Calgary Flames ranked 19th most valuable NHL team by Forbes
By Ramina Shlah
Forbes has released their annual NHL valuations list. In their 19th edition, they ranked the Calgary Flames as the 19th most valuable team.
Forbes has officially come out with their annual NHL valuations list, this year marks the 19th edition. For the first time, four teams were worth over $1 billion and two of those four were Canadian teams (Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens). And for the third year in a row, the New York Rangers were the number one most valuable NHL team with a value of $1.5 billion. This year, the Calgary Flames ranked 19th overall on this list with a value of $430 million, a 5% and $20 million increase from last year.
In fact, all NHL teams increased in value this season. Calgary’s $430 million falls under the league average of $594 million (a 15% average increase, the largest in three years). They’re also joined by three other Canadian teams in being under that league average and they’re the third lowest amongst all Canadian teams – above the Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets.
Forbes broke down the Calgary Flames $430 million value in four sections:
- Brand ($45 million, 10%)
- Sport ($92 million, 21.4%)
- Stadium ($128 million, 29.8%)
- Market ($165 million, 38.4%)
Calgary Flames
The Flames’ $430 million is still a decrease from two years ago, where they had a valuation of $435 million, which is, in turn, a decrease from the year before in 2014 where they had a valuation of $452 million.
Something interesting to note is that the Edmonton Oilers had a 1-year change of 17%, going from $445 million last year to $520 million this year. Their revenue has also increased dramatically, from $117 million to $151 million. Calgary’s only increased from $121 million to $129 million. It’s worth noting that Edmonton’s new arena plays a large factor in that. The Flames also fall under the league-average revenue of $148 million.
Via Forbes:
"The Oilers’ first season in the new Rogers Place Arena (owned by the city of Edmonton but run by the hockey team) was a big success with revenue up 23%."
According to Forbes, all Canadian teams also benefited from the Canadian dollar slightly increasing. Last year, the Canadian dollar was at an ultimate low that it’s been in decades at 0.755 to the US dollar. This year, it had a slight increase at 0.766.
Via Forbes:
"The seven Canadian teams were also assisted by a 6.7% increase in the value of the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar from the 2015-16 season to last season."
The biggest change has been Calgary’s operating income (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). It’s been rapidly decreasing over the last two years. In 2015, it was $25.9 million, last year it was $18 million, and this year it’s at $5.4 million. Edmonton’s increased from $15.4 million to $24 million this year.
The good news is that the Flames saw a 5% increase from last year in their valuations. The bad news is that they still fall below the league average. Generally, Calgary has sat above the league average for a while.
Next: 12 Days of Flames Christmas - 2017 edition
We all know that the Flames need a new arena, and we’ve already spoken about this many times on our site before, but really nobody knows what’s going to happen in terms of that and fans have been getting somewhat frustrated with Flames ownership this past year.