18 Dec
The NHL lockout reached more than 100 days and negotiations are still continuing on a bumpy path. Legal battles over certain issues are fought in the U.S. District Court of New York separately. There are some hopes for a shortened 48-game season to start sometime in January 2013. All games through January 14, 2013 have been cancelled by the league.
As of December 2012, the NHL lockout thus far cost the league over $1.6 billion lost revenue. Loss to players and other businesses are racking up enormous amounts too.
Businesses near 30 arenas are down more than 15 percent due to the strike and laying-off employees. As of this writing, the strike has wiped-out 625 games. Each small business near stadiums estimated to earn around $5,000 for a home game. The “Hockeytown U.S.A.” also known as Detroit has impacted more than any other city. In Buffalo, hotels that house visiting players alone lost more than $850,000 to $1 million so far.
The upper level salary cap for the current season is capped at $70.2 million. The ongoing discussions sure to bring salary cap down to $65 or $60 million. The players originally wanted $67.5 million and dropped to $65 million while owners are negotiating for a salary cap of $60 million.