Venue Detail
St. Louis Blues
Revenues From Sports Venues Pro Facilities Report
January, 2010
St. Louis Blues
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5700 Oakland Ave St. Louis, MO 63110-1318 Phone: 314-622-2500 Fax: 314-622-2582 URL: www.stlouisblues.com Owner: David Checketts League: National Hockey League Western, Central Division
Venue
Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark Ave, St. Louis, MO 63103-2709 Owner: Sports Capital Partners Managed by: Owner Built: 1994 Capacity: 19,500 Permanent concession stands: 20 Concessionaire: The Levy Restaurants Suite caterer: The Levy Restaurants Soft drink: Pepsi Cola Beer: Multiple
Naming rights
Sold to: Scottrade Inc. Term: 20 years Expires: 2020
Ticket prices
Season tickets range from $440 to $3,960 Single tickets range from $18.00 to $215.00 2007 average attendance: 12,520 2008 average attendance: 17,610 2009 average attendance: 17,193
Luxury Suites
Quantity: 91 Term: 2 to 7 years Price: $80,000 to $250,000 Seats: 8 to 12 Includes: Tickets, two parking passes, restaurant membership. Party suites lease for $2,550 for 30 tickets or $3,400 for 40 tickets. The price includes snacks, beer and soda.
Club seats
Quantity: 1,640 Term: 1 to 1 years Price: $3,388 to $7,480 Includes: Tickets, private restaurant and parking with groups of 4.
Financing
The previous owners of the Blues, Kiel Center Partners, paid $30 million toward the $135 million construction cost. Another $62 million came from tax-exempt private activity bonds, $37 million in bank loans and $6 million in working capital. Pct. public: 46
The Scottrade Center is home to the NHL Blues. The $135 million arena was built on land valued at $34 million that was contributed by the City of St. Louis. There are also 6 penthouse party boxes, which cost up to $160,000 to rent.
Naming rights were originally purchased by Savvis Communications Corp. which revised its naming rights deal for the former Kiel Center arena because of its troubled financial situation. The company originally paid for the rights with 750,000 shares of stock, but payments were interrupted when the firm's business faltered.
In 2001, Savvis agreed to pay $1.25 million annually from 2002 to 2005 and that will be deducted from payments due between 2007 and 2010 as part of the 20-year deal. The original agreement was valued at $72 million. Scottrade Inc. purchased the rights in 2006 for an undisclosed amount.
In late 1998, the team and Venue owners said they might put both properties on the sale block to stem heavy losses. The cash problems reportedly were coming because of the team's $31 million payroll.
In 1999, Bill and Nancy Laurie of Columbia, MO spent $100 million to buy the NHL Blues and the arena. Nancy Laurie is heir to the Wal-Mart fortune.
More than $90 million of the purchase price went to pay debt on the Kiel Center, but will not compensate Clark Enterprises for the money put into helping the team stay alive. The group is made up of companies such as Anheuser-Busch and Emerson Electric and the companies will write off more than $100 million they invested. The Lauries have signed an agreement to keep the Blues in St. Louis and say they might consider adding an NBA team.
For the 2000-2001 season, the Lauries sacrificed 400 seats in the Venue for a new sports bar open to all fans. The bar will be open before, during and after games. Improvements will also be made to the sound and video systems.
The team was sold in 2006 and David Checketts acquired control of the Savvis Center and the St. Louis Blues. The price was a reported $150 million.
The Blues' lease runs through the 2010-11 season. (Facilities, Financial, Ice Hockey, Professional Sports, Venue)