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  #361  
Old Posted May 6, 2009, 12:36 PM
BCTed BCTed is offline
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Hmmm.... maybe the critics of the Spectator are on to something. Today's online Spectator poll of the day is:

"Should the NHL allow Jim Balsillie to move the Nashville Predators to Southern Ontario? Take the poll and go to http://makeitseven.ca to sign a petition. "

Ouchie!
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  #362  
Old Posted May 6, 2009, 1:01 PM
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The identity of the new owner and team location will be known by June 30, meaning the team would be able to suit up next season.
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  #363  
Old Posted May 6, 2009, 1:25 PM
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Originally Posted by BCTed View Post
Hmmm.... maybe the critics of the Spectator are on to something. Today's online Spectator poll of the day is:

"Should the NHL allow Jim Balsillie to move the Nashville Predators to Southern Ontario? Take the poll and go to http://makeitseven.ca to sign a petition. "

Ouchie!
Maybe they're trying to be environmentally friendly by recycling past polls?

It's funny and sad at the same time.
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  #364  
Old Posted May 6, 2009, 3:02 PM
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Demo Copps? For Walter Gretzky Arena?

Balsillie may build arena named after Gretzky's dad

Updated Wed. May. 6 2009 10:45 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...506?hub=Canada

Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie has reportedly told Phoenix Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky that if he is able to purchase the team and move it to Southern Ontario, he will build an arena to house the team and name it after Gretzky's father.

On Tuesday, Balsillie made a $212.5-million dollar offer to purchase the ailing NHL franchise, on the condition that he can move the team to Southern Ontario.

Sports writer Howard Bloom, publisher of Sports Business News, said he has heard that Balsillie has offered Gretzky a stake in the team worth between 10 and 15 per cent. Bloom also reported speculation that Balsillie would build a new arena for the team named for Gretzky patriarch, Walter.

The overtures to Gretzky show Balsillie will do what it takes to become the owner of an NHL franchise, Bloom said, and the moves may just work.

"It's not that far-fetched. But as far as Gretzky, never say never," Bloom said Wednesday on CTV Newsnet. "And you know one thing about Wayne Gretzky: his heart is in hockey. His heart is in his country. And I'm sure Wayne Gretzky, who has also stated that he believes there should be a second NHL franchise in Southern Ontario, would want to be a part of it."

In addition to reaching out to the Great One, Balsillie has sweetened the deal for the NHL by offering $17 million in bridge financing to keep the team alive before the sale goes through.

His offer also stipulates that every investor in the team gets "100 cents on the dollar the money they are owed," Bloom said.

"You gotta like Jim Balsillie if for no other reason his tenacious desire to do this," Bloom said. "You don't get to be a billionaire by being a bad businessman."

Balsillie, the 48-year-old co-CEO of Waterloo, Ont.-based Research in Motion -- which makes the BlackBerry wireless device -- has tried twice before to purchase an NHL team and move it to Canada.

In 2007, he tried to purchase and move the Nashville Predators to Hamilton, Ont. That offer was rebuffed. Before that, he expressed interest in purchasing the Pittsburgh Penguins.

If Balsillie's offer is accepted, the Coyotes would become the NHL's seventh Canadian franchise. It would also be the team's second stint in Canada. The team was formerly the Winnipeg Jets between 1979 and 1996.

At a news conference on Tuesday night, Balsillie declined to say which city would host the team.

"What I will say is, I think this is an enormously exciting opportunity," he said. "I don't have to tell anyone here it's the greatest game in the whole wide world."

Balsillie has launched a website, www.makeitseven.ca, for fans to show their support for his endeavour.

One person who believes Southern Ontario can support another NHL team is Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"I'd love another NHL team in Canada . . . particularly Southern Ontario can support another team," Harper said Wednesday in Prague, where he is engaged in trade talks with the European Union.

Harper would not comment specifically on the Balsillie deal, but did say he has spoken to some NHL owners about the possibility of another team in the region, in addition to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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  #365  
Old Posted May 6, 2009, 3:29 PM
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^That's concerning, as you can't demo a building when they are playing in it.

That's where the Burlington's and Vaughan's of the world step-up with multi, multi-million dollar incentives and surrounding zoning changes to entice the team. That can mean the team moves after only a few seasons, or it becomes a competitive bargaining chip to beat down Hamilton on making concessions.

I suppose once he pays the territory fees to Toronto and Buffalo he can make 'minor' moves within the area (i.e. Burlington or Vaughan) without incurring addtional payments.
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  #366  
Old Posted May 6, 2009, 3:36 PM
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It's all speculation though.

We'll just have to wait and see if Balsillie and council will reapprove the 2004 contract for Copps, Hamilton Place and Convention Centre, which includes something like a 99 year lease.
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  #367  
Old Posted May 6, 2009, 4:09 PM
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It is disappointing to hear such early talk of a new arena, especially since it could end up somewhere "central" like in Cambridge near the 401 somewhere surrounded by giant parking lots.

I think the one thing that has been mentioned here before is that MLSE would prefer to avoid a second stadium in their area siphoning away concerts (ie Vaughn). Copps already exists in that regard.
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  #368  
Old Posted May 6, 2009, 6:14 PM
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U.S. court could bypass NHL
http://thespec.com/Sports/article/561105
Bankruptcy judge can ignore NHL rules May 06, 2009
Kevin McGran
Torstar News Service

The NHL wants to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix and intends to fight the bankruptcy proceedings initiated by the team's owner while trying to keep Blackberry billionaire Jim Balsillie out of its exclusive club. League commissioner Gary Bettman, appearing on a sports business panel discussion sponsored by the Wall Street Journal in New York on Wednesday morning, said the league prefers to fix it problems rather than abandon cities.

"This is not about whether or not we want a franchise in southern Ontario," Bettman said. "This is about league rules."

Some reports had Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf readying an offer to purchase the Coyotes, a move that was scuttled when Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes sought Chapter 11 protection from his creditors, which include the NHL.

In a statement released early Wednesday, Balsillie said he was offering to buy the team for $212.5 million, conditional on relocation of the team to southern Ontario. Balsillie also said he agreed to post debtor-in-possession financing of $17 million.

In response, the league said it has removed Moyes from all positions of authority, and the league says it intends to represent the Coyotes in bankruptcy hearings, which begin Thursday.

The Coyotes haven't turned a profit since Moyes, owner of trucking company Swift Transportation Co., invested in the team in 2001. Annual financial losses have exceeded $20 million in some years. A move to southern Ontario - which could possibly encroach upon the markets belonging to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres - would represent a retrenchment for the NHL.

Under Bettman the Coyotes left Winnipeg, where they were known as the Jets, for Phoenix in 1996.

The commissioner stated repeatedly that he has no vote on whether Mr. Balsillie would be approved as an owner - the owners of the league's 30 teams make that decision.

The move to bankruptcy court creates a bidding scenario for Moyes, because the sale of the team would be handled by a judge, not the league.
The court has the right to sell it to any bidder without regard to the NHL's wishes.

"Extensive efforts have been undertaken to sell the team, or attract additional investors, who would keep the team in Glendale," Moyes said in a news release before being relieved of his duties as the Coyotes chief executive officer.

"Creating a process under the supervision of a judge assures that anyone wishing to purchase the team will have the opportunity to bid.
"Likewise, the City of Glendale, which has been very cooperative with efforts to keep the team in Glendale, will be able to provide potential buyers assurances of the city's willingness to offer incentives to keep the team as a tenant in the Jobing.com arena, the lease for which is subject to rejection in bankruptcy. The process assures that the identities of the new owner and the team's location will be known by June 30, 2009, thus enabling the NHL to include the team in its 2009-10 schedule."

Balsillie had made previous failed attempt to purchase the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins with the hope of moving them to Hamilton, Ontario.

"The current team ownership asked that I table an offer to purchase the Coyotes and significant discussions resulted in an offer that is in the best interests of the franchise, the NHL, and the great hockey fans of Canada and Southern Ontario," Balsillie said in a statement.

"I am excited to move closer to bringing an NHL franchise to what I believe is one of the best unserved hockey markets in the world - Southern Ontario. A market with devoted hockey fans, a rich hockey history, a growing and diversified economy and a population of more than seven million people."

At the request of the Coyotes ownership, Balsillie said he has also agreed to provide $17 million in financing to allow the franchise to keep going in advance of the sale.

Balsillie's offer does not guarantee that the Coyotes will move. "If others want to come in and there's an offer that is deemed better by the courts, then ultimately that would be a court decision," said Steve Roman, a spokesman for Moyes. "As I understand it, the hope and the plan is that all of this would be dealt with by June 30, 2009. You have a person who has a purchase agreement, but at the same time there could be other players who want to get involved."
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  #369  
Old Posted May 6, 2009, 6:15 PM
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$20m to make Copps NHL ready
$150m for complete renovation

May 06, 2009
Ken Peters
http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/561228

A nearly $20 million refurbishment would be necessary to upgrade Copps Coliseum to acceptable NHL standards for next October says the arena boss.

Duncan Gillespie, the chief administrative officer of the Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc, said the upgrade would include 20 new luxury boxes, new seats and scoreboard.

Gillespie said a $150 million renovation to add 60 new luxury boxes and a new concourse as well as increasing the arena’s 17,300 hockey capacity to over 20,000, could be completed in time for the 2010 NHL season.

Gillespie said such improvements would give Hamilton a “state of the art” hockey facility.

The HECFI boss made the comments in connection with Waterloo billionaire Jim Balsillie’s bid to purchase the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes and move the franchise to southern Ontario.

Basillie has told the Spec in the past he is willing to fund a $160 million upgrade the city’s 23-year-old hockey rink as part of his plan to bring another NHL franchise to southern Ontario.
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  #370  
Old Posted May 6, 2009, 10:21 PM
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Originally Posted by markk View Post
Do you think 'Southern Ontario' refers to Hamilton? Fingers crossed.
Naw it refers to either Vaughn or Burlington lol
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  #371  
Old Posted May 6, 2009, 10:43 PM
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Should the NHL allow Jim Balsillie to move the Phoenix Coyotes to Southern Ontario? Take the poll and go to http://makeitseven.ca to sign a petition.
Yes (90.49 %)
No (9.51 %)
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  #372  
Old Posted May 6, 2009, 11:35 PM
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Fans join Hamilton mayor and premier in Balsillie’s push for NHL team

May 06, 2009
By Colin Perkel
THE CANADIAN PRESS
http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/561366

HAMILTON — The possibility of a NHL franchise settling in the Steel City is very real, Hamilton’s mayor said Wednesday as Ontario’s premier called the prospect of another team in the province exciting and thousands of fans signed on to a web site to push for it to happen.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger said Hamilton was prepared to do whatever it could to try to land a team in light of a $212.5-million offer by Research In Motion tycoon Jim Balsillie to buy the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes if he can move them to southern Ontario.

Having an NHL franchise would be a huge boon for the city’s economic development, drawing fans from a large area and put the city in direct hockey competition with Toronto, Eisenberger said.

“That would be a great rivalry,” the mayor said.

For his part, Premier Dalton McGuinty said he would love to see another franchise in the region, saying this is still “our game.”

While McGuinty said he would cheer on the team, he would leave it to the private sector to land it.

Balsillie’s lawyers have recommended to the bankruptcy court that an auction for the Coyotes begin in early June and end June 26 and that any bid would have to beat his offer by $5 million to defeat it.

Balsillie, who made billions from his company’s BlackBerry, tried two years ago to snag the Nashville Predators and move them to Hamilton. The move was scuttled by the Predators’ owner, who accepted a lower price in exchange for keeping the team in Nashville.

The league itself has opposed adding another team to southern Ontario given Hamilton’s proximity to both Toronto and Buffalo.

McGuinty said that strategy makes no sense.

“This is a great market,” the premier said. “We could easily fill up another arena somewhere in southern Ontario with rabid hockey fans.”

Some of those fans are already making their views known through an online website set up by Balsillie’s bid team.

Less than a day after the www.makeitseven.ca went live to press for a seventh NHL franchise in Canada, more than 61,000 people had signed on, said Bill Walker, of Toronto-based Veritas Communications, which helped develop the site.

Eisenberger said he was not surprised to hear the head of the organization that runs the city’s Copps Coliseum indicate that another investor has been talking about moving a team there.

Since the demise of Balsillie’s Predators bid, Hamilton has continued to look for other hockey possibilities, said Eisenberger.

“We haven’t been sitting on our hands,” he said. “I know there are other interested parties.”

Eisenberger also said it made financial sense to relocate a team to Hamilton given that so many of them are struggling to make ends meet or skating in red ink.

“I would be willing to bet that the board of governors of the NHL would be very interested to bring a hockey team to a market that is financially sustainable,” he said.

Hamilton is already home to the American Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs, the farm team of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens.
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  #373  
Old Posted May 7, 2009, 1:07 AM
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Eisenberger to meet with Balsillie’s reps

Maybe it’s ‘so he can lock something up’

May 06, 2009
Ken Peters
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/561228

Hockey representatives for prospective NHL franchise owner Jim Balsillie are scheduled to meet with Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger Thursday.

And at least one Hamilton hockey official is hopeful the Balsillie group will once again seek control of Copps Coliseum for the specific purpose of relocating the Phoenix Coyotes there for next season. It’s not known whether Balsillie will be at the meeting.

Balsillie announced this week that he has made a conditional offer for the Coyotes, which have filed for bankruptcy, with the intention of moving the franchise to southern Ontario.

“I think he said ‘southern Ontario’ because he has not locked up anything yet. Maybe the meeting is so he can lock something up so it’s no longer southern Ontario but Hamilton,” said city councillor Terry Whitehead, chairman of the city’s NHL subcommittee. “That’s what I’m hoping.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a request to re-affirm the same arrangement we had in the past,” Whitehead said.

That previous agreement saw the city hand over control of Copps Coliseum to the Basillie group for the purpose of bringing a team to Steeltown. But Balsillie’s bid to bring the Nashville Predators here failed and the agreement expired more than a year ago.

But word that a second hockey group is interested in bringing a franchise to Hamilton may complicate matters.

“The only comment I would make is our role is to protect the interests of the taxpayers and leverage opportunity,” Whitehead said.

“I understand they are bona fide. I know where they are from,” Whitehead said of the second party, adding he could say no more publicly.

Jim Bethune, chairman of Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc., which runs Copps Coliseum, said he will not be part of the mayor’s meeting Thursday.

But Bethune said HECFI has a regular board meeting scheduled for that afternoon and expects Balsillie’s latest hockey gambit will be raised “in a general sense.”
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  #374  
Old Posted May 7, 2009, 2:07 AM
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the owners of the successful teams required to use their profits to prop up the losers? That should be incentive enough to allow Balsillie to put the Coyotes wherever he wants.
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  #375  
Old Posted May 7, 2009, 2:44 AM
BCTed BCTed is offline
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Originally Posted by drpgq View Post
It is disappointing to hear such early talk of a new arena, especially since it could end up somewhere "central" like in Cambridge near the 401 somewhere surrounded by giant parking lots.

I think the one thing that has been mentioned here before is that MLSE would prefer to avoid a second stadium in their area siphoning away concerts (ie Vaughn). Copps already exists in that regard.
Vaughan is a total non-story. And every real indication has been that Jim Balsillie has every intention of placing an NHL team in Hamilton. The Cambridge/Kitchener/Waterloo talk is nothing but a media fabrication.
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  #376  
Old Posted May 7, 2009, 8:00 AM
bigguy1231 bigguy1231 is offline
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Lets just keep our fingers crossed.

An NHL team in Hamilton would be an economic bonanza for downtown Hamilton. Just think of a minimum of 40 nights per year with 20,000 people spending money downtown. It would go a long way to reviving the downtown.
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  #377  
Old Posted May 7, 2009, 10:03 AM
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It would be great, but I'm not getting my hopes up. In fact, I'm assuming that it'll fall through again.

We're talking about the NHL here. Half the teams aren't losing money because it's a world class league - it's a garage league. This league deserves what it gets if this falls through.
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  #378  
Old Posted May 7, 2009, 1:59 PM
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Balsillie vs. Bettman
CHML
5/7/2009

Representatives for Jim Balsillie will meet with Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger today.

Bankruptcy court documents confirm Hamilton would be the location if Balsillie is successful in his bid to buy the Phoenix Coyotes.
The co-CEO of RIM has offered 212-million dollars for the team and the documents say the debtors believe the Coyotes would have a higher value in Hamilton.

Balsille's lawyers will argue in court today that any effort by the NHL to block the move would violate American antitrust laws.

The league will challenge whether Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes had the authority to file for bankruptcy protection.

The NHL says it removed Moyes from all positions of authority with the team on Tuesday, when the league was caught by surprise by the bankruptcy filing.

But NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is skeptical, saying he isn't sure the BlackBerry boss could gain approval of league owners.

Should it come to pass, Copps Coliseum would need 20-million dollars in upgrades to meet NHL standards by next fall.

That would be the price of new seats, luxury boxes and a scoreboard.

HECFI boss Duncan Gillespie says that is clearly achievable.

For the long term, Balsillie has in the past suggested that he would pay for 160-million dollars in upgrades to Copps, if his efforts succeed.
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  #379  
Old Posted May 7, 2009, 2:17 PM
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Showdown in Phoenix, talks in Hamilton

May 07, 2009
Spectator Staff
The NHL plans a showdown today with the Coyotes and suitor Jim Balsillie.

In Hamilton, city officials will meet with Balsillie's team.

The Spectator will be there for both. Columnist Steve Milton is in Phoenix. And the local team will repoprting on the Hamilton meeting and what it might mean for this city. Watch thespec.com for the latest news.

BlackBerry billionaire Balsillie has said only that he plans to move the Coyotes to southern Ontario. But many believe that's just code for Hamilton, at least for the short term.

"I think he said 'southern Ontario' because he has not locked up anything yet. Maybe the meeting is so he can lock something up so it's no longer southern Ontario but Hamilton," said Councillor Terry Whitehead, chairman of the city's NHL subcommittee. "That's what I'm hoping.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there is a request to re-affirm the same arrangement we had in the past," Whitehead added.

But word that a second hockey group is interested in bringing a franchise to Hamilton may complicate matters.

"The only comment I would make is our role is to protect the interests of the taxpayers and leverage opportunity," Whitehead said.

"I understand they are bona fide. I know where they are from," said Whitehead of the second party, adding he could say no more publicly.

In Phoenix, a judge will begin dealing with the Coyotes filing for bankruptcy protection, and a plan by Balsillie to buy the team and move it.

The league will challenge whether Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes had the authority to file for bankruptcy protection.

The NHL says it removed Moyes from all positions of authority with the team Tuesday when the league was caught by surprise by the bankruptcy filing.

As for Balsillie’s plan, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says he thinks the Coyotes can succeed in Phoenix with new ownership.

Bettman says whenever a franchise is in trouble, his first preference is to fix the problem instead of moving the team to a new city.
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  #380  
Old Posted May 7, 2009, 2:19 PM
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It sounds like the possible arena in Burlington will be no more than 10,000 seats. So it appears it's about relocating the Hamilton Bulldogs to Burlington whenever Hamilton gets an NHL team to Copps.

It's no secret the owner of the Bulldogs have threaten to move the Bulldogs to Burlington in the past.
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