Sources: Devils Owner Close To Deal With Lenders To Retain Control Of Club

Devils Owner Jeff Vanderbeek is "close to a deal with lenders to retain control of the cash-strapped hockey team," according to sources cited by Josh Kosman of the N.Y. POST. Sources said that the proposed deal "would buy Vanderbeek -- who has been trying to scrounge up cash to pay off overdue loans -- another two years to either refinance the team’s debt or sell the club." The deal calls for "combining the team’s debt with separate loans against Devils Arena Entertainment, which collects concession revenue from Prudential Center events, into a single $160 million loan." Sources said that the details "were still being hammered out last night, and the talks could fall apart." Vanderbeek -- who "has been skating on thin ice since September, when the team missed an $80 million loan repayment -- missed the team’s latest extension yesterday" (N.Y. POST, 8/16).