THE BUSINESS OF HOCKEY
NICKEL CITY CHEESE
Team Value
$1.63 B
Team value, as calculated by
in December 2023
At a Glance
Owner:
Championships:
Price Paid:
Year Purchased:
Revenue:
Operating Income:
Banners:
Jersey Retirements:
Player Trophies:
GM of the Year Awards:
Attendance to Capacity:
True North Sports & Entertainment
0
$240 M
2012
$303.86 M
$98.62 M
1
3
9
1
103.7%
2021
Write up to come
2020
A drop down the standings and out of the playoffs in the midst of a pandemic stung the bottom line for the Nickel City Kings, as the franchise saw more than $50M shaved off the franchise valuation. The reduced value now puts the franchise as the 5th-most valuable in the NHFL, down from 4th-most a year ago.
Strong attendance numbers and a rebrand from the original Dick Cheese team name to the more regionally-focused 'Nickel City Cheese Kings', stirred up enough interest in the franchise to prevent the valuation from tumbling further.
True North Sports and Entertainment split its sports teams and venues into two separate publicly traded companies in April 2020. The Cheese Kings are part of the new House of Cheese Corp., which also owns a development fantasy hockey league team, the management group for a local baseball team, and eSports teams through Counter Logic Gaming. HOG Sports and the venue business, Cheddar Entertainment, are both controlled by the Cheese family. The Cheese Kings will pay $16.7 million annually in rent under their new lease and collect 32.5% of HOG's luxury suite revenue, along with 50% of net profits from concessions at hockey games.
2019
The first division banner in franchise history had the Dick Cheese fanbase turning out at team-record levels in 2019. After years of struggling to gain a foothold, both in the entertainment industry of the Greater Sudbury Area, and on the NHFL standings ladder - Dick Cheese finished one victory shy of competing for their first ever Fifty Mission Cup, and managed to reach that elusive 110% capacity mark as the 2019 playoffs neared. Dick Cheese sold-out seating at the House of Cheese every week in 2019, also a first for the franchise.
The front office was also recognized by the NHFL awards in 2019, as the combination of on-ice success and managerial fortitude lead to Dick Cheese GM being crowned the Traders' Cup winner.
Beyond those notable accomplishments, it was a relatively quiet year for the franchise. Their modest gains in both overall valuation (2.31%) and total revenue (5.45%) had them in the bottom half of the league in year-over-year totals. The franchise did see league-average improvements in Operational Income, boosting their 2018 value nearly 10% (over 6% higher than any NHFL franchise with a higher Operational Income than Dick Cheese in 2018).
Overall team success seems to be the main factor holding the valuation of Dick Cheese back from jumping into the next tier of NHFL franchises. Some player recognition via individual awards, jersey retirements or division banners, and of course a Fifty Mission Cup are the missing pieces to seeing a spike in total franchise value. With the transfer of ownership and relocation to Sudbury of the now-named Beaver Squeezers, Dick Cheese finds themselves with a regional rival just as they were getting comfortable with the exclusive access to the northern Ontario market.
2018
Despite being in the midst of improving their team winning percentage for the fifth season in a row, the Dick Cheese franchise still has not won a playoff series since 2012 and their Fifty Mission Cup title drought stretches back to 2008. The House of Cheese is a small arena by NHFL standards, but Dick Cheese still manages to be a financial powerhouse as they have sold out almost every game, dating back to September 2017. The team raised ticket prices 7% on average for the 2018-19 season after two straight years of price freezes. Big changes were on the horizon for the Dick Cheese ownership group at this time last year. True North Sports & Entertainment successfully expanded its sports portfolio with a pair of new franchises: the Sudbury Cheese Miners and the Sudbury Cheesits both made their debut in the 2018-19 season and play their home games at the House of Cheese.
Dick Cheese management has been the most active in league, and fan, outreach programs since they took over ownership of the franchise in 2012. As the success of their on-ice hockey product continues to improve, so too will the Dick Cheese brand, as they have a monopoly on the northern Ontario market.
2017
The Dick Cheese franchise has not won a playoff series since 2012 and the Fifty Mission Cup title drought stretches back to 2008, but fans continue to support the team with attendance hovering around 100% capacity over the past year at The House of Cheese. Cheese’s ownership, True North Sports & Entertainment, is expanding its sports portfolio with a pair of new franchises. It recently secured the rights to an eSports team for the inaugural season of Overwatch League. The Sudbury Cheese Miners will utilize the Dick Cheese iconic red and blue colours and kick off their regular season in January 2018. True North Sports & Entertainment also owns the new franchise in the National Lacrosse League. The Sudbury Cheesits make their NLL debut for the 2018-19 season and will play home games at the House of Cheese.