NEW YORK (Reuters) - The National Hockey League is on collision course with the players' union after an independent study published Thursday described the state of the league's finances as almost ``catastrophic.''þþThe report, commissioned by the NHL, said the 30 professional clubs lost a combined $273 million during the 2002-03 season, with 19 teams returning an operating loss.þþ``The results were as close to catastrophic I have seen businesses as big as this go,'' Arthur Levitt, the former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman who headed the study, told reporters.þþIt left the NHL on a ``treadmill to obscurity'' and an ``unwise investment'' opportunity, Levitt said. ``It can't sustain losses of this magnitude and be viable.''þþLevitt's findings revealed that, of a gross league revenue of $1.99 billion last season, around $1.5 billion, or 75 percent, was taken up by player costs.þþThe NHL wants to negotiate that figure downwards in talks with the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) between now and September 15, when the existing labor contract expires.þþ``We want a decision on what a fair share of the pie is (for players),'' NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters.þþFUNDAMENTAL CHANGEþþ``The (percentage figure of player costs to revenue) needs to be substantially below what it is now, and below what other sports have in place.þþ``It is not revolutionary ... but we do need a fundamental change in our economic system.þþ``There is an open line of communication between the league and the players' union ... Ultimately, we will make a deal.''þþHowever, the NHLPA, opposed to any sort of salary-capping by the league, rejected the NHL's stance.þþIn a statement, it described the report as a ``public relations initiative,'' and added that ``to suggest the report is in any way independent is misleading.''þþArguing that real revenue figures are higher than have been published, Bob Goodenow, executive director of the NHLPA, said: ``We believe that a market system...provides the best measure of the value of the hockey business.''þþThe NHL commissioned the report in February 2003 after the players' union cast doubt on the league's own figures.þþBettman said Levitt's conclusions were ``sobering'' but refused to take blame for the existing situation. However, he said he should be judged on how the NHL dealt with the crisis.þþ``There are lots of reasons why we are where we are,'' he said. ``I can't control what the clubs have spent.þþ``We do need to fix the problem. And if I do not fix it, I want to be held accountable for that.'' þþ
Source: NY Times
