of the 10 non-playoff seasons since their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006.
Honourable mentions to the Toronto Blue Jays, out of the gates with terrific television numbers in their first week of the new MLB season (including a record 1.46 million average national audience for an away opener); the surprising and great story that is Leicester of the England Premiership; and golf, which is always bullish the week of the Masters in Augusta, Ga.