Maple Leafs Chair Steve Stavro said full-page ads that
ran in weekend newspapers "were meant to clear up
misconceptions" about the team's proposal for a Union
Station arena, according to Rob Granatstein of the TORONTO
SUN. The ad, which appeared in Sunday's Sun and Saturday's
Globe & Mail, was written in the form of an open letter to
the citizens of Toronto signed by Stavro and MLG Minority
Owner Larry Tanenbaum. It detailed the Leafs' C$156M "final
offer" for the arena site. Toronto City Councillor David
Hutcheon: "For them to take out newspaper ads is indicative
of their desperation for the site and their unwillingness to
pay market value" (TORONTO SUN, 7/14).
WHAT ABOUT THE RAPTORS? MLG's Tanenbaum also suggested
that despite an NBA deadline for the Raptors on their arena
plans, Raptors VP Isiah Thomas "could get a reprieve."
Tanenbaum: "There's a good chance if we were able to make a
deal with the city on Union Station, the benefits of the
Union Station project would be so overwhelming, the NBA
would consider an extension" (TORONTO STAR, 7/12).
