So how goes the hockey team?

[matt602]

Can he get out of the lease if he doesn't get a team?

[SteelTown]

The exclusivity of Copps will only last for probably until the end of October, that is if Balsillie doesn't obtain a Hamilton franchise. If he does than the contract is good for 20 years.

[SteelTown]

Balsillie wins rights to Copps till October
Will enter 20-year lease if he gets an NHL team

May 13, 2009
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/565385


Hamilton council has unanimously agreed to give BlackBerry boss Jim Balsillie exclusive rights to Copps Coliseum until October.

If Balsillie secures an NHL team by then, he is promising to enter into a 20-year lease with the city, with options to extend it a further three times, each for four more years, totalling 32 years.

If a team is secured, Balsillie is also promising to put $5 million into Copps by fall 2010, which he believes is enough to get the arena in operating shape for an NHL team.

A more detailed agreement between the businessman and the city remains confidential, including what penalty Balsillie would pay if he broke the lease agreement.

[matt602]

[SteelTown]

Hamilton, Balsillie, swing Copps deal
Promises $5m in renovations

May 14, 2009
Nicole Macintyre
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/article/565604

The city is giving Jim Balsillie until October to bring a hockey team to Copps Coliseum.

In exchange, the BlackBerry baron is promising to sign a long-term lease up to 32 years if he secures the Phoenix Coyotes. He's also committing on paper to $5 million in renovations by fall 2010.

City council unanimously approved the deal last night.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger said he can't reveal how much of a penalty Balsillie would pay if he later decided to move the team elsewhere. However, he's confident the co-CEO of RIM wants to stay in Hamilton for the long term. The deal gives the city the right to back out of the agreement if officials don't believe Balsillie is prepared to commit enough money to the facility.

"We do have some windows where he's going to have to substantiate significant investment," said Eisenberger, adding he's also been personally reassured by Balsillie. "He is passionate about hockey for starters and passionate about bringing it to the city of Hamilton."

Balsillie's spokesperson Bill Walker said his client is pleased by council's ratification of the lease agreement.

"Council, you could say, really put the puck in the net. We're still in the first period of our quest to land an NHL team, but this is a really exciting development."

Walker also reaffirmed Balsillie's long-term plans for Hamilton, saying he is not considering any other sites for the team.

"He is committed to Hamilton now and he will be committed to Hamilton in the future."

As part of the deal, the city agrees it will lobby upper levels of government for infrastructure funding to help pay for a larger renovation of Copps. City officials have previously stated it could take $100 million to $150 million to bring the aging facility up to NHL standards.

It was previously believed Balsillie would pay the entire bill himself.

Walker said he can't speculate on what would happen if the government didn't commit funding, noting that is several steps down the road.

In the short term, Eisenberger said Balsillie does not believe a major investment is needed to ice a team.

Walker said Balsillie is still hoping to relocate by this fall.

His success will be determined in a Phoenix courtroom where Balsillie is battling the NHL for control of the bankrupt team.

If he loses before the Oct. 31 deadline, his deal with the city will be terminated in 14 days.

The city released the lease option contract last night, however a more detailed management agreement will remain confidential. The private agreement outlined key financial commitments, such as penalties and how much Balsillie will pay the city in annual rent. Sources say Balsillie has agreed to pay utility costs for Copps. The city was on the hook for the expense in previous agreements.

The long-term lease, which would hand over control of the Convention Centre, Hamilton Place Theatre and the facilities' underground parking, would start with a 20-year commitment with the option of three four-year extensions.

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

"Council, you could say, really put the puck in the net. We're still in the first period of our quest to land an NHL team, but this is a really exciting development."

Deft mastery of the conversational fromage favoured by council and local media. They've been doing their homework (er, wind sprints?).

[SteelTown]

Statement on Copps Coliseum NHL Lease Option

Thu, 14 May 2009 15:55:06 GMT

Author: Jim Balsillie
Category: Press Release

HAMILTON, May 14 Balsillie-on-arena

HAMILTON, May 14 /PRNewswire/ - There are several points regarding the Copps Coliseum lease option arrangement that the Hamilton NHL bid team wishes to clarify with media:

"I am investing nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in buying an NHL team to bring to Hamilton, and then will invest even more getting the team up and running and making it an eventual Stanley Cup winner," said Jim Balsillie.

"That's my dream and the dream of a lot of fans in southern Ontario. Yesterday we took a big step towards that dream because we got approval for a lease option of up to 32 years to rent space and play in the arena owned by the City of Hamilton, locking in our commitment to that city" he added.

- At no time will Jim Balsillie request government infrastructure funds for Copps Coliseum or an NHL franchise.
- Copps Coliseum remains a city owned facility and as such the City of Hamilton is responsible for upkeep.
- Mr. Balsillie is not going to ask for nor accept any tax dollars whatsoever in operating subsidies.
- Mr. Balsillie does not have a "lease but no NHL team." Mr. Balsillie has agreed with the City on an exclusive "lease option." Should his bid to purchase the Coyotes succeed, he would exercise the lease option and only at that point would the actual lease be in place.
- Should Mr. Balsillie exercise the lease option he would fund the immediate Phase I renovations required to prepare Copps Coliseum as home to an NHL franchise.

SOURCE Jim Balsillie

[emge]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

- At no time will Jim Balsillie request government infrastructure funds for Copps Coliseum or an NHL franchise.

So no infrastructure funds will be requested for upgrading Copps then? Isn't that a complete 180 from the statement his spokesperson released yesterday?

[oldcoote]

Originally Posted by emge

So no infrastructure funds will be requested for upgrading Copps then? Isn't that a complete 180 from the statement his spokesperson released yesterday?

No, the city will likely request the funds. They still own Copps.

[SteelTown]

Go to thespec.com to watch the video interview with Jim Balsillie.

Balsillie defends 'brash' move to bring NHL here

Steve Milton
Hamilton Spectator

 Jim Balsillie argues that he’s been forced into his controversial, confrontational approach to seeking an NHL team for Hamilton, “because there is no front door.”

Balsillie has twice angered NHL executives, and some owners, by attempting to buy teams with the express purpose of moving them to Copps Coliseum.

In his May 2007 bid to purchase  the Nashville Predators, Balsillie’s ticket drive for the “Hamilton Predators” ruffled many NHL feathers.

 And he will  move the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton if a Phoenix bankruptcy court rules that Jerry Moyes can put the team into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and sell them to Balsillie.

That ruling may come next week and if it’s in his favour “the puck will drop (in Hamilton) in October,” Balsillie told a joint editorial meeting of the Hamilton Spectator and Toronto Star in Toronto today.

 Balsillie  says if he is successful in gaining a team for Hamilton, he would try to be an owner like Mike Ilitch of the Detroit Red Wings. Iltich hires hockey people for the long term, he said, and lets them do their job.

 The co-CEO of Research in Motion said he has “spent five years looking for a front door” into the NHL and “you get all this characterization. Club rules, all that.

“I tilted against them. Call me brash. It’s a compliment.”

 Balsillie, who has committed an immediate $5 million for the upgrading of Copps Coliseum said he isn’t sure how much he’d personally be willing to put into the arena. The City is going to seek funding from other levels of government for refurburshing the 25-year-old facility.

 He also said that if the City of Hamilton is reticent and doesn’t want him, he’s had plenty of offers from landowners in other parts of Southern Ontario.

 Balsillie threw this challenge at the city, “Do you really want to thrive or not? That is the central question.”

[bornagainbiking]

just imagine, unlike the ACC or Skydome we would be somewhat unique. A full service Mall attached to the arena. So it would be like tailgate parties right at the local watering holes prior to the games. The Sheraton could have packages and you could go to the game with just a sweater.
The food courts would be used prior to the games. Jackson square parking and farmers market parking normally empty, on off hrs used.
Hess street would be like the restaurants along Front street.
I can see the old Regal getting spruced up as a Comfort INN or Budget type.
just need another entrance from JS directly to Copps.

This could mean more occupants for the Lister Block like The hockey head office.
So many options!

[Gurnett71]

Originally Posted by bornagainbiking

just need another entrance from JS directly to Copps.

When phase IV opened in Jackson Square, wasn't there a direct link to Copps?? I seem to recall walking past Sbarro's restaurant and I thought that there was a hallway leading right into Copps...maybe this hallway was exposed with the recent market opening in that section. Anybody recall such an entrance??

[matt602]

There was and still is, it's just blockaded. I think you can currently see and get to it from inside of the temporary farmer's market. I think I've also seen it from the other side within Copps. I'm fairly certain it was also used during the Briar a few years ago.

[SteelTown]

Seems like he has a vision for the Convention Centre as well. If successful he'll be managing the Convention Centre along with Copps and Hamilton Place.

Steel City remains his first choice

May 15, 2009
Naomi Powell
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/566573

Jim Balsillie is being wooed by numerous cities eager to be the next hometown of the Phoenix Coyotes.

But the BlackBerry billionaire says Hamilton remains his first choice for the NHL team.

"We've had entreaties from all kinds of other places, but I'm telling you I haven't visited them, I haven't talked with them, I haven't met with them," said Balsillie during a wide-ranging interview yesterday with The Hamilton Spectator and the Toronto Star.

"I want a team in southern Ontario. I want a team in Hamilton."

Positioning his bid to move the Coyotes as a potential catalyst for change, Balsillie said Hamilton has the potential to be a "destination" city.

"At the end of the day, we need a second destination as a province," he said. "You get the Pan Am stuff there, you get the NHL going, you do stuff for the convention centre ... it will be a primary place to go. It will. Which I think is great and why not?"

Balsillie -- who was granted an option on a 20-year lease for Copps Coliseum this week -- said he didn't know how much he is willing to pay toward long-term renovations at the facility. The city has agreed to ask the federal and provincial governments for infrastructure funding to help pay for a larger renovation of Copps, a project that could cost up to $150 million. Balsillie has so far committed $5 million to renovations.

As for his unorthodox attempt to purchase the Coyotes out of bankruptcy and relocate the team to Hamilton, Balsillie said it was the only way to make the move happen.

"There is no front door," he said. "We had to go down the side door. I could think of no other way to get this on the agenda."

[BCTed]

I'm pretty disappointed to read the below (from http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/634649):

"Balsillie has spent a career out-swimming sharks, and he can become hardnosed in a heartbeat.

When pressed yesterday as to how much he might be prepared to pay out of his own pocket to renovate Copps Coliseum, he said, "We don't have to be in Hamilton. ... If they don't want the team there, they can say, no thanks."

Sounds like the moving trucks are pulling up to Copps before they've even made it to Jobing.com Arena. (Memo to Hamilton politicians: get all the details nailed down before Balsillie gets the team.)"

It's pretty interesting that the above quote showed up in two Star articles, but did not show up in any Spectator articles as far as I know. Hopefully, Jim does not ever think about straying from Hamilton.

[Berklon]

I think it's JB's way of ensuring that Hamilton is comitted to the cause. He wants the team in Hamilton and wants it to work out, but I get the feeling he wants to raise everyone's game as well. One man alone (even a billionaire) can't do it all by himself.

This actually makes me feel a bit better about the intent. I categorize this in the "give the man a fish/teach him to fish" type scenario.

[SteelTown]

Dear Hockey Fans,

Thank you for taking the time to sign up to MakeItSeven.ca. I want you to know, from one passionate hockey fan to another, I really appreciate it.

Since I announced my offer to buy the Phoenix Coyotes, the response and support I have received from across Canada has been overwhelming. Within hours, more than 10,000 people had signed up at MakeItSeven.ca and every day thousands of Canadians continue to add their names and their support. Today more than 120,000 people have joined MakeItSeven.ca. Many of you have contacted me with suggestions and advice on a number of matters related to our mission to bring another NHL team to Canada. I appreciate all of it.

While we are early in the process, I am more optimistic than ever that we are one step closer to bringing another NHL team to Southern Ontario and to Canada. I am excited to announce that two iconic Canadian brands, Home Hardware and Labatt, both supporters of hockey across this country, have joined the Make It Seven campaign. The MakeItSeven.ca website is also up and running today as our campaign hub. Through the site you, the fans, will have an opportunity to shape the Make It Seven campaign by uploading your own content, interacting with each other and getting regular updates on our progress. Please take the time to visit MakeItSeven.ca again and continue to participate in this important movement. For those of you who want to follow the progress in other ways, we have also set up an official Twitter account as @makeitseven.

Thanks again for your support. Please contact all of your friends and family and ask them to sign up with you. Together, with our partners Home Hardware and Labatt and passionate Canadian hockey fans from coast to coast, we can make it happen. Together, we can make it seven!

Jim

Jim Balsillie

[Actonite]

Originally Posted by Berklon

This actually makes me feel a bit better about the intent. I categorize this in the "give the man a fish/teach him to fish" type scenario.

Good way to look at it Berklon. That's the kind of thing Jim Balsillie seems to do. He doesn't just throw money at things. Here in Waterloo Region he has given 100's of millions of dollars to great things but many of the causes he has put money into encourage every one to get involved, participate and improve the whole community and it's identity.
His view on philanthropy is that he his as much a beneficiary as any one else. He may be a billionaire but he is as much a part of the community as all the other people that benefit from the money he puts into it.

[SteelTown]

Balsillie offers delayed move

May 16, 2009
Torstar News Service
http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/567328

Billionaire Jim Balsillie is willing to own the Coyotes and let them stay in Phoenix for another season – with some provisos – if he should be allowed to purchase the team through bankruptcy proceedings, according to documents filed late Friday night.

Calling themselves "good faith" purchasers caught between conflicting stories over who actually controls the financially troubled franchise, lawyers for Balsillie's PSE Sports and Entertainment painted the company as accommodating businessmen in pleading with judge Redfield Baum to consider the $212.5 million (U.S.) offer on its merits.

"We are willing to pay the full purchase price. ... And we are willing to have the team remain in Glendale for a further year if the NHL is prepared to fund the losses for the year and respect the decision of the this court by foregoing any rights of appeal as long as we know we will be permitted to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario for the following season," said an affidavit of Richard Rodier, Balsillie's long-time lawyer and now senior vice-president of PSE.

Rodier says it's still Balsillie's hope for the team to play in Copps Coliseum starting in October. But the rhetoric-filled statement suggests all sides are bearing down for a process that could go longer than the hoped-for 60 days, and portrays the Maple Leafs as the chief opponent to an NHL team in Hamilton.

"Keeping the Coyotes in Glendale benefits the Maple Leafs by enabling them to enjoy the benefits of no competition in the Toronto area, but it is disastrous to the Coyotes' creditors," reads the court filing.

"If the decision is to deny the relocation application or stall the consideration of it, we believe that would likely be on account of an effort to block competition in the Toronto area or a dislike of Mr. Balsillie and would be unreasonable, illegal and an abuse of discretion," said Rodier's dossier.

The harsh words come in the first public statement from the Balsillie camp that it's willing to make a deal with the NHL, which may become necessary should the judge side with the NHL in the bankruptcy proceedings.

The NHL asserts Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes altered agreements to look as if he was in control of the club and misrepresented his authority to both the court and to Balsillie's camp. The NHL maintains it controlled the team since gaining proxy rights for a cash bailout in November.

Rodier went to great lengths in his affidavit to distance himself and Balsillie from any possible Moyes' wrongdoing.

"At no time did anyone suggest that Mr. Moyes did not have the authority he seemed to have," said Rodier. "We did know that the NHL had advanced some funds to the team, but we were unaware of the November proxies or that the NHL had assumed control of the team and that it claims to have been making all decisions."

Rodier suggested to the judge that Balsillie would have no problem being accepted as an owner by the league's board of governors since he already passed once, when he attempted to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins. That deal fell apart when the league asked Balsillie to sign forms committing to keep the team in Pittsburgh.

But at the same time, Rodier also accused the NHL of skulduggery in character assassinations of Balsillie. "There seems to be secret, unwritten and arbitrary practices of the NHL that have allegedly been violated by Mr. Balsillie and for that the NHL seems determined not to deal with him," said Rodier.

Rodier also defends his role in the bankruptcy proceedings in which he arranged for Balsillie to make an opening bid in the bankruptcy auction.

"I did not `engineer' the bankruptcy case," said Rodier. "I explained to (the Moyes camp) that the only way I could see out of Phoenix, given that the team was already bankrupt and also due to the long-term lease with the arena with no provision allowing early termination, was for some sort of bankruptcy proceeding."

[SteelTown]

Ticats onside with Balsillie
Owner enthusiastic; 'I like the idea of the NHL coming,' Young says

Sean Fitz-Gerald, National Post
Published: Saturday, May 16, 2009
http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/s...tml?id=1602186

A year after he joined the chorus of protests over the National Football League's invasion of his backyard, Hamilton Tiger-Cats owner Bob Young has endorsed and embraced Jim Balsillie's quest to move the Phoenix Coyotes into Copps Coliseum.

"Unlike the NFL coming to southern Ontario, I quite like the idea of the NHL coming to Hamilton," Young said. "We're actually quite enthusiastic, and Balsillie is doing a good job reaching out to everyone he can think of. We're looking forward to working with him, should he get past all the various roadblocks he has to get past to get the team to Hamilton."

Balsillie has offered to buy the Coyotes for US$212.5-million, with the condition he is allowed relocate the franchise to Hamilton. The NHL has objected to the process -- and will meet Phoenix owner Jerry Moyes in bankruptcy court on Tuesday -- but that has not stopped Balsillie from laying the foundations for a team.

The co-CEO of Research In Motion Ltd., has already secured an arena lease option and the support of Labatt Breweries and Home Hardware for his online campaign. Balsillie has also telephoned Young.

Don Dawson, a professor who lectures on the economics of professional sports at Mc-Master University in Hamilton, wonders if the NHL's arrival would harm the city's Canadian Football League team.

"What happens to the Tiger-Cats?" Dawson asked. "Because if there is a family setting aside a certain amount of money for recreation, if they do buy season tickets, are they going to have to forgo the other type of recreation -- the football games?"

Young said the Ticats have fans who drive in from Sudbury and Peterborough for home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium. The franchise's season ticket base, he said, is stronger in Mississauga than it is in Stoney Creek, a neighbouring suburb.

Young, a casual hockey fan, was more concerned when the Buffalo Bills signed on to play eight games over five years in Toronto. The head-to-head competition with another football league, he said, posed more of a threat than any competition with hockey.

"What I can't predict is whether or not Jim will be successful on this particular project," Young said. "I have a lot of confidence that he will be successful, eventually, on one of the projects. If the New York area can support three NHL teams, there's no reason the Toronto and Hamilton area can't support two. If New York can support three, there should be like, five teams in Southern Ontario."