Oilers Owner Agrees To Buy Edmonton Cracker-Cats For C$400,000
Oilers Owner Daryl Katz Wednesday officially agreed to buy the Golden Baseball League Edmonton Cracker-Cats for C$400,000, according to MacKinnon & Kent of the EDMONTON JOURNAL. The transfer of ownership of the "soon-to-be renamed Cracker-Cats" from previous Owner Dan Orlich to Katz Baseball Corp. is expected to take place on February 13. Oilers President & CEO Patrick LaForge said that the team "will assume the five-year option on the existing Telus Field lease with the City of Edmonton." Edmonton City Manager Al Maurer said that the city is "willing to transfer the Cracker-Cats' existing five-year lease on Telus Field with a five-year renewal option to the new owners." MacKinnon & Kent noted under Orlich, the Cracker-Cats' fan base "dwindled to mere hundreds per game." But LaForge "believes the Oilers credibility and attention to detail can change that, and quickly." LaForge said that the plan is to "hire a GM and install a front office and sales staff at Telus Field that will be in place year-round, and not just for the baseball team." LaForge: "We'd like to be 12 months of the year in our business and we think the baseball model will fit well with our hockey model, obviously, in terms of fan satisfaction, ticket selling, sponsorships and so forth." LaForge said that he "expects the GM of the ball club will be chosen from among current Oilers front-office staff" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 2/5). Edmonton City Council member Ron Hayter said, "I think the Oilers have a very good plan. They came to see me and outlined some of their ideas and I think you're going to see the ballpark used for more things than baseball" (EDMONTON SUN, 2/5).
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