The sale of the Dallas Stars might not be quite as expedited as we were hoping.
In a report today, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News says that the sales process is still crawling along at what has been it’s customary pace for some times now, but that things could be changing in terms of bidders. After having crossed the Lites/Modano/Gunn group, Fox (News Corp) and Mark Cuban (whose name was never on the list) OFF the list, we thought we were left with Bill Gallacher and Tom Gaglardi as the only two possible remaining candidates.
Mr. Heika’s blog entry today suggests that might not be the case if Galatiotio Sports Partners has its way and is able to lure more investors to the table in hopes of creating a healthy bidding war to bump the price up a bit.
[Galatioto Sports Partners, the NHL, Tom Hicks, Monarch Investment Group)] would like to see if they can draw in more investors. Bottom line, they would like to get a spirited auction the way they did with the Rangers, and there is not that sort of interest right now. Still, there has been enough talks with a couple of other groups that they would like to see if more “official” bidders want to enter the fray. [Dallas Morning News]
Speculation on said price has varied from $225 million to recently as high as $275 million by Forbes.
What does this mean for Stars fans?
While there is not yet cause for alarm, there might be cause for annoyance. This possible protraction of the process can only introduce further time consuming variables and foibles not conducive to a timely conclusion. If you were hoping an advancing sales process (or a completed one) was going to help with contract negotiations or other personnel upgrades (always was a very long shot indeed), you might be want to set those notions aside.
We’ve been operating under the assumption, and (foolish) hope that the bidding was on-going and could on any given day be declared at an end. This report makes it sound otherwise, as GSP is interested in getting as much money as possible from the sale of the Stars. The bankruptcy protection that expired last week was not a deadline of any sorts and no one on either side felt pressure then or now to get this done ASAP, evidently.
Patience is what is being displayed by all parties, and we too must exercise a little of our own. We have to remember that even though we remain VERY eager for a definitive end to this process, it’s completion was never going to revolutionize the franchise and/or roster overnight.
There seems to be no indication of how long they’ll wait to see if more “official” bidders emerge. In the mean time, the front office, the players, the coaches and the fans alike must soldier on toward the rapidly approaching season under the assumption that the internal budget and status quo will be firmly in place indefinitely.