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Ownership Group Includes Ties To Area

The Associated Press

New Tampa Bay Lightning owners, Oren Koules, left, and Len Barrie, share a laugh during a news conference in Tampa.

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By JEROME R. STOCKFISCH

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 24, 2008

One describes himself as "just a sports fan." The other equates his ice skills to those of an "inept park player."

They may not come with hockey pedigrees, but the two members of the Lightning's new ownership group with the deepest local roots provide critical links between the team and its community.

Craig Sher, executive chairman of retail developer The Sembler Company of St. Petersburg, and Irwin Novack, chief executive officer of Pinellas Park-based Kane's Furniture, were introduced as members of the Lightning ownership team Monday.

Others joining majority partners Oren Koules and Len Barrie in the OK Hockey group include movie producer Mark Burg, Koules' partner in two Hollywood production companies; investment banker Russell Belinsky; Fort Lauderdale advertising executive Jordan Zimmerman, and St. Louis orthopedic surgeon Richard C. Lehman.

Neither the team nor the local businessmen would divulge their ownership stakes.

Novack said he and Koules have a mutual friend in California who recognized a good fit and made the necessary introductions. As talks of a sale heated up late last year, Novack brought Sher on board.

Novack is an accountant by trade, while Sher has spent decades managing real-estate development. Don't worry about any culture clashes, though; the local businessmen say they're looking forward to working with the Hollywood contingent.

"I think what we can provide is a little bit of the other side," Sher said. "The rest of the group are successful business people in a different way. You don't want everyone to be the same in the group. We'll all provide different perspectives."

Look for Sher and Novack to be the ownership group's bridge to the Tampa Bay community. They said they will be able to link the group and provide introductions to sponsors, fans, corporate leaders and politicians.

"You need local flavor to make it successful, and I think we provide that," Sher said.

Sher has been with Sembler since 1984.

The company is perhaps best-known for its imaginative shopping centers, from BayWalk in downtown St. Petersburg to complexes in South Florida and Atlanta. The company has built 130 major shopping-center projects and 160 freestanding retail stores. It is now delving into residential real-estate development.

Sher holds a bachelor's and two master's degrees in communication and management from Northwestern University outside Chicago. He also has worked for developer Rutenberg Corp.

A Minnesota native, Sher describes himself as "an inept park player" who never lost his love for the game of hockey. He has held Lightning season tickets "from the Fairgrounds."

"I'd love to hold up a Stanley Cup when I own the team," he said.

Novack said he dabbled in athletics in high school but describes himself as "just a sports fan."

Kane's has been a Lightning sponsor, and the furniture chain also supports the Rays, University of South Florida athletics and the Orlando Magic.

"When I met Oren, I realized he's very knowledgeable hockey-wise. He's extremely passionate, he's a great guy, and he was somebody I thought I'd like to do business with," Novack said.

Novack has been with Kane's since 1980 and took over as CEO in 1993. He attended the University of Massachusetts and Suffolk University Law School in Boston, and holds a master's degree in accounting from the University of Hartford in Connecticut.

He oversees 17 Kane's and Savon stores in eight Central Florida markets.

Sher and Novack are active in local charities and associations and are ardent civic boosters. They both live in Pinellas County.

They described their role as owners as subservient to lead partners Koules and Len Barrie.

"Oren and Len are the bosses," Novack said. "We're there to support them in whichever way they deem to be in the best interest of the team."

Both local investors insisted the team is staying in Tampa. And they like what they see on the ice.

"A lot of the pieces are in place," Novack said. "It's just a matter of putting it all together."

Reporter Jerome R. Stockfisch can be reached at (813) 259-8402 or jstockfisch@tampatrib.com.

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