Businessman Purchases A Major Sports Team Before People Realize His True Intentions
How far would you go to get the things you wanted? Most would do "anything" for that rush of fulfillment, though there are always those willing to do far more — and far worse — to make it happen. Owning a sports team might not seem like the kind of aspiration that attracts people with bad intentions, but when one mysterious businessman took control of a struggling NHL franchise, fans never expected that championship glory was the last thing on his mind.
Unfortunately, that's all the New York Islanders really cared about. Just over a decade removed from four-straight Stanley Cup championships, the once-proud franchise had missed the playoffs in five of the previous eight seasons and was bogged down with bad contracts and poor personnel.
The team was also struggling at the ticket gate, with their home arena of the Nassau Coliseum frequently near empty and in need of a facelift. As rumors swirled of a possible move to Atlanta, Nashville, or Houston, Islanders fans were desperate — they needed a savior. And fast.
So when longtime owner John Pickett decided to put the team up for sale in 1996, Dallas businessman John Spano quickly jumped at the chance to save the day. Yet who was this mysterious Texan who'd come to play hero for the flailing franchise?
According to his paperwork, Spano was a major player in the aircraft leasing business, having grown a small four-man operation into ten companies with 6,000 employees worldwide in just six years. Combined with an inheritance left to him by his wealthy grandfather, Spano put his net worth at upwards of $230 million.
