"I am thrilled that David Freeman and his local group have joined up with ‘Boots’ Del Biaggio and come together to purchase the Predators. My hope is that their commitment to Nashville will be reciprocated in the form of business and individual support on an ongoing basis to make this franchise successful for the long-term."

Freeman, the CEO of 36 Venture Capital, and Herb Fritch, CEO of Healthsprings, are Nashville businessmen that are among the eight partners that entered into the agreement to purchase the team for $193 million. To show their commitment, the group has put down a $10 million nonrefundable deposit towards the sale price. The group immediately began taking steps towards turning the letter of intent into a more binding legal agreement, which would allow the NHL to begin its "due diligence" investigation process. Once that is complete, the group would need NHL Board of Governors approval in order to become the owners.

Freeman stated on an interview on the Thom Abraham Show on 106.7 The Fan in Nashville that the group isn’t buying the team to make money.

"We've said we can't lose money. We just can't lose money. But beyond that, we are not in it for a profit. We don't want a profit. Whatever extra we make will go back in."

Ironically, he has admitted to not being a season ticket holder of the team, but is rather purchasing the team to ensure that the fans will still have a hockey team to root for. He also pointed to the day of the intent signing to Balsillie as the day when the group really began taking shape.

"It’s Nashville’s team, and if Nashville supports it, it will be here long after I’m dead," Freeman said.
Even though Freeman is openly uncomfortable with the sudden media attention surrounding him, he stated that he would serve as the group’s governor and chairman.

Incredibly, William "Boots" Del Biaggio emerged not as a villain, but as a hero, swooping in to become the group’s eighth and final member, and the only one with NHL ownership experience. It is certainly an ironic twist that a minority owner of the team responsible for booting the Predators from the playoffs for two straight seasons is the one giving the ownership group financial stability and league-wide credibility.

Despite his previous agreement with Anschutz Entertainment Group to bring a team to the Kansas City area, Del Biaggio has given up this pursuit as well as his minority stake in the San Jose Sharks in order to join with Freeman, Fritch and the five other still anonymous partners.

At the press conference, Freeman reiterated that Del Biaggio is not a threat to Nashville.

"Boots is not a threat to Nashville. His interests and our interests are extremely similar. We all want to show that hockey can succeed in the heartland of America. We welcome him with open arms."

He added that if the team were to fail in Nashville, it would make future expansion to nontraditional markets unlikely.

"When you think about the other cities that have been thrown out there as possibilities, Boots has a great stake in making sure that Heartland America and what's considered a small market can show that it can be successful with a hockey franchise. Because if it fails in Nashville, then I don't think another city out of the heartland of America is going to be the number one choice for expansion."
Despite several pleas for help last season, Predators owner Craig Leipold was unable to gain enough traction within the local business community to turn a profit and was unwilling to sustain the franchise’s heavy financial losses for another year, throwing the franchise’s future into turmoil.

Balsillie’s Game Misconduct
Things got worse when Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie, who has long expressed his desire to operate an NHL franchise in the Hamilton, Ontario region, swooped in with an overly generous $220 million offer to purchase the team.

However, Balsillie, who could have been mere weeks away from being handed the keys to his own franchise had he played by the rules, blew it. He ignored the city’s lease agreement with the franchise, and in effect slapped every single Predators fan in the face by taking deposits for the 2008-09 "Hamilton Predators" on Ticketmaster, among other belligerent moves.

Ironically, his actions seemed to have awoken the Predators fan base, who have responded angrily to Balsillie’s attempt to purchase and move their team.

Jim Leutgens, and his SaveThePredators.com Web site garnered national media attention with his grassroots efforts selling bumper stickers and T-shirts took off. Using the proceeds from his merchandise sales, Leutgens spent nearly $20,000 on more than 600 Predators tickets that will be donated to worthy charities.

"I think his aggression was stirring a lot of fire in people locally to fight against him," Leutgens said. "I think it was his actions that made a difference in the way people reacted in Nashville."

Leipold himself had harsh comments about Balsillie and his actions at the press conference, stating, "Jim Balsillie went his own direction with a rogue lawyer who had no intention of honoring the process of being an NHL owner. Obviously, we didn't go forward, so we began the process to find a new owner."

Brian Whitfield, the president of the Sommet Group, the company that purchased the naming rights to the arena, said having a local ownership group changes everything.

"It’s important to have local owners that live here and send their kids to school here so they get to understand what a generation of young hockey lovers that we’re raising in this town," Whitfield said. "They’re going to be motivated to do all the things that need to be done to get the team involved in the community and to keep them here for a long, long time."

Whitfield has been publicly credited for sticking with the team himself, as Leipold told him of the impending intent to sell to Balsillie just before news of their naming rights agreement became public.

"The biggest question that I asked Craig was are there any other ways, any other loopholes that can be used to move the team other than the 14,000 seat minimum that has to be maintained for the cure clause to go away. And he told me no, so that’s really all I needed to hear."

Soon after the announcement of the intent to sell to Balsillie, a coalition of fans and business leaders founded "Our Team Nashville," a grassroots organization dedicated to boosting Predators season ticket sales in order to keep the team in the city.

Ron Samuels, the chairman of the group, said those involved couldn’t bear to think of losing the team.

"We need to do all we can to control the controllables," Samuels said. "And the controllables is basically the ticket sales. We can’t control who owns the team, what the management does, what the trades are, but we can control one thing, and that’s how many corporate ticket sales and season ticket sales there are."

Rallying Cry
To that end, the coalition came up with the idea of a fan rally to boost awareness and ticket sales at the same time.

The rally was held July 19 at the Sommet Center, with the Our Team Nashville group expecting modest results.

"My first expectation would have been for a good day, and we would have some activity, and that we would have a lot of people show up for the rally that night," Whitfield said. "I thought if we sold 200 to 250 tickets that day, we would be doing great."

Instead, the rally launched the Predators from uncertainty over whether or not they could reach their minimum target to cautious optimism that they could already be on pace to breach the 14,000-ticket threshold needed to ensure the team’s lease agreement with the city could not be voided.

That day, 752 full season equivalents were purchased, a figure which includes flex plan deposits not tallied until recently. In addition, the renewal percentage went up to 73 percent, which is still seven to eight percent short of the team’s normal renewal percentage.

"It was far beyond what we ever expected," Predators director of season ticket sales Nat Harden said. "It took us from being not sure if we could get to 14, to becoming confident that we could there. It was a big boost for us."

In addition, the evening’s rally drew approximately 7,500 fans, far and away above expectations.
"I was shocked, frankly, to see that many people and very encouraged to see that many people in another sense," Samuels said. "To walk into that arena with some of the members of the coalition and the first lady and the governor, and see the enthusiasm and energy that crowd had just further validated for our coalition and me personally that the kind of work that was going on behind the scenes here was really worth it."

Several businesses, including Pepsi and Purity, donated product throughout the steamy summer day. 104.5 The Zone broadcasted live on location from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., staking the entire day’s programming around the rally. In addition, Central Parking agreed to let everyone park for free that day in their massive lot located to the east of the arena.

As of Aug. 10, the Predators have sold 8,635 full season ticket equivalents, with single game tickets set to go on sale in September. The team finished last year with about 8,700 season tickets total. That means the team’s season ticket base could at least approach 10,000 sold before single game sales are even tallied.

"September and October are some of our biggest months, and we expect it to be that way again this year," Harden said, attributing the boost in sales to the weather and the increased local media coverage.

Supporting The Troops
Leutgens isn’t the only one who felt he could support the team.

Nashville attorney Kevin Doherty saw it as an opportunity to not only purchase tickets but also say thanks to those who serve our country.

"Being a big hockey fan, I wanted to do something to help the Predators," Doherty said. "Originally, I thought about doing something for the troops and disadvantaged children, but since there were other people who were also doing things for the children, I really focused on the troops."

Doherty, who is also the chairman of the Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee, works with Operation Eagle’s Nest, a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization formed to provide assistance to soldiers and their families. His "Operation Tickets for the Troops" effort collects tickets and monetary donations used to purchase tickets that are passed directly on to those at Ft. Campbell.

In addition to being a very worthy cause, the 501 (c)(3) part means the donations are fully tax deductible.

Major General Jeffrey Schloesser, the commanding officer at Ft. Campbell, gave his approval to the program, allowing the base’s resources to be used for the purpose of distributing the tickets. 

"The Predators will let the troops know how many per game, then OPE and the base will put out the word," Paula Barnes, the primary volunteer and an office administrator for Doherty, said. "Tickets will be on a first come, first-served basis to the troops and their families, and it will be distributed either at the base or at will call."

While they have already collected 25 season ticket equivalents, Doherty said he’s turned his attention to specific events. Barnes said they have already collected approximately $1,500 in donations for tickets so far.

"We are now going to focus our efforts on raising enough cash to buy large blocks of seats for specific games, and then have troop nights," Doherty said.

To that end, he has organized a fundraiser on Aug. 29 at City Hall Entertainment in Nashville. Canadian country music stars Emerson Drive will be in attendance, with lead singer and hockey palyer Brad Mates serving as the emcee. Several Predators players and additional music acts are expected to attend, although the precise lineup is yet to be determined. 

"The number of troop nights is going to depend on how much money we raise, but it’s also going to depend on the deployment schedule," Doherty said. "A lot of the troops are going to be gone pretty quickly, which isn’t necessarily a problem for us, because there are plenty of families we can give the tickets to."

Doherty acknowledged the help of the Predators staff in making this come together for the upcoming season.

"The Predators have told us they will provide announcements, fanfare, they will acknowledge the folks in attendance," Doherty said. "The Predators are really our partners in a sense. We’re running this entirely ourselves, but they’re supporting us without getting involved in what we’re doing."

Several professional sports teams, particularly those with a significant soldier presence nearby, hold military nights as well, to rave fan reviews.

"It’s a great way to win," Doherty said. "It helps the Predators. It helps the troops, and it helps their families."
For more information about the fundraiser or "Operation Tickets for the Troops," contact Barnes at 615-724-3220 or at pbarnes@burr.com.

Fill Every Seat, Every Night
Another fan who more than did his part to support the team is Kevin Gregory. Gregory and his company, Tenvision, based in Gallatin, TN, purchased a total of 36 season tickets, and have already donated 14 of those to charity.

Gregory said he became more and more involved and exited as a fan as the season wore on, as the company moved up from a ten game suite package to a full season suite deal.

"I had season tickets four rows behind the bench at the Pacers, and I can tell you it is far and away a superior, superior product to the NBA," Gregory said.

Samuels also credited Predators goalie Chris Mason for publicly announcing he was purchasing season tickets himself.

"I think that just really said it all," Samuels said. "To see him just step out there and buy some set a great example, and I’m sure others will get on board."

Whitfield was careful not to criticize Nashville businesses outright, but he still encouraged more local business support.

"Clearly, I can only make decisions for my company, because I understand what our abilities are. I would be the last person to ever bash a business for not making a decision when I don’t know any of the fundamentals of their business. However, there are still some companies that are out there that have a relatively large footprint in Middle Tennessee that aren’t involved. At the end of the day, I think that they really should be.

Still, Whitfield praised the businesses that have invested in the team.

"You’ve also seen other companies that may have never been involved before step up and buy tickets just because they want to make sure the team stays here. It is very encouraging to see that down on Broadway, those downtown businesses that directly benefit from the Predators being there step up."

Gregory was a little more direct in his assessment of the business community buying tickets.
"I’m not going to tell you thank God for doing it, but it took you ten years and a ‘Hey, we’re moving’ to do it."

Leutgens is quick to deflect praise of his efforts, saying, "The comment we’ve heard more than anything is ‘Thank you for doing this.’ We’re just doing what I think anybody would have done; we just did it first. We really owe our success to all the fans. The fans are just outstanding. They’ve really come through and supported the team. The people that can’t afford to buy season tickets can afford to buy a T-shirt. And they realize that, and it helps."

Still, despite the recent push, those involved are urging fans not to stop now.
"More than anything, we need people to stick with us, and keep buying our merchandise and coming to our events," Leutgens said. "Because we’re not stopping, and we don’t think they should either."

Even if the team reaches its 14,000 ticket average, both the prospective owners and those involved say "Why stop there?"

Freeman has stated that while the 14,000 is "magical" in terms of the lease agreement and the NHL’s revenue sharing system, the team realistically needs to average 16,000 tickets sold in order to be profitable and have a higher payroll.

"Our ultimate goal is to fill every seat, every night," Leutgens said. "That’s our new catchphrase for our effort."
With the kind of effort being shown by some in the Nashville community, that dream could very soon become a reality.