Michael Bublé buys stake in Vancouver Giants
Last Updated: Thursday, December 11, 2008 | 7:00 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Michael Bublé, second from left, is presented with a Giants hockey sweater at Thursday's media conference. (CBC)He's won Junos and Grammys and sold millions of albums worldwide but Michael Bublé says becoming a minority owner in the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants is his "most prestigious" accomplishment.
The Canadian crooner announced a stake in the Giants on Thursday with majority owner Ron Toigo, an old friend who's also in an investment group with Bublé redeveloping a local golf course.
Bublé joins fellow co-owners Sultan Thiara, former Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks coach Pat Quinn and NHL legend Gordie Howe in the Giants' ownership lineup.
"I've done lots of amazing things in my life, but this is easily the most prestigious for me," said Bublé, a Giants fan, before he was presented with his own team jersey. "It's a dream come true to be a part of this club."
The 33-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., has sold more than 15 million records since his major-label debut nearly six years ago.
The son of a salmon fisherman, his childhood was an unlikely mix of helping out on the fishing boat, singing and watching Vancouver Canucks games with his father.
"It [hockey] is a huge part of my life, and I'm sentimental about it, actually," he said after the announcement.
"It's part of our life, it's almost the soundtrack to our life, especially here in Vancouver."
The Giants debuted in 2001. They won the WHL championship in 2006 and the Memorial Cup in 2007, and are currently leading the league's Western division.
Bublé wouldn't talk about the size of his ownership stake, responding to the question by asking a reporter how much money she makes.
He said he doesn't expect to have much say in the operation of the club, though he might show up to sing the national anthem now and then.
"My plans are honestly to watch these boys," he said. "As long as they don't tell me what songs to put on my record, I promise I ain't gonna to tell them who to put in the ice."
Toigo said Bublé's involvement in the community — such as his work raising money for the B.C. Children's Hospital — makes him a perfect fit for the team.
"The Giants is a brand, and Michael certainly brings awareness to the brand."
Bublé, who won the Fan Choice Juno earlier this year, was in the studio during the summer working on another album, and he toured the U.S. in the fall.
Last month, he appeared on the cover of Chatelaine for its "Men We Love" issue, becoming only the third man ever to grace the front of the magazine. The first was hockey great Wayne Gretzky.
