EDMONTON - Mayor Stephen Mandel and Oilers owner Daryl Katz will hold a joint meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman next week at the league’s New York headquarters as a deadline looms to reach an arena deal.
Mandel and city manager Simon Farbrother will give Bettman the city’s point of view Tuesday afternoon, then get together with the commissioner and the Katz Group the next day.
“Mr. Bettman called us and asked us to go down and see … what’s happening,” Mandel said Thursday.
“We talked a bit about it, but it’s hard over a phone call to talk about the intricacies of the deal.”
He intends to stress to Bettman that the city has made a good offer “and that NHL hockey has been very successful here, probably one of the most successful cities in North America.”
The Katz Group has imposed an Oct. 31 deadline for reaching an agreement with the city to build the $450-million facility, saying construction costs are rising and that’s when options to buy the downtown land expire.
Mandel said council will have to decide whether to make an offer for the land, worth $20 million to $25 million.
Under a tentative agreement reached last May, the city will buy the property for what the Katz Group paid.
One outstanding issue is the company’s insistence Northlands not use Rexall Place to compete for concerts and other events after the Oilers move out.
Mandel wants Katz to pay any settlement with Northlands, although he has termed the agricultural society’s suggestion of about $250 million and a new, smaller facility on the Rexall site “a non-starter.”
Another sticking point is convincing the province to provide the final $100 million for the project.
Then-premier Ed Stelmach indicated last summer there may be extra provincial infrastructure money coming which could be put toward the arena.
While Mandel hasn’t spoken to incoming premier Alison Redford’s staff about the idea, he’s hopeful she’ll be supportive.
“My hope is they will understand the importance of this to the city and move forward with that.”
But Mandel wouldn’t say if the New York meetings are related to the Katz Group’s deadline or if Bettman, who supports a new arena, intends to try to mediate a deal.
“Daryl is a great supporter of the city. There’s an opportunity we can sit down, all of us, to see if we can get through all we have to get through,” the mayor said
Farbrother, who will brief councillors next Friday about the meetings and the status of negotiations, said he has previously talked to Katz about the arena.
The New York meeting “will last as long as it needs to last,” he said.
“The commissioner has had an interest in this topic for many years. It’s an opportunity for him to share that interest … I’m sure everybody will discuss their various perceptions on this and go from there.”
He agreed last month to update councillors about arena negotiations before Oct. 31. There could be further updates after next week, he said.
Coun. Bryan Anderson said the invitation from Bettman is a positive sign.
“I think that the mayor made it clear that he’s going to make sure that the NHL as a hockey league is aware of the fact that as far as the city is concerned, we are doing everything we can.”
But Coun. Ed Gibbons, who said the mayor approached him this week about the meeting, questioned why it was needed.
“Who is Mr. Bettman in this whole thing?” Gibbons asked. “I really don’t care about Mr. Bettman or Mr. Katz. It’s about how well the Oilers are going to do and how long they are going to stay here.”
He stressed any deal hinges on the Katz Group coming to an agreement with Northlands. He’s not sure how getting together with Bettman will move those negotiations forward.
“I’m tired of this. It’s dividing council,” Gibbons said. “It’s never going to end.”
No comments:
Post a Comment