Alberta Treasury Branches has accepted the local
investors' offer to buy the NHL Oilers for US$70M, according
to MacDonald & Stock of the EDMONTON JOURNAL. Investor Jim
Hole said that the group has bid for all hockey assets: the
Oilers, the Hamilton Bulldogs farm team and the ability to
use Edmonton Coliseum. Control of the building currently
rests with Peter Pocklington's Coliseum Management Inc.
(CMI), which acquired the operating rights to the arena
through a license agreement with Northlands Park in '94.
Pocklington said the local group's offer does not include
CMI and that he wants additional compensation if it is
include in the sale. But sources said that the local group
"wants only to acquire the license agreement" (EDMONTON
JOURNAL, 3/19). Such a deal would give the local investors
Northlands advertising and luxury suite revenues, plus arena
naming rights. Northlands "would get overall control" of
the arena "and take over concerts and other events currently
booked through CMI" (Bernard Pilon, EDMONTON SUN, 3/19).
