Edmonton may lose Oilers with team ownership visiting Seattle -NHL Update
It has been quite some time now that the Edmonton Oilers ownership group has been lobbying to strike a deal with the city on getting a new arena built for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, but as previous attempts have proved to be fruitless for
them, moving to another city might be the only option they have now.
Canada, the nation where hockey was given birth, may just be on the verge of losing another sports franchise as TSN reports that the Oilers ownership group, consisting of Daryl Katz and his top level team, is in Seattle and visiting the KeyArena this past
Monday.
"I can confirm that Daryl Katz, Patrick LaForge, Kevin Lowe and others from the Oilers leadership group are in Seattle for meetings and to attend the Seahawks game," executive vice president of the Edmonton Arena Corporation for the Katz Group Bob Black
said in a statement issued Monday night.
While it may not be anything for residents and fans of Edmonton to be worrying just yet, the Oilers management is still working on getting a deal done with the city, but as time passes, their options may continue to get smaller in size.
"We remain committed to working with City Administration to achieve a deal commensurate with what Winnipeg and Pittsburgh have done to sustain the NHL in those small markets. If we can achieve such a deal, the Oilers will remain in Edmonton and we can get
on with the important work of developing the new arena and investing in the continued revitalization of Edmonton's downtown core.”
There may never have been an empty seat during an Oilers matchup these past few seasons and seeing how every major city of Canada, like Edmonton, has devoted fans to the sport, there is only so much a management group can withstand before being forced out.
Obviously, in the end, such things are gone towards the current of business, and exploring new markets for Katz and his group of investors seems to be the only way they can survive in harsh economic times while keeping the team financially stable.
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