Bye Nashville, we hardly knew ya !

In 1997, after failed attempts by the city to steal the Timberwolves from Minnesota, and the Devils from New Jersey, Nashville gave Craig Leipold a cheque for $ 20 million (of the $ 80 million fee) to use towards an NHL expansion franchise. Thus, the Predators were born.

One of the conditions imposed by the NHL was the requirement that season ticket levels stay above a minimum 12,000, which the Predators met their first season. The people in Nashville have since failed the NHL miserably, with season tickets now having dropped all the way down to 8,500.

Even after a year long lockout specifically designed to help bad market franchises like this, the Predators are still an off-ice disaster. Even after their third winning season the team still can't draw, even with among the lowest ticket prices in the NHL. Paid attendance is only around 13,000. Unable to come close to filling the building regularly, the team gives away over 1700 free tickets per game. It's no wonder Bill Daly is clearly worried about this franchise.

Gate revenues are atrocious, at $516,000 per game, barely half of what the smaller-sized market Calgary Flames generate, so it's no surprise to see Leipold greedily cashing his $ 12 million revenue sharing cheque from the good NHL markets' fans.

One bright light is that this exciting team, after two straight seasons with paid attendance under 14,000, this summer can trigger an exit clause in their lease setting the stage for the team to relocate for 2008-09. For a fee of just $ 18 million to leave Nashville, financial viability is just a year away.