Arena negotiations between the Leafs and Toronto
officials broke off Tuesday, but "last minute efforts are
under way to revive plans" for the Union Station arena,
according to Moloney, DeMara & Smith of the TORONTO STAR.
City Mayor Barbara Hall: "We're still ready to talk to the
Leafs. The (city's) negotiator is standing by. We don't
consider the deal dead" (TORONTO STAR, 6/26). But Leafs VP
Tom Anselmi said, "We just have completely different
opinions as to what the market value of the land is. We
just don't have the time to continue with that project. So
it's over. It's too bad" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 6/26).
ALTERNATE DIGS? In Toronto, Robert MacLeod reports that
the Leafs "say they are still hoping to build with the
[Raptors] at another location." Anselmi said a joint arena
"is still their goal, whether it was at Union Station or
somewhere else" (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/26). Sources tell the
TORONTO STAR that "it would cost nearly" $100M for the
Raptors "to get out of their Air Canada Centre obligations
and that's money the team is not willing to pay on its own."
But those sources said the amount could be negotiated
between Raptors VP Isiah Thomas and Leafs Chair Steve Stavro
if the teams agree on an another site (TORONTO STAR, 6/26).
