The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Ducks have called the Honda Center home since their inception. However, the team was not always owned by Disney. In 1993, the Walt Disney Company was granted an NHL expansion franchise for Anaheim that would eventually become the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Disney paid an expansion fee to the NHL to acquire the new team. Over the years, Disney’s ownership of the Ducks evolved until the company eventually sold the team in 2005. Let’s take a closer look at how much Disney originally paid to bring the NHL to Anaheim and acquire the Ducks franchise.
History of the Anaheim Ducks
The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim first took to the ice in the 1993-1994 NHL season as an expansion team. Disney had actively pursued an NHL franchise for several years leading up to being awarded the Anaheim team. Bringing the NHL to Anaheim was part of Disney’s strategy to increase tourism and attract visitors to Disneyland, which is located less than 5 miles from the Honda Center.
On December 10, 1992, the NHL announced that Disney had been awarded an expansion franchise in Anaheim that would begin play in the 1993-1994 season. As part of the NHL’s expansion process, Disney was required to pay an expansion fee that would be divided amongst the existing NHL teams. Expansion fees are essentially an entrance charge for joining the league and are intended to offset any dilution of league revenue that comes from splitting hockey-related income amongst more teams.
Disney’s Expansion Fee for the Ducks
According to contemporary news reports, Disney paid an expansion fee of $50 million to acquire the new Anaheim franchise in 1992. Adjusted for inflation, that $50 million fee equates to approximately $92 million in 2023 dollars. This expansion fee was in line with what other NHL expansion teams were paying at that time.
For example, when the San Jose Sharks joined the league as an expansion team in 1991, their reported expansion fee was $45 million ($87 million adjusted for inflation). The following year, the NHL added two new expansion teams, the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks, for $50 million each. The next NHL expansion did not occur until 1998 when the Nashville Predators joined the league for $80 million.
So in today’s dollars, Disney’s payment of $50 million in 1992 to land an NHL expansion franchise was the equivalent of a $92 million investment. This expansion fee essentially allowed Disney to “buy into” the NHL and become owners of the new Anaheim team that would eventually become known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
The Sale of the Ducks by Disney in 2005
Disney owned and operated the Anaheim franchise from 1993 to 2005. In that time, the team dropped “Mighty” from their name in 2006 and were known simply as the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks had a reasonable amount of regular season success under Disney’s ownership, making the playoffs six times in twelve seasons. Their biggest achievement came in 2003 when they reached the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to the New Jersey Devils.
However, by the early 2000s, Disney was looking to sell the team. NHL teams are expensive to operate on an annual basis and owning the Ducks no longer fit Disney’s long-term business strategy. In 2005, Disney found a buyer for the Ducks in Henry and Susan Samueli, billionaire co-founders of semiconductor company Broadcom Inc.
Disney sold the Anaheim Ducks to the Samuelis for approximately $75 million. This sales price reflected the fair market value for an NHL team at that time. While Disney did turn a profit on their initial $50 million investment from 1993, the $75 million sale price suggests the annual cost of operating the Ducks exceeded Disney’s expectations.
The Ducks’ First Stanley Cup Victory after Disney
Just two years after Disney sold the team, the Ducks reached the pinnacle of the NHL by winning their first Stanley Cup championship in 2007. The Ducks were led by high-scoring forwards Teemu Selanne and Andy McDonald, along with future NHL MVP Corey Perry and Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Niedermayer. In the playoffs, they defeated the favored Detroit Red Wings and then the Ottawa Senators in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Ducks delivered Anaheim its first major professional sports championship.
Since the Samuelis purchased and renamed the team in 2006, the Ducks have enjoyed great on-ice success. In addition to the championship in 2007, the Ducks have won five Pacific Division titles and appeared in the Western Conference Finals two additional times. Disney initially introduced the NHL to Anaheim, but the Ducks have continued to thrive under their current ownership group.
Conclusion
In 1992, the Walt Disney Company paid $50 million to land an NHL expansion franchise that would eventually become known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Adjusted for inflation over time, that $50 million equates to approximately $92 million in today’s dollars. Owning the Ducks gave Disney an extra tourist attraction next to Disneyland, but annual losses ultimately led Disney to sell the team in 2005 for $75 million. While the ownership tenure ended, Disney’s expansion payment succeeded in laying the groundwork to bring NHL hockey to Orange County and Anaheim. Under new ownership and the simplified name Anaheim Ducks, the team went on to win its first Stanley Cup in 2007. So while the Ducks have outgrown their “Mighty” cartoon origins, Disney’s original $92 million investment paved the way for NHL hockey to thrive in Southern California.
Year | Amount Paid | Adjusted for Inflation to 2023 |
---|---|---|
1992 | $50 million expansion fee | $92 million |
2005 | $75 million sale price to Samuelis | $75 million |