Wanna Own a Hockey Club?

by Jes

Let's face it, we're not going to be wealthy enough to own a professional hockey club. The pittance I make at my real job plus the Google ads isn't even enough to afford me the luxury of seasons tickets.

Well, I suppose if you are really damn keen on owning a hockey club, then the MyOwnHockeyTeam.com venture might be for you ...

MyOwnHockeyTeam is setting out to create the first fan owned and managed Professional Ice Hockey Team. Web technology allows a collective thinking and decision making process, making active fan participation a reality.

The concept is simple. Every hockey fan has dreamed of owning a hockey team. We all believe that we have what it takes to lead a team to victory. Each member is entitled to ONE vote in MyOwnHockeyTeam. The funds collected are put into a Toronto based trust, and when we meet the membership goal, we will negotiate and purchase a professional hockey team.

All the decisions are made by the MyOwnHockeyTeam members online. Members will decide what league to join, what team to buy, who makes the team and all the other important tasks of the General Manager.

"We studied modern web applications to see where there was a need in the market." said Robert Battye, one of the two founders. "This model has been successfully applied to stock market groups, so why not apply the same model to ice hockey?"

The first membership goal is 25,000. At that point the members will vote on whether to continue raising memberships or to purchase one then.

"I love hockey and I've always dreamed of owning a team" comments Vlad Heger, the other founder. "I've been so frustrated watching owners make decisions based on finances rather than my team winning. Now I want to do something about that"

Poking around the site, the owners admit that owning an NHL club is a pipe dream, and instead want to focus on a minor-pro team or even a Canadian Hockey League team.

To me, it seems like a wild flight of fancy, given how it takes a group of wealthy NHLers just to purchase a CHL club these days. Hockey teams require a lot of funds to run the activities.

If the venture uses $45 per membership towards a team, and somehow gets 25,000 memberships, it will have $1,125,000 in the kitty to purchase a club. I suppose that could get you an ECHL club, but I'm not entirely sure.

It'll be interesting if this idea picks up steam. I'll give them full marks for creativity. I can just imagine the weird and wacky decisions that would come out of 25,000 people voting on which coach to hire.