Are The Winterhawks For Sale
Audit of Winter Hawks scheduled to be complete by Thursday
Buyers said to be interested in case hockey team is for sale
By Jason Vondersmith
The Portland Tribune, May 14, 2008, Updated 9.2 hours ago
Are the Portland Winter Hawks for sale?
Is the Western Hockey League going to facilitate a sale in the wake of a couple disastrous seasons under current ownership?
Will the WHL force Portland's ownership to sell?
Do the Winter Hawk owners want to cut their losses and get out, hoping to make some bucks on the way out of town?
Those four very important questions remain unanswered as the WHL finishes its review and audit of the team’s operations and finances. Originally, the league wanted to be done with the audit by the first of May, but it extended the completion date to Thursday, May 15.
WHL Commissioner Ron Robison, Portland principal owner Jim Goldsmith and Hawk President Jack Donovan have not returned phone calls to the Tribune in recent days. Everything has been hush-hush lately as the parties talk things over behind closed doors.
At least two groups are showing strong interest in purchasing the team, the Tribune has learned. The names of former Hawks Marian Hossa and Brenden Morrow keep popping up as possible owners, although both are still involved in the NHL playoffs; it is not known whether the players or representative(s) are involved in discussions to purchase the Portland team.
The Winter Hawks have cried foul for years about their lease with the Trail Blazers not being conducive to them making money, and Goldsmith says the team has lost money each year since 1998-99.
But Robison has said repeatedly that he does not want the Winter Hawks to leave the city, even with the current ownership exploring Salem as an option because it’s within the team’s Portland territory. One thing very disturbing to the WHL has been the management’s negligence in paying some bills and the front office's overall operations, like the decision that had General Manager (and former co-owner) Ken Hodge twisting in the wind about his job.
So, either ownership sells or the Jim-Jack-John (Bryant) show continues to try to make things work – with a better team expected on the ice in the coming years.
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