The owners of the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers have replaced former CEO Scott O’Neill with another basketball expert in Tad Jones. Jones spent 15 seasons as the CEO of the Houston Rockets of the NBA, but now he gets to oversee a sports consortium.
This seems like a basketball move more than it is a hockey move. It’s hard to deny that, as much as the owners probably will. Darryl Morey, who was the GM of the Rockets for more than a decade, left the Rockets last year and joined the 76ers last offseason. The 76ers are the team that should be contending for titles and they keep disappointing in the playoffs. It seems like that is the more immediate need for the owners to fix.
Meanwhile, the Devils are not in their next step of the rebuild, which would mean low playoff contention. It seems like they are at least a year away from that, so Brown can learn the ins and outs of hockey while he makes that happen. The sports world is also returning from the coronavirus pandemic, so there’s a learning curve already built in when it comes to making the fan experience a positive one.
There’s a rumor the 76ers are looking for a new arena, one that Josh Harris and David Blitzer can actually own. They don’t own the Wells Fargo Arena. It’s actually owned by the Philadelphia Flyers owner Comcast Spectacor.
Also, there are other rumors that the European soccer club Crystal Palace could be for sale. Well, something like that anyway. It’s possible that Harris and Blitzer aren’t looking to sell their shares, but other businessmen are looking to take a majority share. Either way, it sounds like another thing to do that takes priority over the Devils.
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That sounds like a negative, but it really isn’t. The Devils are in pretty good shape overall and they are in very good shape financially.
The long and the short of it is that Brown comes in with a ton on his plate, but he is a business ops guy. The Devils and especially Prudential Center are financially stable. Harris and Blitzer are just raking in money now that concerts are back and shows are touring again. The Rock is one of the most desireable arenas to visit for touring artists of all kinds. So, Brown comes in with a basketball background to help grow the business as a whole.
Sure, this will help the Devils in a roundabout way. The owners making more money usually means at least some of the revenue should come downhill. Also, if all these issues get resolved, then the owners can put more resources into making the Devils a contender. There is a clear priority in their business model, and the Devils are not leading the pack. Again, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but today’s decision shows where the priority lies. This is Tom Fitzgerald‘s mess to fix when it comes to the on-ice product.