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Anschutz loses some ballast[/size]
- Berliner Morgenpost
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Only German clubs to remain on AEG's European roster[/size]
Philip F. Anschutz is restructuring his investments in Europe. The multi-millionaire from Denver, Colorado, is handing over control of 4 of his 6 European clubs in favour of pushing on with the arena projects in London and Berlin. "As far as ice hockey is concerned, we want to concentrate on the German market" explained Detlef Kornett, European manager of the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). "Apart from that," continued Kornett, "our interest lies in our arenas in London and Berlin."
The local council of Berliner suburb Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg arranged a press conference to announce the latest developments in the 150 million Euro project next to the Ostbahnhof (East Station). Work should start on the 16,000 capacity arena sometime this year, with completion expected in September 2005. In London the Millennium Dome has the same target date for its conversion into a modern sport centre. Home team at the Berliner Halle will be EHC Eisbären, who will represent 10% of the available usage of the arena. The DEL club which currently plays out of the Wellblechpalast in Hohenschönhausen belongs in its entirety to AEG, who also own 70% of the Hamburg Freezers.
The shares in Servette Geneva, Hammarby Stockholm and Sparta Prague will be sold off. Already this spring the company withdrew the London Knights from the British Superleague, as their London Arena was to close and no suitable alternative could be found. Kornett maintained the activities were not to be associated with the financial problems of the entire company, but each club was to be seen as an individual project. "We are not a charity, but a business which must and will make profit" said Kornett. This goal was no longer an option for these projects. The company had acted similarly in moving the then champion club Munich Barons to Hamburg.
In 1999 Anschutz, a 63-year-old son of Austrian immigrants, began to invest in European sports clubs. Last year his empire reached its highest point with shares in 6 clubs. Just at this point the conglomeration began to show signs of difficulty. Shares in the telecommunications company Qwest, his core business, fell from 64 to just 2 dollars. According to the "Neuen Zürcher Zeitung" Anschutz made a loss of around 18 billion dollars. In the "Forbes" economy magazine's list of richest men in the world he fell from position 6 to 54.
Speculation of his intentions in Europe included a formation of a European league. AEG president Tim Leiweke rejected the idea last year. "We invest in ice hockey clubs in Europe, and football clubs in the USA" said Leiweke. "Actually it should be the other way around, if you look at the respective importance of each sport on these continents. We see ourselves as visionaries and are convinced, both sports can become very popular in the relevant hemispheres."
In the USA, Anschutz owns six of the ten clubs in Major League Soccer. In the middle of June he opened the 150 million dollar "Home Depot Center", a 30,000 capacity stadium which is the new home of the LA Galaxy. In European ice hockey he is continuing to drop some weight: For the first time in three years there will be no summer tournament for the Anschutz clubs. According to the planned venue for this year Prague, the tournament will take place in a smaller format at the Color Line Arena in Hamburg. However there are no more dates available in the calendar.
Story added on 30th June 2003 at 14:19 GMT
Story submitted by: Mike Ewer.
Anschutz loses some ballast
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