Corporatization Of Hockey In The 'Hood

The City of Oakland isn't thrilled with how things have gone in the last few years, and Iceoplex's contract has expired. After receiving proposals from 4 companies, it appears the San Jose Sharks organization will take over management of the rink in the late Spring. That's all well and good, except for this little nugget: they have an "aggressive" forecast for increasing revenues. Where does it come from? A dramatic increase in revenue from adult hockey (currently about 1/3 of the rink's revenue) without increasing the number of teams. Quick, math majors . . . how does that work? You got it . . . increasing the fees. They say they will keep the per player cost the same, but increase the average team size by 4-5. Which means less ice time, unless individual players want to pony up. Here it is: Link (at pages 2 to 3)

The city recognizes this means an increase of about 250 players in the now 64-team league. Interesting to see where they all come from

Um . . . will be interesting to see how this works itself out . . .

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