Portland Family Entertainment (PFE) announced that it
has reached a deal to acquire the Triple A Cannons and will
move the team from Calgary to Portland in the spring of
2001, according to Roger Anthony of the Portland OREGONIAN.
The Cannons will play at Civic Stadium, and as part of the
agreement, PFE "is in the midst of finalizing a deal" with
the city to assume management of the facility. The city
will retain ownership of the stadium and will finance about
90% of a $37M renovation project to be completed in 2001.
The agreement also stipulates that PFE will eventually
acquire a soccer franchise and "assume exclusive
responsibility for stadium operations." PFE is currently
"on the verge of acquiring" an expansion team in the A
League of the USL. USL Associate Commissioner Dave Askinas:
"We still have some issues to work out. But I can tell you
that they don't involve financing" (Portland OREGONIAN,
8/25). In Calgary, Tom Brennan put the value of the deal
between $8-10M (CALGARY SUN, 8/26). Also in Calgary,
Michael Platt writes that Calgary "should make a pitch for a
new baseball team" with more money once the Cannons leave
(CALGARY SUN, 8/26).
