A day after Rockets Owner Les Alexander made an $82.5M
offer for the NHL Oilers, Houston Mayor Lee Brown said he
will ask the sports authority to step up talks for a new
arena, "preferably" downtown, according to John Williams of
the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. But Brown said that he had "no
timetable" on the project (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/12). In
Edmonton, one source said that local buyers, who have 30
days to come up with $70M to keep the team, appear to still
need "about" $35M (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 2/12). To help a local
group's bid, Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith and city councilors
passed a motion "to explore the feasibility of the city
creating a small-scale investor fund for people" to invest
in the team. The aim would be to collect small investments
of possibly $500 to $1,000 "in exchange for a share of
ownership" (Ashley Geddes, EDMONTON JOURNAL, 2/12).
OPRYLAND, MEET YOUR PREDATORS? While speculation has
pointed toward the team relocating to Nashville, Alexander
and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman "both refused to say
Tuesday where the Oilers would play next season" if the
purchase is approved (David Barron, HOUSTON CHRONICLE,
2/12). Predators VP/Communications Gerry Helper: "Any
(Alexander) scenario is hypothetical and any discussion of
it is counterproductive to our efforts" (EDM. SUN, 2/12).
