The Tampa Bay Lightning have officially been sold
The Tampa Bay Lightning organization has officially been sold for $1.8 billion, according to a new report.
Winning back-to-back Stanley Cups can't be bad for the value of a franchise. In the past years, the organization's popularity hasn't ceased to grow, and it seems the Lightning Chairman & Governor Jeff Vinik and the Vinik Sports Group decided to capitalize on the opportunity to sell. During the summer, rumblings of a deal started to emerge.
On October 1st, the NHL's Board of Governors approved the sale to a group of investors led by Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz, but the announcement wasn't made until today.
Full details of the deal weren't revealed, but Sportico revealed that Lipschultz and Ostrover bought over 50% of the team for $1.8 billion.
Changes won't be observed just yet, as Vinik will still be in full control of the team for the next three years before stepping down as Alternate Governor and board member.
He made the following declaration in the team's press release:
The new owners also commented:
The Bolts are set to hit the ice tonight against the Minnesota Wild. The sale won't change anything for the day-to-day operations of the team, but fans are eager to see what will eventually change in the organization.
| POLL | ||
24 OCTOBRE | 47 ANSWERS The Tampa Bay Lightning have officially been sold Do you think the Tampa Bay Lightning will win another Stanley Cup in the next five years? | ||
| Yes | 9 | 19.1 % |
| No | 38 | 80.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
