Nashville Predators will continue local-based ownership with Bill Haslam buying majority stake
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Good Saturday morning! This is trending sports reporter Nick Gray.
The Nashville Predators officially announced former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam will become the majority owner of the Preds in a multi-year process, pending completed paperwork and approval from the NHL.
He will purchase the shares from current Predators Holdings LLC chairman Herb Fritsch.
Fritsch and a group of local buyers purchased the Predators in 2007. Other deals being considered at that time could have moved the team to Kansas City or Canada. But the current ownership group has provided stability in Nashville as the team's connection with the city has strengthened. Haslam, the governor of Tennessee from 2011-19, will continue the team's locally-based ownership, which is a sigh of relief for local fans.
That was the initial thought of sports columnist Gentry Estes, too. "I’m fairly certain that Tennessee’s former governor doesn’t wish to relocate the Predators to Canada or Kansas City or anywhere other than Bridgestone Arena," Estes wrote Friday.
There's still many, many more questions that need answers. Was Haslam's bid the only one presented to Predators ownership? Will Haslam provide a public face and voice that the current ownership group has lacked? (CEO and President Sean Henry had a statement in the team's release Friday, but the ownership group did not.) Will Predators fans hear from them before the majority ownership handoff?
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators will continue local-based ownership
