I’m a big supporter of PR and the good work he has put into this club and I cannot thank him enough for installing the stability that was desperately required. However, I have huge reservations about this move.
From a league perfective, this makes a further mockery of the league. You’d like to think we’re moving towards a shared vision of a professionally run, independently governed hockey league. This added conflict of interest does not help that course in my opinion. As someone has already pointed out, 10 teams currently run by 6 owners. That’s silly, not matter how you try and sell it.
From a Devils point of view, this rings alarm bells for me as a fan. We’ve seen this before and look how that turned out. I’m not suggesting PR is of the same mould as BP (that would be insulting) but the conflict of interest will inevitably have an impact in many ways (player signings, league fixtures, etc). Someone close to me said to me over the summer, when Sheffield’s woes became public, that PR will probably go for Sheffield if we lose out on the tender of the rink. Looks like they were right.
From a business point of view, I can see why BP and now PR want a crack a Sheffield. There is potentially more money to be made there. The Steelers are a huge market and if PR can put a similar marketing strategy into Sheffield that he has down in Cardiff then I would imagine the profit margin is far greater than can every be made in Cardiff under the current circumstances (renting a tent off PI). We must remember that PR is first and foremost a businessman and this opportunity is clearly too big to miss.
From a Steelers point of view, I’m actually very pleased for them. Apart from those who think BP is some kind of saviour, PR will provide a really professionalism that has been missing from Sheffield for a long time now. Despite early success under BP, the Steelers have been slowly dying and, like with us, PR can save the club from the depths of despair and really push it into a new era.
The small positives I see are that BP is now out of the Elite League (dare I say). His control has been far too great in my opinion, despite the huge denial from many Steelers fans (even we knew he had too much control when he owned us). Also, if PR can influence the league to follow the Cardiff model then there is real potential for this league to grow and that is of course a good thing for everyone.
Overall though, as a Devils fan, I do fear the worse. I do not see how the Devils are making big money under the current circumstances. We have a massive drive in ST sales. We have seen crowd averages increase dramatically. We have also seen investment from new and existing sponsors even during hard financial times. That all said, we have put a huge amount into player wages this term (of course speculate to accumulate) and I don’t think the profit margins are there while we rent a substandard facility from a money hungry organisation. Losing the tender was an enormous blow and without sounding too dramatic, this move suggests the ambition for this club is somewhat deflated.
My first reaction to this is shock and disappointment. I hope that my feelings change and I can see the major benefits this move will provide for the Cardiff Devils.