Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie approached the National Hockey League about locating a franchise in Hamilton last March, but was told he would have to build a new arena, according to several sources.
Balsillie and a team of bankers met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in New York to discuss a possible franchise in the Ontario city. At the time, sources say, Balsillie planned to run an NHL club out of Copps Coliseum.
According to several people familiar with the meeting, Bettman said the league would have to explore the idea, but he added that the NHL did not want to "pile franchises on top of each other." Bettman also said the league would not even consider putting a team in the Copps arena, which seats about 17,000. Instead, Balsillie would have to build a new arena.
When Balsillie put in an offer to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins a few months later, league officials asked him whether he planned to move the team to Hamilton. Sources say Balsillie had dropped the idea by then and told Bettman he had no plans to pull the Penguins out of Pittsburgh.
Fans line up to watch AHL hockey at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum. (Randy Velocci)
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Sources also say Balsillie has no plans to build an arena in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Balsillie co-runs Research In Motion Ltd., based in Waterloo, Ont.
Balsillie withdrew his $175-million (all figures U.S.) offer for the Penguins last week, citing last-minute conditions imposed by the league restricting his ability to control the club. Bill Daly, the league's deputy commissioner, rejected that characterization and said the conditions "were all things that had been discussed with Mr. Balsillie and his representatives repeatedly throughout the process."
Complicating matters for the Penguins was a decision this week by a Pennsylvania state gaming agency that rejected an application for a slot machine licence from a company called Isle of Capri. The company had promised to build a new arena for the Penguins if it won the licence. The club's lease at its current venue, the Mellon Arena, will expire next summer. With Isle of Capri's application gone, state officials said they are ready to pursue "Plan B," which involves the government and the Penguins financing construction of a new building.
The club's owners, who include Mario Lemieux, said Thursday that Balsillie's withdrawal and the gaming commission decision "have convinced us that it is time to take control of our own destiny.
"Accordingly, starting Thursday, the team is off the market, and we will begin to explore relocation options in cities outside Pennsylvania," Lemieux said in a statement.
Balsillie could not be reached Thursday, but he has said he is still interested in making another bid for the team and working on Plan B. Sources say the league is prepared to deal with Balsillie again and that he is trying to mend fences. But the current owners may not be as eager. Lemieux said this week he was "shocked and offended" by Balsillie's withdrawal.
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