The New Jersey Devils on the verge of bankruptcy … not so fast

“The attendance-challenged, heavily indebted team missed its Sept. 1 loan payment, giving its lenders a breakaway chance to push the team into bankruptcy, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said.”

Team-owned Devils Arena Entertainment operates the Prudential Center and guarantees the loans could also be going bankrupt. Jeff Vanderbeek is the principle owner, Ray Chambers (Brick City LLC) is a co-owner, with each owning 47% but are on the outs. Chambers has been trying to sell his stake for last year. Vanderbeek doesn’t have a good relationship with their lenders, and “The Devils have told their banks to get lost, the source said.”

According to the source,

The Devils’ past-due loan payment of roughly $100 million is owed to a CIT-led lending group. Devils Arena Entertainment owes $180 million.

“Today’s New York Post story is inaccurate. The notions that the Devils are facing bankruptcy or that “the Devils have told their banks to get lost” are patently untrue. The Devils value their relationship with their banks and are confident a refinancing will be completed shortly. As stated previously, ownership is close to finalizing an agreement that would lead to a buyout of Brick City’s share of the company. The organization is also pleased to report that new season ticket sales are up 130% over last year and last week’s on-sale for single game tickets were 260% above last year’s similar period.  Finally, the start of training camp was incorrectly reported in the article as tomorrow. In fact, training camp starts on Friday for the rookies and Saturday for the veterans.”