Since the first wave of expansion teams in 1967, the NHL has been a league in flux, a dynamic organization through which teams come and go at a rate unmatched by other professional sports. Through a series of mergers, expansions, and transplants, the league has grown from six teams pre-expansion to a staggering 30, with at least one more franchise likely to be established in Las Vegas in the near future.
The Carolina Hurricanes, themselves the result of a transplanted Hartford Whalers organization, are no strangers to the ebbs and flows of the NHL, and have dealt with talks of relocation since their introduction to the city of Raleigh in 1997. Recently, these rumors have intensified once more, creating clouds of doubt that linger over both the club and the city.
In the Eye of the Storm: The Carolina Hurricanes and the Possibility of Relocation
I don't have definitive info, but I've heard in the past from someone in NHL circles that Hurricanes relocation discussion is legitimate.
— Adam Herman (@AdamZHerman) June 6, 2016
Of course, any speculation that the ‘Canes might be relocating is all hearsay at this point, especially considering the fact that team owner Peter Karmanos and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman have both vehemently denied the possibility of relocation in the near future. With that being said, however, there is a lot of substance to build on in this discussion, many factors that make relocation not only possible, but downright likely.
Beginning with the low-hanging fruit, perhaps the most damning piece of evidence against the franchise remaining in Raleigh is the most basic one: Game day attendance. Coming in at the very bottom of the league for the 2015-2016 season, home games at the Hurricanes’ PNC Arena managed an average attendance of 12,203, a mere 65% of its capacity of 18,680. This number is surprisingly low, even for the Hurricanes, whose average attendance figures have been plummeting since their peak of 17,560 during the 2012-2013 season. In fact, the number 12,203 represents the third lowest average attendance in the history of the franchise, trailing only the first two years of its existence in Raleigh.
In addition to the low attendance, which in turn generates lower income, the Hurricanes organization has faced a series of financial struggles and bad decisions under Karmanos, capped off this year by the emergence of a lawsuit against him on behalf of his three sons.
The lawsuit claims that Karmanos has defaulted on over $100 million borrowed from the trust he set up to support his sons, as well as relying upon money in the trust to support the franchise itself. While the claims in the lawsuit have yet to be proven or refuted, such accusations raise questions about the financial situation of the club and its owner.
It is certainly widely known that Karmanos has spent the last two years looking to either bring on a partner or sell the organization outright, yet no one has shown any interest in acquiring the team. With dwindling attendance figures, a club that has made the playoffs only once since their Stanley Cup win in 2006, an owner embroiled in a legal and financial crisis, and an expansion bid from Quebec City, the future relocation of the Hurricanes is seemingly on the horizon.
And yet, must relocation inevitably come to the $225 million dollar organization? After all, there remain many positives to keeping the Hurricanes right where they are. Firstly, the financial situation, despite Karmanos’ pending issues, is mostly positive. The lease agreement with Raleigh’s Centennial Authority runs until 2024 and gives the Hurricanes 100% of parking and concession profits not associated with NCSU events, as well as extremely low rates on utilities and insurance.
Secondly, one of the main goals of the NHL has been to grow the sport of hockey throughout the south, and having a Stanley Cup-winning team in one of the Carolinas’ biggest cities is certainly a step towards that goal.
Furthermore, Bettman has said, in no unsure terms, that the franchise will stay where it is, even if Karmanos manages to find a buyer willing to match his desired sum. While this assurance means little in the aftermath of the Atlanta Thrashers saga, more optimistic Hurricanes fans should be able to convince themselves that Bettman may have found a conscience in the years since and genuinely means what he says.
Ultimately, the decision to relocate or stay in Raleigh is out of the hands of the fans, and well within those of Karmanos himself. He’s made it clear that he wants to rid himself of the organization, and doing so could potentially earn him a big enough windfall to discover the money that he conveniently forgot to repay from his sons’ trust. At that point, the decision would rest in the hands of the yet-to-be-named new owner. If you believe rumors that Karmanos recently met with the Quebecor telecommunications company, who are the main backers of Quebec City’s NHL bid, the relocation and rebranding of the Hurricanes seems highly plausible, despite Karmanos’ categorical rejection of such a possibility.
It seems that the only certainty in Raleigh is uncertainty, a fact that has weighed on the shoulders and minds of fans and pundits alike. If you believe all that you read in hockey opinion pieces, the relocation if the franchise is a matter of “when” and not “if,” yet the fact remains that it’s all speculation until anything concrete is revealed.
All the Hurricanes’ players and coaches can do in the meantime is to batten down the hatches and, in the apt words of one of their advertising slogans, weather the storm. It’s up to them to put on a show for the paying fans, even if the ice seems to be melting beneath them.
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