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Parallels Between the New Rink and the CBA Situation |
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Frustration.
What does frustration mean if you're a fan of the NHL? A lockout. What does it mean if you're a fan of the Edmonton Oilers? Continued debate over the proposed downtown arena.
I got into a long discussion with, ummm, let's just call him a fellow lifelong hockey fan, on Monday afternoon. What we discussed were things that are actually occurring vs. what fans think is happening with respect to these two topics.
I have this theory when it comes to how most Edmontonians truly feel about the Katz Group and their attempts to develop a new rink in Edmonton. The reality is, most people are sick of the debate itself. People just want this arena to be built already. They don't like a few of the things Katz has done recently, but they'd completely and immediately forget about those glitches if a rink deal was sorted quickly.
There has been frustration...plenty of frustration...with the lack of progress made between the City of Edmonton and the Katz Group. At this time, the majority of the blame has been directed to Oilers Owner Daryl Katz directly. I feel for Katz, because a couple of things he's done in recent weeks have been disastrous from a public relations standpoint. There was the Seattle trip thing; the asking council for a better deal thing; the couple of letters sent to the city in response to their indecisiveness thing...
The reality of the situation is, the City of Edmonton has only three options:
1. To do nothing. Doing nothing almost guarantees there won't be an NHL franchise here 10 years from now. Rexall Place is not up to standard anymore compared to other buildings in the league. While the Canadian dollar and economy is strong, Rexall is a viable building. But if the dollar, let's say, goes to 80 cents US in value, Rexall suddenly becomes a money loser, and the NHL becomes no longer viable in Edmonton. Keep in mind players are paid in US currency, and right now, Canadian teams (due mostly to the strength of our dollar) comprise seven of the 10 most profitable teams in the league. Economies run hot and cold, and right now, it's hot. Reality tells me it will be cold again someday, and Oilers ownership is going to need to deal with that situation somehow. Also keep in mind recent economic forecasts suggest the Canadian dollar is about to drop in value and interest rates will rise over the next three years. The Oilers could go from being a have to a have-not in a matter of six months. I kid you not.
2. Edmonton could build the rink itself entirely, and lease the rink to the Oilers, regardless who owns the team. This is perhaps the most straight-forward option. It's also the least predictable. I mean, come on, I've worked with governments before, and the current rink deal has already been tied up for five years in debate. If this was left up to the city entirely, when would Edmonton get a new rink? 2025? An NHL team might still be here by then, or they might be gone. By doing this publicly, you're putting the entire situation at the mercy of the economy for the next 10 years, which may or may not have the ability to float the team at Rexall until then.
3. Option #3 is to work with the current owner and to have him drive the process. Yes, I realize doing this means you're putting millions in the hands of someone who has billions, but do we want the rink build sooner than later? The sooner it's built, the sooner the profits from the new building can be realized. A happy owner rolling around in money is better than a starving owner holding a sign on Jasper Ave saying, "will drop pants for a dollar." Trust me, I saw Pocklington holding a sign like this once, and it wasn't pretty.
I'll tell you where this blog is coming from, in case you are interested. In recent weeks, I've read so much bashing of Daryl Katz in the media. Heck, I'm not media, and I've made my jokes too. But now that things have settled down and the jokes are over, ask yourself what the actual desired outcome is. A gag is a gag, but this whole thing isn't funny anymore. The public needs to start putting pressure on the City and the Katz Group to get on with it before the entire situation completely falls apart and can't be repaired.
Edmontonians and Oilers fans just want the rink build already, damn it. They want the Oilers to stay, and the rink to be built. I have yet to find one fan of the team say to me otherwise.
Of course, Katz is going to get clobbered because he's rich and he wants a rink deal that will make him richer. Here's my thoughts on this...and I've said this before...I think the Oilers should build the best rink in the league, and Katz should make a stack of money off the team. Why? Because I'd rather have strong ownership than weak ownership. Do you really want to go back to the late 1990's and early 2000's, when you were scared daily that the team was toast and was going to move away? Oilers fan 4 life, people. I'm 41 and have a bad liver. I want them here for about 30 more years. Once I'm dead, you can move the team. Until then...
The really sad part about all of this is, the two sides aren't actually too far apart. What they need...and I've said this in a recent blog before too... is for Gary Bettman to sit in a room with Daryl Katz and Edmonton Mayor Stephan Mandel. He needs to knock both boys heads together, and tell them to quit fighting in the sandbox before someone gets hurt. I've been told that Mandel has declined an invitation to meet with Bettman, which is a negative development if my source for this information is accurate. My "source", if you choose to believe that I have an actual legitimate one, has suggested that maybe not everyone with the City has been trying their hardest to work with the Katz Group, and that the media story out there about what has occurred is not entirely accurate. Further to this, I've noticed (because I read and see all) that the media has completely turned on the Katz Group to the point that it's completely illogical and counter-productive. It seems like to me everyone has lost the plot.
Katz says he wants to conduct negotiations privately...perhaps he's not about to go public with information specific to the actions of the City out of respect for the process? The city certainly is not about to reveal anything they could be doing that might be perceived as being anti-Katz. The City hasn't been much better at the PR battle than the Katz Group has.
All of this, however, is a distraction to what my actual point is. My actual point is as follows: The City could have a deal here, if they wanted it. The Katz Group could have a deal here, if they wanted it. The two sides are not that far apart. All it would take is for both sides to forget about their egos and personal agendas, and to focus on just getting a shovel in the ground to start construction.
If anyone thinks this deal gets done without at least some financial input from the private sector, they're lying to themselves. Negotiating something now with Katz, even if it feels like it will hurt plenty financially and the Katz Group is making out like bandits, makes more sense than dragging this out longer. Keep in mind the cost estimate on the building went from $450mil to $475mil in about a one year period. Where will it be a year or two from now? Or, do we really want Rexall, the sequel? A dumbed-down version of our current rink in the downtown, looking like an eye sore instead of an icon?
As for the NHL/NHLPA situation, the same idea can be applied. Both sides need to put away the negativity, egos and BS, and put the game first. Everyone agrees 50/50 revenue sharing between players and teams is the eventual goal. Both sides say they want to honor current contracts. So what's the delay? Sounds like to me a new CBA could be solved in an afternoon, not days, weeks or months. Keep in mind when the NHL loses an 82 game per team schedule for real, teams and players will both lose in a big way financially, regardless who wins the CBA war. Make the most money possible, both sides. Get it done now.
That's how things go in the business world: To be successful, you need to see the bigger picture. Everyone is hating on Katz. Fine. I'm pretty sure he's smart enough to realize he's the owner; therefore, he's gonna be hated because he has money and it's his team. If I was the owner of the Oilers, I'd want two things: For a deal to be sorted ASAP, and for it to be a money-making proposition. Katz can have both. As for the City of Edmonton, they should be looking for at least some private investment in the initial deal, a guarantee that the team won't go anywhere, and a situation that encourages quality development of Edmonton's downtown core. They can have this. Katz, the City...everyone...can win here. Just get it done. Enough with the debate. Quit stalling.
Until the City, Katz, and NHL and the NHLPA choose to get on with it, I, and most other fans of hockey, will continue to sit here feeling frustrated. It feels like to us that a molehill is being turned into a mountain covered with money. And it sucks.
Rumors are flying all over the place that players are taking the situation into their own hands, and will force Donald Fehr to try to negotiate a new deal before the end of Thursday...rumored to be the last day possible to fit a full 82 game schedule in this season. As for the Katz Group/CoE situation, no news is bad news. Hopefully it will be announced very soon that the NHL has been approached to mediate the situation.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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