<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\n\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;ST. LOUIS (AP) -- NHL commissioner Gary Bettman gave his stamp of approval to new St. Louis Blues ownership, saying the franchise's financial picture is much improved.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bettman spent time at the podium alongside Tom Stillman, a beer distributor who heads an all-local ownership group, at a news conference Thursday.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"We know the future is extraordinarily bright,\" said Bettman, who referred to the Blues as a member of the NHL's \"Original 12\" franchises. \"The balance sheet looks much, much better, much, much stronger.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"I know he won't rest until the players are hoisting the Stanley Cup.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Stillman, previously a minority owner, introduced 16 major investors including his father-in-law, former Missouri Senator John Danforth. He said the goal was to make the franchise financially sustainable for the long haul.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"We are honored and humbled to take ownership,\" Stillman said. \"Our new ownership group is 100 percent local, and we are 100 percent committed to the Blues and to St. Louis.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Stillman asked for support from fans, local businesses and the rest of the community. He said most in the ownership group are lifelong hockey fans and most have season boxes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Coach Ken Hitchcock watched the news conference from a doorway alongside president John Davidson. Most players on the current roster attended, along with more than a dozen former Blues.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The sale was believed to be about $130 million for the Blues, the AHL Peoria Rivermen, the Scottrade Center and what the team said was a \"substantial\" interest in the adjoining Peabody Opera House. The price is well below the $157 million that Forbes had valued the Blues in December, which was 27th among the 30 NHL teams according to the magazine.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The team sold for $150 million in 2006.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Stillman's group was a fallback option after a deal headed by Chicago businessman Mathew Hulsizer fell through this year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"I'd have to say a lot of times I didn't think it was going to happen,\" Stillman said. \"If there was another strong local option, I would have been OK with that, too.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Blues have been for sale for two years and were at least $10 million below the NHL's salary cap last season. They're coming off one of the best regular seasons in franchise history with a mix of emerging talent and veterans. The 109 points tied for second-best in the NHL and Hitchcock, general manager Doug Armey and captain David Backes are finalists for awards.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;St. Louis beat the San Jose Sharks in five games in the first round before getting swept by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round, a series that ended Sunday.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"We are fortunate to be taking over one of the best teams in the NHL, with a strong, mostly young nucleus and a very bright future,\" Stillman said. \"Our top priority will be to put a serious contender on the ice year in and year out and to establish the Blues as an elite NHL franchise.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Stillman group becomes the eighth owner of the Blues since the franchise began in 1966. They bought the team from Towerbrook Capital Partners and Sports Capital Partners Worldwide, a group headed by former franchise chairman Dave Checketts.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Stillman is chairman and chief executive officer of Summit Distributing and has owned a minority share in the Blues since 2007.&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nhl/2012/05/10/new-stlouisbluesowner>