((HT: Global TV Edmonton))
The following story is one where the city of Seattle (and, for that matter, Quebec City and Markham, Ontario) are paying very close attention...
The city of Edmonton is walking away from the current round of negotiations with Oilers owner Daryl Katz over a proposed new, C$475-million arena where the city feels that Katz is asking for more money from the city than he is willing to provide as part of the investment.
"It's wrong to hold us up for ransom," Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel said when the city walked out.
"This is not a council that said, 'Don't do a deal' -- but what do we do when we have a partner that says, 'We want more money, and you pay for it? I'm not saying we should say no to Mr. Katz, but all the information that I've had an opportunity to see does not justify council giving him another six million dollars a year."
The original deal had Katz having the city build the arena on taxpayer dollars and ticket sales (and other ticket-based revenues). The Oilers would spend C$15-million in rent, but would get to keep any profit from things like concessions, naming rights, and advertising. Then, Katz added another C$6-million in subsidies to his initial demand.
That's when the wheels fell off...
Global Edmonton's Erin Chalmers catches up with Councillor Dave Loken, who wonders which numbers make the most sense in the appraisals and knows how far apart the two sides are in this whole thing...
The city doesn't seem to be in a position to budge, and Katz doesn't want to come and answer questions in front of a council that, he claims, is far apart from his demands.
And just as a new proposal to end the lockout is coming to the table...
Makes for an interesting bedfellow...
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