Franchise Operation

Operating an NHL Franchise

Revenus and Operating Income according to Forbes Magazine
(Million US$)
"Var." = variation versus previous year

	98-99				97-98
FrFranchise	Revenues	Var.	Operating Income	Var.	Revenues	Operating Income
Anaheim Mighty Ducks	46.7	-2.9	-4.4	-10.7	49.6	6.3
Boston Bruins	70.5	4.4	10.1	-7.9	66.1	18
Buffalo Sabres	53.7	12.2	-5.3	-4	41.5	-1.3
Calgary Flames	39.1	0.2	0.7	0.1	38.9	0.6
Carolina Hurricanes	24.1	-1	-20.6	-7.2	25.1	-13.4
Chicago Blackhawks	65.9	2.8	6.8	-6.8	63.1	13.6
Colorado Avalanche	57.2	4	2.6	9.5	53.2	-6.9
Dallas Stars	59.4	13.8	-5.2	-2.6	45.6	-2.6
Detroit Red Wings	71.8	-8.3	-11.6	-9.7	80.1	-1.9
Edmonton Oilers	36.1	2.5	2.7	0.4	33.6	2.3
Florida Panthers	65.0	32.3	5.1	14.4	32.7	-9.3
Los Angeles Kings	33.9	-4.6	-14.5	-13.5	38.5	-1
Montreal Canadiens	64.9	3.1	5.8	-2.5	61.8	8.3
Nashville Predators	48.3	-	17.8	-	-	-
New Jersey Devils	51.9	-2.5	-0.1	-4.5	54.4	4.4
NY Islanders	40.4	-5.8	0.9	-12	46.2	12.9
NY Rangers	84.2	14.6	8.7	12.6	69.6	-3.9
Ottawa Senators	46.7	3.9	1.4	0.2	42.8	1.2
Philadelphia Flyers	75.5	0.9	0.8	-1.2	74.6	2
Phoenix Coyotes	42.5	1.3	-3.3	-4	41.2	0.7
Pittsburgh Penguins	41.5	-11.1	-3.4	-12.1	52.6	8.7
San Jose Sharks	51.2	2	-1.2	1.4	49.2	-2.6
St.Louis Blues	62.2	-7.8	-3.9	-17.5	70.0	13.6
Tampa Bay Lightning	34.1	-7.8	-18	-16.3	41.9	-1.7
Toronto Maple Leafs	62.7	15.2	2.5	-4.3	47.5	6.8
Vancouver Canucks	38.3	-3.5	-13.7	-3.3	41.8	-10.4
Washington Capitals	55.8	-18.4	-1.7	-15.8	74.2	14.1
NHL Average	52.7	1.3	-1.5	-3.8	51.4	2.3

Expenses and Revenues of an average NHL franchise in 1997
(Million US$)

According to the former President and CEO of the NHL, Gil Stein, the NHL franchises were losing, on average, between $6M and $9M per season in 1997 compared to average losses of only $1M in 1993. The figures below represent the expenses and revenues of running an average hockey franchise. In many cases, owners of NHL franchises own other businesses (arena, cable tv, beer sales, etc) that benefit from the hockey operations.

Expenses			Revenues
Item	$	%	Item	$	%
Player Payroll	28.0	68%	Gate Receipts	21.0	66%
Selling & Admin. Costs	11.0	26%	Concessions	1.0	3%
Rent	2.5	6%	Sponsorship + Ads in Arena	3.0	9%
			National TV	3.5	11%
			Local Radio + TV	3.5	11%
TOTAL	41.5	100%	TOTAL	32.0	100%

Source: Power Plays - An Inside Look at the Big Business of the NHL (by Gil Stein)

Power Plays
An Inside Look at the Big Business of the NHL

For more info or to order, click on the price.

$ 15.37 US
from Amazon

$ 4.99 Canadian
from Chapters Canada