Forbes Magazine, the money people, have come out with their annual release of the NHL’s most valuable franchises.
Does it surprise anyone that the Toronto Maple Leafs are # 1 ? Certainly no surprise here.
According to Forbes, the Leafs are worth $ 521 million dollars, in US funds.
The report did make me think, ‘ what would be the Ontario Hockey League’s most valuable franchise ? ‘
I’m sure it depends on which actuarial you use, and the method of calculation, but in the end, financially, it would have to be the London Knights or Kitchener Rangers, wouldn’t it ?
They’re both in major urban Ontario centres with burgeoning populations.
The Labatt Centre in London holds 9,000 plus, Kitchener’s Dom Cardillo is about to expand once again and the cash registers in both venues goes non-stop.
In terms of business models, the Knights and Rangers are the junior versions of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Sure, there’s a big difference financially between what the NHL Leafs are worth and the value of the OHL clubs at Kitchener and London.
But the biggest difference, as I see it, between the NHL Leafs and the OHL Knights and Rangers is that people actually like the Leafs.
I’m Fred Wallace