Oliers To Seattle?

News around the area is that Seattle is looking to get/buy or even take over an existing NHL franchise and they would be happier if it was sooner than later.

Apparently depending on who you ask, the question is still in the rumor mill and not finalized as of yet. Will the  Mayor and Council allocate the funding for a new sports complex operated by the Oilers. Right or wrong, it’s still going to cost the taxpayers of Edmonton.

Keeping this in mind and plans for a new arena in limbo, rumour has it that Edmonton are not against moving or relocating.

Oilers owner Daryl Katz, team President Patrick LaForge and President of hockey operations Kevin Lowe traveled to Seattle for meetings about a possible relocation to the Emerald City, better known as Seattle which boasts a population of 608,600 as of the 2010 census.

Seattle is also the largest City in the Pacific Northwest Region and also the largest city north of San Francisco. So a fit is quite possible!

The Oilers released a statement that they “still hope to reach a deal with Edmonton on a new arena. But with talks at an impasse and the team’s lease at aging Rexall Place set to expire in 2014, the Oilers have started to look elsewhere.”

As the City of Edmonton is aware, the Katz Group has been listening to proposals from a number of potential NHL markets for some time,” the statement read. “After more than four years of trying to secure an arena deal and with less than 24 months remaining on the Oilers’ lease at Rexall Place, this is only prudent and should come as no surprise.”

The visit by Oilers brass came the same day that the Seattle City Council approved hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen’s plan for a $490 million arena that both sides hope will be home to an NBA and NHL team.

Seattle’s only hockey market is currently limited to the WHL Thunderbirds and the city hasn’t had a Pro team since the Metropolitans dating back to 1917 the year they won a Stanley Cup and were eventually disbanded in 1924.

The Oilers and the City of Edmonton had agreed on plans for a proposed $475 million arena that would begin construction early next year.

Earlier this year the arena and the Oilers’ future in Edmonton were thrown into doubt when the team told the Edmonton City Council it wanted millions of dollars in new concessions from taxpayers.

Mayor Stephen Mandel then asked Katz to appear before Council (in a public session) to explain these new demands. This offer was rejected and the Oilers failed to show.

The original deal for a new 18,400-seat arena in Edmonton was agreed to last October and was to be funded mostly by taxpayers.

Katz has said he wants a public subsidy deal similar to the one given to NHL teams in Winnipeg and Pittsburgh.

The Oilers are ranked by Forbes sitting in the middle of NHL teams with a value of $212 million.

Katz, who bought the Oilers for $200 million, says “he has been losing money every year due mainly to the arena deal.”

The Oilers, unlike other NHL teams, receive very little non-hockey money such as concession revenues.