Amid speculation the Flames could leave Calgary if they do not get a new venue, local officials said that negotiations between the team and the city are "going well, with a new deal expected to be revealed soon," according to a front-page piece by Eva Ferguson of the CALGARY HERALD. Councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart said, "We are in the short strokes of putting together a deal that people can live with. It will be made public in the next few weeks." Councillor Jim Stevenson agreed, adding that city council has been "well-informed of negotiations throughout the process." Flames President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke on Wednesday "launched a media storm" when he said that the team "will leave Calgary if they don't get the new arena they've been seeking." Quebec Mayor Regis Labeaume said that he "doesn't believe the Flames are serious about a move." Labeaume: "It's a negotiating strategy. We're used to it. Everyone is calm, the Flames will not come to Quebec." Labeaume added that he remembers the Oilers "using the same strategy before getting approval to build Rogers Place" (CALGARY HERALD, 6/9).
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE: Flames President & CEO Ken King said that he "refuses to give a date when the Flames want the city to green-light an arena deal." King: "Quickly is not a pressure tactic. There should be no reason why we can't move this along. We can do it or we can't do it. We should all know that relatively soon. It's really important this comes together quickly so we can get on with the business of building the building and opening the building." In Calgary, Rick Bell writes while King "won't give a date when the Flames want an arena deal done," but it could be July 31, and "no one says this date is out of line." The Flames "think what they're looking for will get the support of Calgarians." King: "It needs to be explained. It needs to be qualified. There's lots of arms and legs to it that have to be articulated. I think it's a very fair arrangement." He added, "We don't need to invent public benefits. The benefits we bring economically, socially, psychologically are vast." Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi had some "tough words about the negotiations." King said that he "doesn't want a war of words with Nenshi." King: "I'm not in the habit of picking fights with people I'm trying to make deals with." He added that any "talk of the Flames leaving Calgary is 'speculative'" (CALGARY SUN, 6/9).
POOR TIMING: In Calgary, Eric Francis writes it is "bombast like Burke’s that will help ensure relocation." The timing of his comments "couldn’t have been worse." The clock is "ticking down on the possibility of city council tabling a response to the Flames’ funding proposal for a Plan B." If it is "not done before the last council meting July 31, it will have to wait until well after the civic election in mid-October." What Burke "might not have known, because he hasn’t been involved in any of the dozens of meetings" that King has had with city officials the last six months, is that the council is "on the verge of determining and announcing what level of play they’re prepared to be involved in." The Flames have made their "funding stance known to the city, and King has had dozens of meetings the last six months with administration officials." Francis: "This is King’s project, which is why King wisely reminded people Burke speaks to all things hockey, not all things arena. Nonetheless, damage had been done" (CALGARY HERALD, 6/9).
