NHL Team St Louis Blues on the Brink of Being Sold

An announcement of a purchase agreement between NHL team St. Louis Blues and businessman Matthew Hulsizer could be made today, as both sides are close to signing an agreement, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Last week, multiple reports indicated that a sale was close and that a verbal agreement was in place for Hulsizer, a Chicago businessman, to buy a majority stake in the club.

The purchase agreement is merely the next step in the process; it cannot be finalized until the deal is approved by the NHL Board of Governors, which will likely take several weeks.

Blues chairman Dave Checketts has been looking for a buyer since March, when he announced the team was for sale, and had hoped to have a deal in place by the start of the regular season.

Hulsizer previously showed interest in the Blues, but he seemed to be out of the picture when his initial offer was rejected.

The Post-Dispatch estimates the sale price to be $190 million, which also includes the lease to the Scottrade Center, the Blues’ home; the team’s AHL affiliate in Peoria, Ill., and the Peabody Opera House adjacent to Scottrade.

Hulsizer would run the Blues under the proposed deal, but Checketts would remain involved in some capacity, according to the Post-Dispatch.

Hulsizer was close to buying the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes but eventually bowed out after an Arizona watchdog group threatened litigation to block the sale of bonds to help facilitate the purchase.

The Blues are known to have rejected a bid from current minority owner Tom Stillman, who owns 10 percent of the team, and from Calgary businessman Max Chambers, according to the Post-Dispatch.

Chambers acknowledged last month that his offer of $167 million was rejected.