Jeffrey Vinik Takes Charge
by John Fontana on Feb 5, 2010 12:18 PM EST
in Business of Hockey
8 comments
"Buying the Lightning and joining the Tampa Bay community is a dream come true. I've been an avid hockey fan my whole life andI pledge to our fans that I will work my hardest to build the Lightning into a world class organization both on and off the ice. I hope to bring a high level of excitement and intensity back to Lightning hockey, with a goal of having the team consistently compete for the Stanley Cup. I have a passion for the game and will do my best to restore a winning culture at the St. Pete Times Forum that all of our fans and partners can be proud of."
-- Jeffrey Vinik
Jeffrey Vinik is formally in agreement to purchase the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise from OK Hockey Group, a press release from the team announced.
Vinik is also establishing Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment. There was no further information presented besides the name. If it's simply the formal moniker for Lightning ownership, so be it...
But the question for Lightning fans right now is, where do we go from here?
I'm not talking about the on-ice product but the overall franchise in general. The immediate questions are not line-combos and player signings and transactions, but the direction of operations of one of the top venues in the world (St. Pete Times Forum), operations of the front office and event staff, all the logistical stuff that most do not take into account.
Sun Sports personality Paul Kennedy interviewed Mr. Vinik this morning:
OK Hockey founder and team president Oren Koules had these words about todays announcement::
“The day is a bittersweet one for us, as I believe we have established a strong foundation on the ice and begun to point things in a positive direction for the Lightning,” Koules said. “We look forward to seeing Jeff take the team from here and move it forward. I believe we are leaving him with some great pieces in place and hopefully he can build upon them to deliver a consistent winner in the future.”
This story will be developing through the day and the weekend, we'll try to keep you abreast with thoughts and observations as things go.
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I might be in the minority..
..but I don’t mind them keeping Lawton on board. With the debacle that was management he’s done a decent job putting this team together..i,e. patched the holes in the defense, obtained a reliable back up for Mike Smith.
I’d like to see them beef up the scouting dept so they can develop their own talent instead of having to pay for it on the open market.
As a half season ticket owner I can say I’ve never had a problem with the Forum staff, most of the ushers/ticket agents I’ve interacted with have been friendly and helpful.
by Lightningfan7609 on Feb 5, 2010 4:44 PM EST reply actions
I see no reason to jettison Lawton
I also saw no reason for the house cleaning that took place last season.
If anything, things will be solidified up top — better arena management (and by “Better” I just mean more stability there and better chain-of-command type stuff).
I don’t know what will happen to Lawton though. After the team president is hired — anything can happen. I expect a full staff review…
9:12. Lights out. Raw Charge.
I think he’s actually done a really good job so far – started off with a few moves I questioned (Interfering owners? in Tampa? Never….), but has been pretty solid since then. As you’ve pointed out, saw a massive weakness last season and did a really good job of solidifying it and getting an Ohlund type in with all the young D (maybe overpaid, maybe had to?)… whilst not completely forgetting the forwards and bringing in Tanguay (irrespective of currently being a bust, if we were all in Lawton’s shoes last summer, we’d have made that move)
He’s not been perfect, but he’s only been in the job ten minutes and I would quite like to see him finish what he started And get rid of that silly haircut!
I should be sound asleep... but it's more fun to watch the Hockey!
Vinik seems like a stand up guy.
Hopefully he does a good job at continuing the improvement.
The Final Price
The St Pete Times is reporting that Vinik got the team, the Forum and the land for “about $110 million”. That is a steal for a professional sports franchise. Hopefully, that leaves him plenty of money to build on his investment.
by Lightningfan7609 on Feb 6, 2010 10:37 AM EST reply actions
Yes, absolute bargain
You gotta think that both Art Williams and Palace Sports paid something like that for the Lightning around 1998. Talk about a steep depreciation of value with thanks to the economy and, ahem, other factors.
9:12. Lights out. Raw Charge.
by John Fontana on Feb 6, 2010 11:03 AM EST up reply actions
I thought it was closer to $170 million. Hey, if he can put that extra $60 million back in the team, that's a good thing.
I now completely understand the term "Gooberville"
Clean Slate
Shocking that someone that purports to follow the Lightning so closely would opt for keeping Lawton. Vinik needs to clean house in the front office and behind the bench. Otherwise, it’s OK’s people with a figurehead owner. The players don’t like Lawton and most don’t respect Tocchet.
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