Lowell Sun article 3/23/06
LOWELL Local businessman Elkin McCallum yesterday announced that owners of the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils have signed a letter of intent to purchase a controlling interest in his Lowell Lock Monsters minor-league hockey franchise.
As part of the deal, which is expected to be completed in late April, McCallum said the Devils have committed to keeping the team in Lowell at least through the 2007-08 season, a move that had city leaders rejoicing.
But, according to McCallum, the sale is contingent upon a number of significant details that have yet to be worked out, including a new, two-year lease for the city-owned Tsongas Arena and the success of an ongoing effort by a committee of volunteers to sell 1,500 additional season tickets.
About 300 new season tickets have been sold. Each season ticket costs $400, and the commitment is a two-season one, though no money is currently being taken.
This whole thing is about the tickets, McCallum said yesterday. It's about getting that additional revenue and those fans into those seats to make it a viable enterprise. I don't think anybody believes we're going to get 1,500 on April 10, but frankly the process has to be making progress, which I think it is. Hopefully, we're going to be well on our way to keeping professional hockey here in Lowell.
Lock Monsters President Kevin Cummings said the announcement should create a spike in season-ticket interest.
It gives people something tangible, Cummings said. Yeah, we're excited. Now the community has a chance. Do they want (professional hockey) or don't they want it? I feel pretty confident that the answer is yes.
As part of the deal, McCallum said he will retain a small minority equity interest in the team but declined to say how much.
McCallum said it will be up to the Devils, one of the most successful franchises in the NHL, to decide whether to stay in Lowell after the 2007-08 season, but added that my guess is if hockey's going to be successful in Lowell, they'll want to continue, but that'll be their call.
The deal gives the community a couple years to get behind the team, he added.
We look forward to having our top development team play in front of the Lowell fans, Lou Lamoriello, the Devils' longtime chief executive officer, president, general manager and head coach said in the statement. At the same time, we'd like to thank the fans in Albany who have supported us during the past 13 seasons.
David Andrews, the AHL's president, said it took him about 10 minutes to phone Lamoriello when McCallum announced he was putting the team up for sale.
We think it could be the perfect marriage, Andrews said. We think it's the perfect location for the Devils.
Local officials yesterday said they are overjoyed McCallum found a buyer willing to continue the relationship with the Mill City.
Obviously, we'd like a longer commitment, but it's all very preliminary at this point, said Lowell Mayor Bill Martin. We haven't met with these folks, but the overriding good news is, we have a buyer who's willing to keep the team in Lowell. While
there are details to be worked out, this is certainly a very positive step.
City Manager John Cox said he views the sale as a rebirth of the Lock Monsters franchise in Lowell.
What we do now is going to be so important, not just for the short-term but for the long-term, he said. We've got to do more than just sell those tickets. The committee will create a fan base here that's going to sustain the team into the future and, clearly, keep the team here. It's going to be very exciting.
Cox also thanked McCallum for putting aside his own financial interests to negotiate a sale of his team with Lowell's interests at heart.
Other people could have very easily walked away from this thing ... and put the team up for the highest bidder, Cox said. He didn't. We owe him a debt of gratitude for that.
Cox acknowledged that he will have to sign a new lease for the Tsongas Arena with the Devils organization and said he hopes to be able to meet with team representatives maybe next week to begin talking about that.
The Lock Monsters play in the Springfield-based American Hockey League AHL, where they now are the last stop before the NHL for players in the Carolina Hurricanes and the Colorado Avalanche organizations.
McCallum, 61, a textile-industry magnate who owns Joan Fabrics Co., has owned a share of the team since its inception in 1998. He became sole owner in 2002. He announced plans to sell the team in January, citing competing obligations from his other business interests, but pledged to work to find a buyer who would keep the team in Lowell.
The city currently charges McCallum $250,000 per year to use the Tsongas Arena for the team's 40 home games. The team keeps all proceeds from concessions.
Wall Street businessman Jeff Vanderbeek became the Devils' chairman and managing partner in June 2004 in a deal that ended the team's relationship with a sports conglomerate that also included the New Jersey Nets of the NBA and the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball.
Vanderbeek had been a part-owner since 2000. He plans to move the team to a new arena in Newark, N.J., which opened in October, for the 2007-08 season.
The Devils currently play their games at the Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Albany River Rats have been the Devil's AHL affiliate since the 1993-94 season, according to a Devils statement on the signing of the letter of intent, which noted that the deal with the Lock Monsters would mark the team's ownership of an AHL affiliate for the first time since 1992.
