Let’s say that this deal is hopelessly and irretrievably broken and there’s no way that the KG and the city can find common ground. What happens with Rexall, the Oilers, and Edmonton’s downtown?
My suspicion is that once this negotiation is truly dead and buried, the Oilers will quietly let the current lease run out at Rexall Place and then, if necessary, sign a series of year-to-year leases with Northlands until a buyer for the team is found or until Daryl Katz gets an offer he can’t refuse and he personally moves the team. Either way, with no new arena (or at the very least, the promise of a new arena), the Oilers will move on to a more lucrative financial arrangement in another market.
Will the NHL let this happen? Yes. The NHL isn’t a benevolent third-party that protects the spirit of the game and ensures that it’s treated with the respect it deserves. It’s a business that’s owned by NHL franchise owners. That means when it comes time to move the Oilers to Seattle or Quebec or Kansas City or wherever, Daryl Katz won’t be asking fans, politicians, or the media for permission. He’ll be asking 29 fellow owners that are also fellow businessmen.
Run down the list of relocated teams in recent history and see how many of them had an arena as at least one factor in their departure. The North Stars became the Dallas Stars in part because of the failure to reach a new arena deal. The Whalers left Hartford when an all but finalized arena agreement fell apart. When the Jets left Winnipeg, they left an old, decrepit rink behind. When they returned, they returned to a relatively new MTS Centre. The same is true for the Quebec Nordiques. The franchise left the Colisee and now, almost 20 years later, a new arena is being built in the hopes of being awarded a new NHL franchise (either via relocation or expansion).
Were there other factors surrounding the departure of these teams from their respective markets? Undoubtedly but to say that the lack of a modern arena facility didn’t play some part in their relocation is disingenuous. So too is it to blithely say, “The NHL will never let the Oilers move!” The NHL itself said that a franchise with no lease and no prospect of a modern facility can be considered for relocation.
While the first priority would be to keep franchises in their existing markets, a relocation application may be considered if the franchise does not have a binding lease. Such an application involves the consideration of some 24 factors, as set forth in the NHL Constitution and By-Laws, and is subject to a majority vote of the Board of Governors. The prevailing rules emphasize current local market viability first and foremost. Franchises whose markets are not viable due to the absence of a state-of-the-art arena and a sustainable financial model for the franchise may be considered candidates for relocation, again assuming there is no binding lease obligation.
July 21, 2010 City Council Meeting
Item 5.4 – Sports and Entertainment Facility
Supplemental Questions from Mayor and Council Questions for the Katz Group
So, the Oilers’ lease is up, there’s no new rink on the horizon, and the NHL allows the team moves. Now what? Edmonton’s still left with an antiquated Northlands Coliseum that’s more outdated each passing year and that will still need regular maintenance and upkeep. Where does that money come from? From taxpayers.
But taxpayers told DK to pound sand so we’ll say the same to Northlands when they come hat in hand looking for money. Now what? Without a cash infusion, the Coliseum falls into disrepair and is no longer suitable for even the Oil Kings or the Rush. Justin Bieber won’t have an Edmonton venue to visit nor will President Clinton.
And what comes of downtown during that time? Will there have been an unexpected spontaneous explosion of development? Or will we still be parking in a gravel parking lot and walking two blocks to play cards in a dingy casino?
Look around at the world we live in. In all but a very select few cases with very specific circumstances, arenas and stadiums don’t suddenly erupt from the ground without some type of meaningful contribution from one or multiple levels of government. We don’t have to like it but we need to accept it.
So, what does this mean for Edmonton during the fall of 2012? It means that in the relatively near future (with or without the Oilers), we’re going to need a new arena facility somewhere in our city and our options are to:
- Pay for part of it;
- Pay for all of it;
- Simply do without.
Understand this: There’s no reality where a rich benefactor appears and pays the full freight to build Edmontonians an arena out of the goodness of his or her heart.
Here’s where we sit right now. There’s a populace that understands a new rink is required in the near future. There’s a hometown billionaire that’s willing to make a sizeable contribution to not only building a new arena, but to revitalizing an entire district that’s been stuck at zero for decades. And there’s political leadership that has the vision to bring such a project to fruition. But now that we’re down to the short strokes, we all lose our focus and our nerve. We threaten to take our ball and go home. We flip out, make rash decisions, get offended, and lose site of the overall goal – creating an Edmonton that’s better than it was yesterday.
To even the most untrained eye, it’s plain to see that there’s a deal to be struck but how do we move past where we are now? As disappointing as it is, it appears that given a choice between keeping a low profile and building an arena, Daryl Katz would choose the former. As for political leadership, they live in a world where there’s a finite amount of both influence and political capital and it would seem as though there’s no one on city council is willing to invest more than what’s already been spent.
What’s left is us. Edmontonians. Oilers fans. Optimists and action takers. Champions. The Edmonton Arena District will only come into existence through our collective force of will. We need to pressure both parties to sharpen their pencils, to get creative, and urge each to make concessions that get this project back on track.
There is – without a doubt – a deal to be made and it falls to you and me to ensure that it gets done. Send a message to Edmonton City Council and the Katz Group using the links below.
@EdmontonOilers @edmontonAD @EdmOilKings Find a way. #yegarena #yeg
@KimKrushell @MayorMandel @karenleibovici @ben_hen @SohiAmarjeet @KerryDiotte @doniveson @JaneBatty @daveloken Find a way. #yegarena #yeg
Not on Twitter? Call 311 and let them know you want to see a deal made. Or send a letter or an old fashion letter by following this link. http://www.yegarena.com/p/make-it-happen.html
