The Buffalo Sabres are a ship without a captain, sailing through the bankruptcy waters like a flaming Viking funeral trireme. Their documented financial troubles mirror their on-ice failures, and now the team needs a complete overhaul to pull out of the red and put fans in the seats. On Tuesday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman traveled to Buffalo to reassure the city that owners were coming and the team is staying. Whether Tom Golisano or Mark Hamister submits the winning bid, however, one thing the team need is a clear vision for winning.
Buffalo has shown that it can support a team. Before the season started, local businesses started the Business Backs the Sabres campaign to promote ticket sales. While their support was well meant, it was unsuccessful. It is nearly impossible to market a terrible product; no matter how well you gift-wrap your leftover garbage, it is still garbage, and Buffalo's citizens cannot be fooled when it comes to sports.
The marketing effort by the city, however, should be a lesson for the NHL. The league is terrible at marketing their young talent and sees their failure in the lack of ticket revenue. When people hear that Minnesota is coming to town, there is no interest, despite the fact that they have one of the league's most exciting young players, left wing Marian Gaborik. There are few people in the league that people will pay to see, but fans of the sport will always come for competitive, exciting hockey. If the Sabres can at least do that, people will come to games.
The high cost of season tickets is not helping, however. While ticket sales are the main way for the team to get money, high prices lead to community resentment and arena emptiness. Right now, purchasing season tickets to Sabres games can cost anywhere between $738 and $3,321, depending on how close to the rink the seats are. Lowering prices to make tickets more attractive to those on a tighter budget - college students, for example - will fill up the arena and attract a younger fan base. While individual ticket sales do not count much in the big picture, the fans that purchase individual tickets today are the ones who will one day have the power - and the desire - to purchase season tickets. Of course, if fans come to the game and get bored or see bad hockey, they will not come back, and the team will be faced with even more troubles.
Solutions need to come from the top. Bids are in place, but the NHL is not getting the offer they want. If the league wants to take the first step, they will lower their prices and find the owner with the best vision for the team. Ownership can be difficult and challenging, but over the past few years there are more than enough examples of effective leadership turning a team around. When Charles Wang bought the New York Islanders, he changed the face of the team, taking them out of the cellar and into the playoffs while bringing in a superstar, Aleksei Yashin. With that type of drive behind a team, fans will come to games.
Buffalo needs the Sabres as much as the Sabres need Buffalo, and both sides need an owner with a plan and a commitment to winning. This is a wonderful opportunity for any buyer, as purchasing a bankrupt franchise that can quickly recover can become very profitable. If the marketing by local businesses stays constant and the NHL learns to market their players, this will be much easier for whoever ends up buying the team. This team is a wonderful investment opportunity that could not only help rejuvenate a sports league, but also a major city.
A new owner is long overdue. Fans are getting anxious and want to see talent and competition on the ice for a cheaper price. The executive and managerial decisions are necessary and can only be made once an owner is in place. The road to improvement is long, but the NHL must finally accept a buyer and let the Sabres begin their long haul back to mediocrity.
