{allcanada} Oilers brass meet with Quebec City mayor

 

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel is not at all worried that Oilers officials were in Quebec City on Wednesday holding meetings.

Mandel says he doesn't take this as any kind of a threat that the NHL team may leave the city. He also doesn't see the meeting as a tactic to pressure the city on a new downtown arena.

"We have heard nothing that would lead us to believe anything different," he said. "The Oilers are a big part of the City of Edmonton. City council will make a decision one way or the other under recommendations from our administration and from public discussion."

The Toronto Sun reported that Oilers CEO Patrick LaForge and Kevin Lowe, president of hockey operations, went to meet with Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume to talk about an arena.

The story quotes sources saying relocation of the team to Quebec was discussed, as well as the possibility of Quebec City and Edmonton working together to lobby the federal government to help pay for new arenas in both cities.

The source also claimed that Oilers brass met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman two weeks ago and that the Oilers said they would consider an offer from Quebec if one was made.

'We all need buildings to play in'

LaForge denied the team is considering relocation. He called the visit a fact-finding mission.

"We are both building facilities. We are both trying to get them off the ground and we have a hockey team and perhaps they don't here, but there is no reason for the two to be drawn together. We are not planning to move the Oilers at this time," LaForge said.

Unlike Edmonton, Quebec City has the support of its provincial government to build a $400-million arena. It's seen as the first step to bringing back an NHL team, something fans have wanted since the Nordiques left in 1995.

LaForge said he hopes insight brought back from Quebec would help move the process forward in Alberta.

"It's good to talk to another Canadian city. It's the only other Canadian city that's in the business of building a facility," he said.

"We all love hockey and want to see it do well in our country. And we all need buildings to play in. It's that simple."

Federal dollars are seen as key in the financing of new arenas in both cities. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not yet committed money to either project.

One of the other issues said to be on Wednesday's agenda for the Oilers brass was working with Quebec City to press Ottawa for funding.

Katz Group CFO also attended

The Katz Group, which owns the Oilers and is the main force behind a push for a new arena, issued a statement saying chief financial officer Paul Marcaccio also attended the meeting with Labeaume and others.

"Patrick, Kevin and Paul hope to learn from the Quebec City experience," said Bob Black, executive vice-president of sports and entertainment for the Katz Group.

"We remain focused on our efforts to develop the funding structure required to enable the Edmonton Arena District project to proceed."

It was a convenient time for the meeting because the Oilers were in Montreal to play the Canadiens and the executives were with the team, Black said.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2010/12/01/edmonton-oilers-quebec-city.html#ixzz16ur06Y2u

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