NHL Relocation: Just How Likely Is an Edmonton Oilers Move to Seattle?

October 2nd, 2012 by Steve Silverman Leave a reply »
News item: Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz visits the city of Seattle to scout out a potential new home for the franchise (source: CBC.ca).

Reaction: Understandable anger by Edmonton residents leads Katz to apologize for his actions (source: Yahoo.com).

The apology was for being so public and out front about the reason for the visit. Katz wants a new arena for his franchise, and while he has been working with Edmonton officials and city council members and the two sides may be close to a deal, nothing is official yet.

Katz is clearly getting tired of the process. His Oilers have 24 months remaining on their lease at Rexall Place, and he says the negotiations for a new arena have been going on for four years (source: GlobeandMail.com). As a result, he is looking at the possibility of moving his team to a city that has just concluded plans to build a new arena.

Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel has set an October 17 deadline for the city to complete a deal on a new $475 million arena (source: GlobeandMail.com).

This is where the business of sports and economics have an ugly confrontation. Katz owns the Oilers and he has a right to m ...

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