The Oilers have sold 12,748 season tickets as of
yesterday, just short of their goal of 13,000 sales by
today's deadline (Oilers). In Edmonton, Davis Sheremata
writes that if the team reaches the goal, it will qualify
for C$3M under the NHL's Canadian Assistance Program. In
other news, Cal Nichols was re-elected as Chair of the
Oilers' BOD, Terry Bean was named Vice Chair and Gary Gregg
was elected Secretary-Treasurer (EDMONTON SUN, 5/31). NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman believes the "foundation" of the
Oilers franchise is "strong." Bettman: "I'm not concerned.
The franchise is in good hands. The ownership in Edmonton
is unique. When you have 37 owners, you are going to have
diverse views on many issues" (EDMONTON SUN, 5/31).
NOTES: In Calgary, Cameron Maxwell wrote that the
Flames "need to sell an average" of 100 season tickets per
day for the next month to reach their goal of 14,000.
Yesterday, sales stood at 10,770, 3,230 short of their goal.
Flames VP/Marketing & Sales Garry McKenzie: "We really need
to push Calgarians to make this work." McKenzie said that
the team is "trying to find" a sponsor for naming rights to
the Saddledome and for the arena's club seats, saying that a
deal "could be months away." McKenzie: "We're working on a
minimum 10-year-deal for the name sponsor" (CAL. SUN, 5/31).
