As a service to our readers, here is the transcript of new Oilers owner Daryl Katz speaking with assorted media types on Wednesday afternoon.

Katz: It's a pleasure to be with you today under these happy circumstances, and I'm excited to get all the paperwork completed and move forward as the owner of the best franchise in the NHL. I'm happy to take questions at this time.

Terry Jones, Edmonton Sun: Yes, Daryl: can you sleep at night knowing that you've made your billions on the backs of the sick and unfortunate, many of whom can't make it through a single day without your marked-up products?

Katz: Adequate sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle, Terry, as well as regular exercise and a balanced diet. Though I suppose I don't need to go into detail here, look who I'm talking to.

Dan Barnes, Edmonton Journal: During the bid process, you referenced your willingness to contribute $100M to the construction of a downtown arena "...for the team and the City if that's what the people of Edmonton want." Could you clarify if that means you would contribute that money towards a facility that would be owned by the City/Northlands, or if you expect the people of Edmonton to cover the rest of the costs for a facility you would own?

Katz: The Katz Group is a privately held company.

Vue Weekly: There's a Facebook group called Daryl Katz is Batman. How do you respond to comparisons between you and Bruce Wayne?

Katz: Well, there are obvious differences. Batman fights diabolical geniuses with a series of crime fighting weapons that he pays for himself; I'm more the kind of guy who gets rid of winos and crackheads with my new arena-shaped, publicly-financed wino/crackhead ray.** Yes, Matty, go ahead.

Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal: In Lowe's defence, if he had known that the salary cap would be going up, he might have done things a bit differently.

Katz: Is that a question? Your voice didn't even go up at the end.

David Staples, Edmonton Journal: I have a follow-up. The Lowe-lynchers would have you forget that he signed Mathieu Garon at a great price, and he might be the MVP this season.

Katz: Thanks for that. Yes, Terry.

Jones: Did you see that ad during the Super Bowl, where the drug dealer is complaining about slow business because kids are getting high off of stuff from the medicine cabinet? How do you look at yourself in the mirror each morning?

Katz: Standing on expensive Italian tile, heated to a comfortable temperature.

John Mackinnon: Any chance of bringing in Bill Butler as a partner for the downtown arena development? He seems like a hell of a guy.

Katz: Maybe if we need some additional financing. [Katz & Mackinnon both laugh]

Mark Messier, Private Citizen: Have you ever hired someone to be a Rexall VP because he was an excellent pharmacist?

Katz: No.

Messier: Dang.

Matheson: In Lowe's defence, it's hard to know how good this team is on account of all the injuries. Souray and Moreau alone have missed a combined 68 games.

Katz: Let's just say that intelligent people can disagree on what constitutes "foreseeable".

Barnes: You must have appreciated the vote of confidence from Wayne Gretzky. Would you say you're more of a McNall type, or a Pocklington type?

Katz: I have no comment. It's my preference to be private and to keep a low profile.

hockeybuzz.com: Can we expect any immediate changes? I'm hearing Pitkanen and Reasoner to the Rangers for Marek Malik and a 1st-rounder.

Katz: I gotta confess: I made that one up for my NHL rumours blog, but I'll be shutting that down now. Last question.

Mike W, Covered In Oil: How do you expect to fare in your first Hot-Off on Hot Oil?

Katz: If they do shirtless, I'd expect to at least make the semis. Thanks for coming out, everyone. [Gets into Batmobile, drives away.]

**Great line courtesy of mc79hockey

Labels: New Ownership

Rexall Founder and Chairman Daryl Katz said today that Rexall Sports Corp. has received letters of acceptance representing 100% of the total shares outstanding in Edmonton Investor Group Holdings...

Mr. Katz also announced plans to create an advisory board that will participate in the stewardship of the team and its ongoing relationship with the fans and the City. The Board will be comprised of up to five current EIG shareholders and other community leaders.

Labels: New Arena, New Ownership

"This news comes on the heels of Sun Media learning that members of the EIG board - clearly non-Katz members - made an attempt to contact Jim Balsillie, the Ontario billionaire with a checkered NHL past when it comes to purchasing a team.

A source from outside Edmonton revealed that information yesterday, though attempts by Sun Media to contact Balsillie for confirmation were unsuccessful."

Crazy. These guys have tried everything, short of calling Katz a communist. Hopefully this is the end of it, and we can all move on. The EIG has done nothing but damage its reputation over the past six months. Well, that and make a bunch of money off of their original investment. All for the community, though. All for the community.

Labels: New Ownership

"For some, the financially strong, individual ownership approach of Katz seems precisely right going forward both for the Oilers in the New NHL and the evolving, increasingly confident city they play in.

Count me among that group. There is boldness in what Katz seeks to do and this city and the Oilers could use a major injection of boldness."

"Cuban is finding that the world of sports ownership is essentially attempting to join a club that will not have you as a member...

Cuban's hardly the only one to run into an old-money, new-money fight in the sports world. Paul Allen had his own issues after buying the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle Seahawks, and Research In Motion CEO Jim Balsillie has run into nothing but brick walls with his attempted purchase of the Pittsburgh Penguins and continued moves to try to move the Nashville Predators to Hamilton, Canada. These are new thinkers, with new ideas and new ways of doing business. This is not how professional sports operate, so they are shunned as radicals, or rejected all together. Most often, their idealistic notions of "changing the game" are crushed under the unceasing inertia of The Norm. Owning a sports team doesn't turn out to be nearly as fun as they thought. What is new and different must be crushed."

Labels: New Ownership

"Enough Oilers owners are currently on side with drugstore billionaire Daryl Katz's $188-million bid to buy the team for the deal to proceed, according to a source close to the negotiations.

The source told The Journal Katz will close the deal if he receives commitments from Edmonton Investors Group members holding just 60 per cent of the company's 7,492 shares. It had previously been widely reported Katz required 66.66 per cent of shares to complete the purchase.

The list of owners willing to sell to Katz is believed to be 19 deep, holding about 68 per cent of EIG shares."

It's going to be an interesting day in Edmonton.



***Update***
Tyler has some thoughts on this issue.

Labels: New Ownership

As reported by Dan Barnes, of the Edmonton Journal, in the (online) Edmonton Journal. Surreal.

Labels: New Ownership

For any who have come our way through Total Sports with Bob Stauffer, welcome. The Location Agreement story Robin Brownlee referenced can be found here. Thanks to Robin and Bob for referencing the story.

Labels: New Arena, New Ownership

There seems to be some confusion about whether or not the Edmonton Investors Group signed documents committing them to keeping the Oilers in Edmonton when they purchased the team in 1998. In this post at Covered in Oil, Vic Ferrari stated, "worth noting that when the EIG purchased the Oilers they flatly refused to agree to a non-movement clause with City Hall. The right to relocate the team to another city, at any time, or sell to a buyer who would do the same, that was one of the conditions of purchase from the EIG." But is that in fact true? With great assistance from Colby Cosh, I went digging for an answer. Here's what we found.

---

Question
Did the Edmonton Investors Group sign documents committing the team to Edmonton when they purchased it in 1998?

Answer
Yes.

Source #1
Puck iced as Oiler sale is finally done; OUT WITH THE OLD; IN WITH THE NEW
The Edmonton Journal
Wednesday, May 6, 1998
Page: A1/ FRONT
Section: News
Byline: Jac MacDonald, Journal Staff Writer
Dateline: Edmonton
Source: THE EDMONTON JOURNAL

"The Edmonton Investors Group Limited Partnership took possession of Edmonton's National Hockey League franchise around six p.m. Tuesday,league vice-president Frank Brown said.

The deal had to close by midnight Tuesday, or the franchise would have been sold to Houston Rockets owner Les Alexander, who planned to move the club out of Edmonton.

The group of 35 individuals and companies had already paid down a $5-million US deposit on the $70-million US purchase price. Tuesday, they paid the remainder and signed a mountain of paperwork. Among the documents was a new commitment to abide by an existing 1994 location agreement that requires the owners to keep the Oilers in Edmonton until 2004.

Source #2
Pocklington gave, but he also took; Fans must support hockey team
The Edmonton Journal
Saturday, May 9, 1998
Page: A14
Section: Opinion
Source: THE EDMONTON JOURNAL

"For their part, local hockey fans might feel gratitude to Pocklington for keeping the team in Edmonton all those years. The fact that it is still here, however, has more to do with the location agreement that city lawyers, representatives of Economic Development Edmonton and Northlands, and former mayor Jan Reimer had the foresight to include as part of the Coliseum concession package given the team in 1995."

Source #3
Dwight Hamilton and Pierre Pelletier, "The Puck Stops Here,"CA Magazine, October 1999

"But Houston had a problem. Unlike the owners of the Québec Nordiques (which moved to Denver in 1995) and the Winnipeg Jets (to Phoenix in 1996), Pocklington could not sell the franchise to another location without jumping through a few legal hoops first. Thanks to a little piece of paper he had signed back in 1994 known as the "Location Agreement," he was bound contractually to Edmonton until 2004. As a result of Pocklington's earlier threats to move the team south unless improvements were made to Northlands Coliseum, the federal, provincial and municipal governments each pitched in $5 million in 1994 - along with $8 million from Pocklington himself - to upgrade the rink and his Triple-A baseball stadium, Telus Field. At the same time, Pocklington formed CMI and began to levy a ticket tax on fans to the tune of $2.8 million each year.

This gift of public funds came with a catch: for the next 10 years, if the entrepreneur wanted to sell the club, and if a local group could commit to a purchase price of US$70 million within 30 days, the team would be sold locally regardless of whether a better bid was available from someone who wished to move it. If no local money came forward, Pocklington was free to sell to the highest bidder."

Source #4
Office of the City Auditor, Edmonton Northlands Park/Skyreach Centre: Review of Financial and Operating Information, February 26th, 2003

"In May 1998, Edmonton Investors Group acquired the Edmonton Oilers Franchise and all related contracts and commitments including the 1994 License Agreement and any related obligations to Northlands. As a condition of the purchase, Edmonton Investors Group entered into covenants and restrictions similar to those contained in the 1994 Location Agreement, which grants substantial control to Northlands, the City, and Economic Development Edmonton over attempts to move the Oilers from the City."

Bolds and italics are all mine. As the CA story indicates, the EIG couldn't ignore the Location Agreement, since it was what allowed them to buy the team for $70 million in the first place. There are even more mentions of the Location Agreement in this ATB Press Release, dated October 2nd, 1997. Colby has properly identified this as a quid pro quo deal between the EIG and the City of Edmonton. The team stayed in Edmonton, and the new owners got some nice economic perks. Avi Schaumberg noted as much in an old post:

"The EIG struck a solid bargain in 1998. They accepted the terms of the Location Agreement and agreed to lease Northlands Coliseum for $1 a year until 2004. In return, they received:

• all concession revenues for Oilers games,
• parking revenues north of 118 Avenue,
• $2.2 million of the $2.8 million ticket surcharge that formerly went to the City,
• ownership of the naming rights to the building (the rights were sold to Skyreach for $1.2 million a year, and later to Rexall).

Northlands Park was still responsible for operations and maintenance for the building (then a $17 million annual cost), and received revenue from non-hockey events (then $12 million). The City agreed to cover Northlands’ $2.4 million shortfall."

---

Question
Is that Location Agreement still in place?

Answer
No.

Source
As the sources quoted above note, the original Location Agreement only lasted until 2004. That means the original Location Agreement expired four years ago.

---

Question
Was a new Location Agreement signed between the EIG, Northlands and the City of Edmonton after the first one expired in 2004?

Answer
Fairly certain the answer is no, but I'm not positive.

Source #1
Avi Schaumberg, "Pyramid Power," SportsMatters, November 16th, 2006

"Meanwhile the Northlands agreement with the City has been extended to 2013. Under the current terms, the City has agreed to index its $2.2 million contribution to inflation – so the cost to taxpayers is already set to increase. And the EIG’s deal with Northlands has been extended to 2014, continuing the flow of concession, parking, advertising, sponsorship, suite sales, ticket surcharges and Oiler game revenue to the team. The EIG agreed under its new deal to contribute $878,166 per year towards operating costs (a payment that’s also indexed) and pay $270,272 a year for the new scoreboard (if they move, the payment is reduced)"

Source #2
Northlands Park 2005 Annual Report, December 31st, 2005

"City of Edmonton Support Agreement
The City of Edmonton Support Agreement provides a contribution towards Rexall Place operating cost of $183,333 per month or $2,200,000 per year until May 12, 2013. The $2,200,000 is adjusted for inflation annually, commencing January 1, 2005. The Company will be required to renegotiate the agreement with the City if there is a material change in the financial status of Northlands or Rexall Place during the term of the agreement."

Source #3
Northlands Park 2005 Annual Report, December 31st, 2005

"15. EDMONTON INVESTORS GROUP LTD. LICENSE
On April 5, 2004, the License Agreement was renewed with the Edmonton Investors Group Limited (EIGL), effective July 1, 2004 for a period of ten years. Under the terms of this agreement, Northlands continues the management and operations of Rexall Place. The License Agreement grants EIGL the right to receive all Oiler game revenues, including net Oiler food and beverage contributions. EIGL is also entitled to all building advertising and sponsorship revenues, suite rental revenues, Oiler ticket surtax revenues as well the Rexall Place parking lot revenue. Northlands is responsible for building operating and capital costs, including the building event costs related to the playing of professional hockey. Under the Agreement, Northlands receives from EIGL building rent of $1 per annum plus a contribution towards operating costs of $73,180 per month or $878,166 per annum for the period July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2014. The EIGL contributions are adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index (2005 - $816,709; 2004 - $778,166).

The License Agreement includes an additional annual contribution of $270,272 for the use of the scoreboard until September 30, 2021. EIGL has agreed to pay a lesser amount than the loan should the Edmonton Oilers cease to play hockey in Rexall Place during the term of the loan."

Tyler Dellow has an excellent, must read post up on his site that quotes the CA Magazine story. I do think that Tyler grabbed the wrong quote about the Location Agreement from the story, though. The quote he uses simply states that the EIG rejected a request to extend the original Location Agreement from 1994-2004 to 1994-2008. The better quote is this:

"Despite all the government assistance, EIG is only held by the conditions of the original Location Agreement - which the city chose not to extend beyond 2004."

But the problem with that quote is that the CA Magazine story dates back to October of 1999. Much has happened since then. All this really tells us is that the EIG and the City of Edmonton had a Location Agreement from 1998-2004, which we already knew. Ultimately, that source doesn't help much at all.

What is worth talking about is the Northlands 2005 Annual Report (the 2006 Annual Report features the same information). First off, there is talk at the end of the Northlands/EIG section about payment for a scoreboard if the team moves. But it is unclear whether this comes into effect if the team leaves town, or just plays somewhere within the city other than Rexall. Secondly, as Avi noted, the Annual Report mentions agreements between Northlands and the City of Edmonton, as well as Northlands and the EIG, but there is no mention of an extension on the location agreement between the EIG and the City of Edmonton. And there is nothing within the section on the Northlands/EIG agreement about the team being required to stay in Edmonton. It's a license agreement, not a location agreement. The only mention of location concerns the scoreboard, but as I just mentioned, it might only be a reference to the team playing somewhere else in the city. I can not find anything anywhere about a second Location Agreement between the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Investors Group, including the City's Annual Reports. That leads me to believe that the EIG is getting all the benefits of the original Location Agreement in their extension with Northlands (concession revenue, naming rights, parking revenue), without having to commit to keeping the team in Edmonton until 2014. I may be wrong on this, but I can't find any evidence to the contrary.

Conclusion
The whole thing is still a little confusing, but here's my best guess. The Edmonton Investors Group did sign a Location Agreement with Northlands and the City of Edmonton in 1998, which in return for economic benefits committed them to keeping the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton until 2004. That Location Agreement has expired. Northlands has signed an extension with the City that goes until 2013, and the EIG has signed an extension with Northlands that goes until 2014. Those two deals help Northlands and the Edmonton Investors Group economically, without actually requiring the EIG to keep the Oilers in town. There is no second Location Agreement, only licensing agreements.

All of this leads to the following: if I am correct about the EIG not having a current Location Agreement that contractually binds them to the city of Edmonton, it leaves one wondering why their Board of Directors is making such a demand to Daryl Katz. If I am wrong, however, and they do have such an Agreement, it leaves one wondering why Katz won't sign one of his own. Then again, if one is already in place, what exactly is the EIG worried about? Wouldn't Katz be bound to their agreement in the same way they were bound to Peter Pocklington's agreement when they took over the team in 1998? Plus, doesn't the licensing agreement already bind the team to the city until 2014? Okay, now I just have a headache. It would have been so much easier if a reporter had just asked Butler the question at the press conference yesterday.

Labels: New Arena, New Ownership

Item: Edmonton Investors Group Board of Directors recommends rejecting Katz offer to buy Oilers.

Takes: John McKinnon, Covered In Oil, Irreverent Oiler Fans, Dan Barnes , Dan Barnes, John McKinnon.

Me: I don't have much to add to any of this. I'm completely fed up with this organization, at every level. I do believe McKinnon's first post to be the one I'm most in agreement with, though I wonder why he didn't ask those questions himself. I'll just assume he wasn't at the press conference. Having said all that, there are a few questions/thoughts I'd like to throw into the mix, before I tune back out:

1) Where is the sense in publicly humiliating your largest corporate sponsor? I can think of two Oilers events that would have died this year without Rexall's support (Tickets for the Troops, Cash is King lottery). Even if some form of the EIG keeps this team, they will need that corporate support. Why would they go out of their way to piss Katz off?

2) What the hell is Terry Jones going to say tomorrow? He's kind of between a rock and a hard place now. I mean, he'll assuredly insult Katz. It's his modus operandi. But he can't be as obvious with it as he was before, since he came out and said that Katz made the offer the right way this last time. It's going to be a fun read, that's for sure.

3) What's really going on here? Obviously, there is dissent within the EIG (comprehensive membership list here). That's a no-brainer. But is there more going on?

I think there is. To my mind, this is about more than ownership of the Edmonton Oilers. To my mind, there's a real power struggle going on between the old guard and the new guard in this city, in business, politics, and the media. Some of the older guard aren't too happy with being put out to pasture, and some of the new guard want their day in the sun. The sad thing is, at the end of the day, what we are witnessing here has little to do with what is best for the Edmonton Oilers and the city of Edmonton. What we're witnessing here is little more than a turf war between the wealthy and the powerful. Count me amongst the unimpressed.


***Update*** Dan Barnes has an excellent overview of the situation up in the National Post.

Labels: New Arena, New Ownership

• Oilers and Canuckleheads tonight. I'll be watching the game with Loxy and Cosh, along with others. It will assuredly be a good time, especially once the Oil trounce Sanford & Duds.

• Tyler and others have already pointed this out, but I believe it's worth repeating. After laying it all on the line and calling the Edmonton Investors Group a "group of the all-time greatest guys in Edmonton history," in this story, Terry Jones attributes the following quote to Cal Nichols:

"It's all about the arena downtown. He didn't want to go there unless he owned the arena."
There's only one problem with that quote. It's wrong. Here's the correct quote, which appears in John MacKinnon's piece.

"He made it clear that he simply did not want to go there unless he owned the hockey team," Nichols said.

• Here's more Katz and arena coverage from the Edmonton Journal:

"It's time for the Edmonton Investors Group to pass the baton to Katz" (Dan Barnes)

"Can the team owner stay offstage in a hockey-mad town?" (Keith Gerein)

"Oilers bid puts new arena back in play" (Darcy Henton)


• Pierre McGuire and Rudy Giuliani have more in common than just looking like George Costanza. Here's how I picture their ideal board at the beginning of Single Jeopardy.



Prediction: 5-1, Oil. While "Three Blind Mice" plays in the background, Loxy rants about boys and how much she hates Canucks fans, I rant about the arena and the media, and an inebriated Cosh pulls a Moe and smashes our two heads together. Hilarity ensues, including me blocking Colby's devastating eye-gouge attack with the old vertical-hand-over-the-nose trick, followed by a "nyuk-nyuk-nyuk," a ""certainly, judgie,"" and a consequent slap of my face.

Labels: New Arena, New Ownership

Here's a round-up of coverage on the proposed sale of the Edmonton Oilers. I'll just keep adding stories as I come across them.

Edmonton Journal
• "Katz closes in on Oilers" (John MacKinnon)
• "Downtown arena closer to reality" (Susan Ruttan and Jim Farrell)
• "For Lowe, players, it's business as usual -- for now" (Joanne Ireland)
• "A bright future for Oilers hockey" (Journal Editorial)
• "Cal Nichols and the EIG — Just passing through" (John MacKinnon)
• "How Citizen Cal Nichols saved NHL hockey in Edmonton" (David Staples)

Edmonton Sun
• "Cal is convinced" (Terry Jones)
• "All about the arena" (Terry Jones)
• "All eyes on billionaire's bid" (Frank Landry)
• "Moreau thinks new boss would be same as old boss" (Robert Tychkowski)
• "Fans like Katz offer under one condition" (Renato Gandia)
• "Daryl has his ducks in a row" (Graham Hicks)

Globe & Mail
• "The Katz comes back with a richer offer for Edmonton" (Allan Maki)
• "Pharmacy tycoon makes new bid for Oilers" (Eric Duhatschek)

National Post
• "Friday Faceoff: Mitchell, Marsh and the Oilers billionaire" (Mark Spector and Bruce Arthur)

Canadian Press
• "Rexall billionaire launches another bid to buy Oilers from community group"

Vancouver Sun
• "Latest offer has Oilers listening" (Mark Spector)

Labels: New Arena, New Ownership

EDMONTON, Dec. 13 /CNW/ - Rexall Founder and Chairman Daryl Katz has made a new offer to purchase the Edmonton Oilers and related assets. The terms of the offer, which were not publicly disclosed, are being delivered directly to the shareholders of the Edmonton Investors Group.

Mr. Katz's offer was made at the encouragement of a number of significant EIG shareholders over the past six months. In particular, Mr. Katz called Cal Nichols, Founding Chairman of the Board of EIG this morning to outline the terms and conditions of the offer. Mr. Nichols said that it was an offer that he would enthusiastically support.

"I am extremely proud of what the EIG has done for the Oilers, the City of Edmonton, and Oilers fans everywhere, but it's probably time to pass the torch to a new generation of ownership," said Mr. Nichols. "I believe that Daryl will be an outstanding owner of the Edmonton Oilers and an important leader in the growth of our City. In addition, the sale of the team will have served all my fellow shareholders very well."

Daryl Katz added, "I have great respect for everything Cal and the EIG shareholders have done for the Oilers and for the City of Edmonton. I want to continue that tradition with a commitment to strong local ownership and an exciting vision for the Oilers. The centerpiece of that vision is a new world-class arena complex at the heart of a revitalized downtown."

Mr. Katz added, "If the undecided EIG shareholders come on board, as I hope they do, and my offer is approved, I will commit my time, energy and on the order of $100 million in additional funds towards a new building. I will be asking Cal to help lead that effort on my behalf and to continue to represent the Edmonton Oilers on the NHL Board of Governors as he has done so ably for so long."

The offer requires approval of EIG shareholders and the National Hockey League.

--Press Release. All bolds mine.

---

***Update*** Early thoughts on the change of heart from the EIG.

1) The money offered increased to a point where no one could say no. Pride of ownership aside, these guys are businessmen. Obviously there were others who wanted out this summer. Now everyone is getting enough to step aside.
2) Katz's offer to keep Nichols involved with the NHL Board of Governors made it easier for Nichols to say yes.
3) Katz's initial statement about investing his own money into a new arena dried up support for public funding at both City Hall and the Legislature. Since the EIG couldn't or were unwilling to invest their own money into a new arena, they felt pressure to sell to Katz.
4) Dennis' constant complaining about the EIG finally wore Cal Nichols down.

***Update***

Other thoughts popping into my head:

1) I wish they'd done this six months ago. We wouldn't be stuck with the Souray contract if they had.
2) Will the Golden Bears still get the new facility that was promised in the summer?
3) What, if anything, is going to happen with Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish?
4) What happens now with the Mayor's "arena feasibility committee"?

***Update***

TSN is reporting that the offer is $188 million. That obviously doesn't include the $100 million for a new arena.

***Update***

Nichols has confirmed the offer price of $188 million.

***Update***

More thoughts popping into my head:

1) What's Katz's take on the advanced hockey metrics being created and or analyzed on sites like mc79hockey, Irreverent Oil Fans, Behind the Net, Hockey Numbers, Battle of California and On The Forececk? Will we start to see any of this analysis work it's way into the team's decision-making?

2) How does Katz feel about hockey blogs and new media?

3) Where's the rest of the money for any new arena expected to come from?

***Update***

TSN is reporting that the Oilers will hold a press conference at 5 p.m. MST. Sportsnet is showing it.

***Update***

Nichols has stepped down as Chairman of the Edmonton Investors Group. Bill Butler is now the acting Chair.

***Update***

More thoughts popping into my head:

1) I'll be interested to see what certain "journalists" have to say about this tomorrow morning. In particular, I look forward to seeing if Kerry Diotte, Neil Waugh, and Terry Jones backpedal on their previous statements about Katz. My guess? Yes.

Labels: New Arena, New Ownership

Can anyone name more than five or six members of the Edmonton Investors Group off the top of their head? If you can, I think you are in the minority. Yet according to Kerry Diotte of the Edmonton Sun, the failing of Darryl Katz is that he didn't let us all become his best friend, like the current regime has.

"Despite a boom that sees this town as one of the most prosperous places on the planet, the operative word is, this is still a town.

Even though we might have one million souls residing here enjoying a tremendous boom, we still like to get to know one another."


Exactly. I spend all my days walking around this city giving out free hugs and telling my brothers and sisters, "peace be with you." The same goes for most Edmontonians. Katz, being the complete outsider that he is (he's only lived in Edmonton for, like, ever), just doesn't get that.

I really don't know what else to say about this story angle. It seems to be a recurring one at the Sun, and it's completely bogus. The "P-word" was thrown out in this story, in the most ridiculous manner. Diotte criticizes Katz for being like Peter Pocklington, although he doesn't supply a single compelling argument to support that claim. In fact, the one point he makes--that Pocklington was a big-mouth whereas Katz is silent to a fault--only highlights a difference in personality and approach. In the end, the whole thrust of this article is "don't trust rich guy for the sole reason that he is rich." That's a standard argument from 19-year old faux hippies and champagne socialists, but not one I'd expect to hear from a reasonably rational human being, let alone a writer at the Edmonton Sun.

As an added bonus, note the shift in language about the EIG in this Diotte quote.

"This week, though, like a rich suitor after a trophy wife, he was rejected by the community board of directors - people who ponied up big dollars to save the team when there was every reason to believe they'd be headed for a permanent road trip out of Edmonton."

A "community board of directors" is what the EIG are now. Annointed caretakers of a most sacred trust. Forget the idea that they might have any self-interest, or that it's a group of 30 people most of us have never even heard of. In fact, buy in to their altruism lock, stock and barrel. And when they come asking for your tax dollars to increase the value of their investment (see new hockey arena), fork it over, no questions asked. They are your best buddies, after all, and you always give aid to a friend.

Labels: New Arena, New Ownership

*** Friday Morning Update*** Shocker. Another absolutely terrible editorial from Neil Waugh.

*** Thursday Night Update*** Podcast is up now.



Erin and I did a second podcast last night, and it should be up later tonight on Hot Oil. (the uploading site is currently down). It is substantially longer, as we were able to save everything we talked about. I'm kind of sad we didn't lose some stuff, actually, as Erin somehow coaxed me into talking about Ethan Moreau's, err, muscles. My lisp is still there, and I was sober, so I guess I can't write it off to being intoxicated. Damn. I also say "like" every 1.2 seconds. I'm, like, totally, like, a valley girl, like. For any wondering about my take on Craig Simpson's jump to HNIC and Cal Nichols' press conference, it's in the podcast. In fact, I talk about the Nichols' conference a lot. It should be a nice supplement to the post at Covered in Oil today concerning Lyle Best's editorial interview with the Edmonton Sun.

***Bonus Commentary***

1) What's with the Edmonton Sun? Does anyone else remember when they were a conservative newspaper? The Journal is a part owner of the Oilers, so we know the conflict of interest that exists there. But what's the Edmonton Sun, "defender of the working man," been doing for the past six months while the arena spin has been spun? Didley squat, except for Jones' occasional fluff-jobs. It's a shame that the supposed conservative newspaper in this city can't put forward a compelling counter-argument to the arena farce. I guess those "tentacles" Jones referred to yesterday run just that deep.

2) According to Lyle Best, Mayor Mandel's "arena feasibility committee" just visited Kansas City and Columbus. My question here is: how much did that trip cost, and who paid for it?

3) The committee's report is expected in November. Hmm. When are those mayoral elections again? Oh right, October. Brave man, that mayor of ours.

4) Alright, John Mackinnon!!!

The community argument here against a single owner seems to be rooted in a deeply seated belief in the boogeyman and a distrust of individual excellence. The Oilers had a single owner named Pocklington, who turned out to be a bad man. He broke the fans’ hearts, therefore single ownership is inherently bad.
What childish claptrap!

Love this part of Mackinnon's piece. Here's what's interesting: the EIG and Jones both stated that Edmontonians don't want single ownership, which is obviously a shot at Pocklington. The thing is, Pocklington wasn't reviled until after the Oilers traded away their best players. Well, what the heck happened this past year? Chris Pronger, Georges Laraque, Jason Smith and Ryan Smyth are no longer Edmonton Oilers, and that all happened under group ownership. Following the logic of Jones and the EIG, it's group ownership that has to be the devil. So where can I pick up my Larry Makelki effigy?

5) Did anyone else look at the slideshow in this Oilers press release and think what I was thinking? You know, a little bit of you help me, I help you?

Screen capture taken from edmontonoilers.com

Labels: New Arena, New Ownership

Item: Daryl Katz comments on offer to purchase the Edmonton Oilers

Lowetide:

For a fanbase that suffered through Peter Pocklington and Michael Largue and threats and promises and all of our heroes leaving in their prime, Daryl Katz is like manna from heaven.

Who could resist this?

Terry Jones:

Katz promising "to play to the cap" and saying "I am committed to building a winning team" also sounds like a warning bell to me.

Good businessmen have been known to buy teams as a toy. And if they do, they usually want to play with it.

I wish TJ had elaborated on his chilling conclusion there, because I'm genuinely curious as to just what the hell he's afraid of. I suppose he's probably concerned that Laforge and Lowe (among others) would get fired and replaced, but I wouldn't exactly characterize that as Every Oiler Fan's Worst Nightmare.

Or, maybe he's worried that Katz is going to move the Gretzky statue into his personal office, torch the banners, rename the team the Jug Hustlers, and build a new arena/Walmart/Bowlerama complex on the highway to Fort Saskatchewan. With Terry Jones, you never really know.

***Andy Update*** Thanks to Matt for posting this. I'll just add in an article on Katz from The National Post that ran earlier this week. My own thoughts are in the comments.

***Andy Update*** Here's another story from the Edmonton Journal. Love what the Mayor has to say, myself. He doesn't care at all who owns the Oilers. He's just doing what is right for Edmonton. That's why Lyle Best, Cal Nichols, and Pat LaForge are on the "Arena Feasibility Committee". Because he's really taking into account the interests of the entire community.

Labels: New Arena, New Ownership

Edmonton billionaire (we have billionaires?) Daryl Katz is looking to buy the Oilers. From defender-of the-impoverished Gary Lamphier:

It's unknown why Katz made his move now. Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel recently struck a committee to explore the idea of building a new downtown arena to replace aging Rexall Place where the team plays, but it has barely begun its work. The Oilers' existing lease at Rexall doesn't expire until 2014.

This strikes me as hilarious. Is Lamphier unable to see the connection here, or is he just being coy? The value of the team would go up as soon as an arena deal was announced, let alone built. It makes sense to get in beforehand, especially if he has his own ideas on what should be done concerning the arena.

I'm fine with this, although I can't see some of the current owners, Nichols in particular, walking away from it all. My early guess is Katz would become majority owner at best. We'll see. I'd be interested in knowing his thoughts on ownership, management, metrics, arena financing etc., too. Thanks to Alex for the link. Tyler has a post up on it as well.

***Bonus House Design Critique***

Lamphier has some good info on Katz himself in the story, including the fact that it is Katz who is building that monstrosity of a mansion overlooking Hawrelak Park.

Where does he live? Last year, contractors were busily constructing a massive mansion for Katz on the west bank of the North Saskatchewan River, facing Hawrelak Park. The value of the champagne titanium-clad home with its two swimming pools and 11 bathrooms is estimated at $20 million. It is approximately 25,000 square feet in size. The ice surface of Rexall Place, named after Katz's flagship drugstore chain, measures 17,000 square feet.

Put that down as a strike against Katz. That thing is a blight on the landscape. You are worth $1.9 billion, and you can't afford something that isn't ugly and totally invasive? Ever hear of red brick? Yeesh. It looks like something Donald Trump would build. Gaudyyyyyy...

Labels: New Arena, New Ownership