A sale of the Lightning to the Maloof family of
Albuquerque, NM, "appears imminent," according to Roy
Cummings of the TAMPA TRIBUNE. Gavin Maloof said he will go
to Tampa for another round of sale negotiations sometime
within the next three weeks, and Cummings notes "it is
expected" that he will start to finalize an agreement to buy
the team. Lightning CEO Steve Oto said talks with the
Maloofs have progressed to the point where the next round of
negotiations would be targeted at closing a deal (TAMPA
TRIBUNE, 5/14). In St. Petersburg, Tim Buckley notes that
it is "believed the sides are negotiating an exact purchase
price" for the team. The price is "thought to have been
lowered" by about $20M from an original price of around
$180M after a piece of development property near the arena
was removed from talks (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 5/15).
DAVID DROPS OUT: David LeFevre informed the Tampa
Sports Authority board yesterday that he could not become
its Exec Dir, two days after they approved his contract,
according to Joe Henderson of the TAMPA TRIBUNE. LeFevre
said he could not take the job due to "contract
complications" in leaving the Lightning, where he serves as
Governor (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 5/15).
