Whalers Owner Peter Karmanos "strongly denied" a
Toronto Sun report claiming the team is "poised" to move
into the Target Center in Minneapolis next season, according
to Curt Brown of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Karmanos,
through an aide, said that he had "no idea where the story
came from and he hasn't talked to anyone" about moving to
Minneapolis and the Target Center. T-Wolves President Rob
Moor "said he hadn't heard anything about" sharing the arena
with the Whalers (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/11).
LARGUE LOSS? NY Investment Banker Michael Largue, who
has talked of purchasing the Whalers and keeping them in
Hartford met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman yesterday.
Sources tell the HARTFORD COURANT's Greg Garber that Bettman
told Largue that the chances of keeping the Whalers in
Hartford are "dead." Bettman "said the meeting had nothing
to do with the Whalers" (HARTFORD COURANT, 4/11).
CASTING OFF: Commissioner Bettman is interviewed on the
Whalers move in today's HARTFORD COURANT. Bettman said that
the "blame" for the Whalers leaving Hartford "must fall on
the state's inability to satisfy all of owner Peter
Karmanos' requirements for a cost-effective arena."
Bettman: "Everyone agreed early on that the team, if it was
going to survive in Hartford, would need a building at no
cost." Bettman also noted the state's "insistence" on a 20-
year lease, and its "refusal to negotiate" the issue, saying
the team "could have lost an unfathomable amount of money
over that 20-year period." Bettman, on the league's stance:
"The location of a team may impact on corporate support,
television and fan interest, but we weren't looking to make
a change for the sake of change. ... It was Hartford's
ownership that was put into the situation where it had no
choice. We regret it. But it's too easy for people to say
(the NHL) should have done something. What should we have
done?" Bettman added he would be "skeptical" if another
local group came forward willing to accept the terms
Karmanos rejected. Bettman: "The governor said this was the
best the state could do. We have no reason here to doubt
that" (John Altavilla, HARTFORD COURANT, 4/11).
OTHER CITIES: In San Diego, the UNION-TRIBUNE's Mark
Ziegler puts San Diego on Karmanos' list of possible cities.
Jeff Quinn of Arena Group 2000, operators of the current
Sports Arena: "It's hard for me to gauge how serious he is
about San Diego, since we've had no direct contact with him.
Given the ability of other cities that already have
buildings or better resources to fund them, we might have
better options than here" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 4/11).
CINCINNATI: Karmanos said he "is interested" in playing
in Cincinnati for a "handful of dates" while a new arena is
built in Columbus, though he "continues to explore" sites in
Columbus that could convert to a major-league facility for
next season. Karmanos: "You'd like to get into Columbus
right away. We wouldn't want to split up the games. The
players wouldn't like it and the league wouldn't. You could
play in Cleveland, Dayton, Cincinnati while building a base
in the state" (Geoff Hobson, CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 4/11).
