A sellout crowd of 15,635 "packed the stands and showed
warmth for their team," as the Whalers played their last
game in the Hartford Civic Center yesterday, according to
Michael Arace of the HARTFORD COURANT. Fans raised signs
directed at team Owner Peter Karmanos, the "gentlest" of
which read: "Karmanos: We May Not Have The Whalers, But At
Least We Have Hair" (HARTFORD COURANT, 4/14). Despite a
proposal by CT House Speaker Thomas Ritter to double the
Whalers' $20.5M exit agreement negotiated with the state, CT
Gov. John Rowland spokesperson Dean Pagani said Rowland "had
not changed his position and expects the agreement
ultimately will be approved" at $20.5M. Ritter says an
enhanced exit agreement could "force Karmanos to honor the
last year of his Civic Center lease" (HARTFORD COURANT,
4/12). A COURANT/CT poll shows that 60% of CT residents
feel the deal to keep the Whalers was "too generous," 5%
said the state "should have done more" to keep the team; 25%
said the offer to build a new arena "was fair;" 9% were
uncertain. The telephone poll of 500 adults, conducted
April 2-9, by the Institute for Social Inquiry at the Univ.
of CT, also showed that 53% "opposed the state deal;" 36%
"favored the state's offer" (HARTFORD COURANT, 4/13).
K.C. OFF HIS MIND: Karmanos has told the city of Kansas
City "to wait while he sorts through his other options
regarding the move of his team," according to Jeffrey
Flanagan of the K.C STAR. Paul McGannon, head of NHL 21, a
subcommittee of the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission in
charge of trying to lure an NHL team: "Basically, he told us
that we're not in his immediate plans, but he said that our
group should stand by" (K.C. STAR, 4/12).
