The Whalers officially announced yesterday that they will
honor their Civic Center lease and remain in Hartford through
'97-98, according to this morning's HARTFORD COURANT. Owner
Peter Karmanos said the Whalers could stay longer if revenues
from the state-run arena are offered to the team. That, however,
would require continued talks with state officials in the wake of
Tuesday's breakdown, when both parties "stomped away" from the
table "with chests puffed and chins raised." Karmanos, who says
he has lost more than $30M since '94, feels the state's offer
"was not economically feasible." Karmanos: "From the day we
moved in here, our intent was to stabilize the franchise and have
it remain in Hartford [but] if we continue to sustain losses. ...
We have no choice but to move the team." While the campaign to
sell 11,000 season tickets is over, the team will continue to
build on the 8,563 seats it has sold to date. The state had
offered to hand over the Civic Center to the team, including $7M
in concessions, parking and skyboxes, but Karmanos cited "too
many loose ends" and "nothing on paper" (Michael Arace, HARTFORD
COURANT, 5/16).
BEER RUN: Columnist Jeff Jacobs writes the state's demand
for $35M if the Whalers broke their lease played a big role in
keeping them for two years. Lou Beer, Whalers attorney and lead
negotiator: "Why on earth would we pay more money to leave than
we'd probably lose if we stayed two more years? It didn't relate
to the state's losses. It was essentially a form of ransom"
(HARTFORD COURANT, 5/16).
PAY CUT: The Whalers currently rank in the middle of the
NHL in terms of payroll. "Expect them to drop down the list"
next season, writes the COURANT's Mark Pukalo. He referred to
remarks by Karmanos and President & GM Jim Rutherford that the
team would find ways to cut back on payroll while remaining
competitive. Citing other teams that remain strong despite cuts,
Rutherford said, "We're not going to do anything rash" the
(HARTFORD COURANT, 5/16).
