Wang wouldn't buy the Islanders if he had it to do again...
Jerry Heyman
From ESPN.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4129484
MELVILLE, N.Y. -- New York Islanders owner Charles Wang says he regrets
buying the money-losing NHL team nine years ago.
"If I had the chance I wouldn't do it again," Wang told Newsday.
Citing the team's annual audited financial reports, Newsday reported
Saturday on its Web site that Wang has spent $208.8 million -- an average
of $23 million per year -- to keep the team operating. He also spent $74.2
million when he and Sanjay Kumar bought the club and assumed $97 million in
liabilities.
"His numbers are real," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told
Newsday. "Yes, we're aware the Islanders lose money, a significant amount
of money. And it goes back to the team's need for a new arena."
Wang said he initially assumed Nassau Coliseum would either be refurbished
or replaced within a few years, but his proposed $3.7 billion Lighthouse
Project has been held up and is still under review by the Town of Hempstead.
"Never in my life, would I have anticipated this thing could be dragged out
for seven, eight years," said Wang, the founder of Computer Associates.
An NHL-worst 26-47-9 this season, the Islanders will play a preseason game
in September in Kansas City, Mo., prompting speculation about a move.
Officials in Willets Point in Queens also have expressed interest in the
team.
"I'm not saying I'll move," Wang said. "I'm saying I'll explore all my
options."
Wang and Kumar, the former Computer Associates chief executive, bought the
Islanders in 2000 for about $190 million. Wang bought out Kumar -- serving
a 12-year prison term for a $400 million accounting fraud scandal -- in
2004.
--
// Jerry Heyman | "It's not a 'right' if someone else
// Amiga Forever :-) | has to pay for it" - Ayn Rand
\\ // heymanj at acm dot org |
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Jerry Heyman
wrote:
>
> From ESPN.com
>
> http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4129484
>
> MELVILLE, N.Y. -- New York Islanders owner Charles Wang says he regrets
> buying the money-losing NHL team nine years ago.
>
> "If I had the chance I wouldn't do it again," Wang told Newsday.
>
[... article deleted ...]
More information at the Newsday.com website -
http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/ny-spwang2712699310may02,0,3754050.story
jerry