By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
No fans at NHL games mean a “substantial revenue impact” to the league’s 31 teams, which paused their games back in mid-March and generated no ticket sales during the Pandemic Playoffs in COVID-19 Bubbles in the postseason host cities of Edmonton and Toronto.
“Yes, there will be a revenue hit,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters during the league’s media Zoom session Saturday. It was before the Dallas Stars defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-1, to grab the first game of the Best-of-7 Stanley Cup Finals at the Rogers Place arena in Edmonton.
Bettman said “it’s no secret” that ticket sales directly and indirectly has an impact on 50 percent of a team’s revenue.
LVSportsBiz.com estimated that the Vegas Golden Knights lost at least $2 million a game at their home arena at T-Mobile Arena because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has killed 200,000 Americans.
LVSportsBiz.com asked the Golden Knights to talk with owner Bill Foley or team president Kerry Bubolz about the pandemic’s financial impact, but did not hear back.
Here’s Bettman’s comments on the impact of no ticket sales.
The NHL has national TV rights contracts with NBC, but it’s a small fraction compared to the TV revenue generated by the National Football League.