It’s a good time to be an owner of a National Hockey League franchise.
For the first time in awhile, the league’s owners and the players association seem to be in a period of labour peace as they prepare to begin collective bargaining agreement negotiations. League revenues have recovered incredibly well from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. Problematic arena situations around the league appear to be stabilizing. And the relaxing of rules regarding private equity investment has seen an influx of new cash into clubs.
Business is booming, and that’s reflected in Sportico’s 2024 update to their league-wide franchise valuations, released last week by that site. The Calgary Flames have an estimated franchise value of $1.58 billion, 18th in the league, and a $440 million increase over their 2023 valuation.
Based on data estimates compiled by Sportico, with their methodology primarily based on club revenues, the average NHL franchise is worth $1.79 billion and, for the first time, every club is estimated to have a value of over $1 billion. The biggest jump in value from 2023’s rankings was experienced by the Utah Hockey Club, and that makes sense given that a year ago they were playing in Tempe, Arizona’s 4,600 seat Mullett Arena. Even with the quirks of Salt Lake City’s Delta Center, just moving to a building with an increased capacity represented a gigantic increase in revenues.
League-wide, franchise values increased by about 37% from last year, with the Flames increasing by 39%. It’s worth noting that while the announcement and start of construction of Scotia Place are a big positive story for the franchise, the new building’s impact won’t be felt in the Sportico rankings until the building opens and starts hosting NHL games in 2027-28 – the Flames’ increase in value in the Sportico estimates over the past few seasons appear to primarily be a reflection of the factors that are increasing values league-wide. It’s reasonable to expect the Flames to jump up the rankings, and in value, in a few seasons.
Originally owned by Atlanta businessman Tom Cousins and his associate Bill Putnam, the Flames were relocated to Calgary in 1980 and have been primarily controlled by a changing roster of local owners since 1981. They’re currently owned by Murray Edwards, Jeff McCaig, Alvin Libin and Allan Markin. Considering that Nelson Skalbania purchased the Flames from Cousins in 1980 for a then-record $16 million – $57.3 million when adjusted for inflation – the current estimates represent a pretty impressive return on that initial investment.
