Mike Korenberg, former CEO of Northwest Entertainment Group
(now Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment), has met with Raptors
President John Bitove to discus joining the Raptors as COO,
according to the Vancouver PROVINCE and TORONTO SUN. The
PROVINCE's Howard Tsumura reports Bitove says there is no urgency
to fill the position immediately, but the team is interested in
Korenberg (VANCOUVER PROVINCE, 11/26). In Toronto, Craig Daniels
reports Korenberg recently attended a Grizzlies-Lakers game with
a Raptors hat on. Korenberg: "That was a joke. I put one on
just to tease [Grizzlies Owner] Arthur [Griffiths] about it. He
got a big laugh and told me to change hats" (TORONTO SUN, 11/24).
MORE RAPTORS NEWS: If a court ruling forces Maple Leaf
Gardens Chair Steve Stavro to put the company up for sale,
Bitove, at least three other Canadian companies, and possibly
some American firms, would bid for MLG, according to William
Houston of the GLOBE & MAIL. In Canada, CanWest Global
Communications, Baton Broadcasting, and Rogers Communications are
listed as candidates, while Ogden Corp. is a likely American
bidder (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 11/25).
MORE ORCA BAY NEWS: In Vancouver,Kent Gilchrist writes Orca
Bay is set to add the Vancouver VooDoo roller hockey club. Orca
Bay has made a C$30,000 good faith deposit to VooDoo principals
Mike King and Tiger Williams and the team would play in GM Place
staring next summer. Gilchrist also notes Orca Bay "could be
convinced -- at the right price" to enter some kind of
partnership with the CFL Lions (Vancouver PROVINCE, 11/23). In
Charlotte, Pamela Moore reports First Union Bank is about to
close a $60M deal to help the Grizzlies pay their NBA expansion
franchise fee. Moore notes the deal is a "sizeable chunk of
business" for the bank's new capital markets group. The bank
also handles the Hornets' banking business (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER,
11/23).
