NHL Commish Bettman Says NHL Will Lose $1 Billion Plus In Revenues Because Of Pandemic, Shortened Season

January 12, 2021January 12, 2021 Alan Snel Gary Bettman

By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says the league will lose $1 billion this new season that starts Wednesday because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Bettman said it was still important to stage the truncated 56-game season instead of the typical 82-game season.

“There is an element of risk,” Bettman said of staging the new season in the age of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Bettman’s statement that $1 billion in revenue would be lost seems to be the headline across the country:

The NHL will stage two outdoor games next month: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado Avalanche at Lake Tahoe Feb. 20 and the following day will have Boston vs. Philadelphia at the golf course setting off Lake Tahoe.

The NHL will use a 213-page guide of 12 protocols to try and keep players healthy and not infected by the coronavirus.

It’s hardly a surprise that the NHL will lose millions of dollars because Bettman said in September that the team’s 31 teams would absorb a major revenue hit.

That’s because half of the NHL’s revenues come from game-related revenues. The NHL does not have giant TV revenue deals like the National Football League, for example. And without ticket sales, teams will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars each game.

“We’re coming back to play this season because we think it’s important for the game,” Bettman said.