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Huzzah, the Dallas Stars are no longer bankrupt

Dallas Stars

It’s official, the Dallas Stars have a new owner. Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi was given the keys to the franchise after a Delaware bankruptcy court gave the thumbs up to the deal Friday.

The NHL Board of Governors has already approved Gaglardi.

The details, courtesy the Wall Street Journal:

To get the Dallas Stars, [Gaglardi] has agreed to pay off about $50 million owed to an NHL affiliate and take out $100 million in new financing to pay the club’s senior lenders, who were owed $250.9 million as of July 31.

Junior lenders owed $146.2 million as of July 31 have already resigned themselves to taking a pounding. They will get up to $25,000 of their legal fees paid and will share in $500,000 of the recovery that is earmarked for senior lenders, under the plan.

Sucks to be a junior lender. But hey, legal fees!

Now comes the hard part for Gaglardi and new (and old) team president Jim Lites. Average attendance at the American Airlines Center is 10,023 through eight games, the lowest total in the NHL. In 2009-10, it was 17,215.

Even Greece thinks the financial picture has gotten pretty dire in Dallas.

As for the team on the ice, the Stars have lost three in a row after starting 11-3-0. They’re in Colorado tonight to play the freefalling Avs, after which they return home for four games.