Fate of Senators franchise may not be determined until June
October 19, 1999
By Rick Mayoh
The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Senators majority owner Rod Bryden told the National Hockey
League Fans Association yesterday that there is no December deadline for
a decision about whether he will sell the team.
"The only real deadline isn't until the (NHL) governors meeting in
June," said Bryden, addressing 50 members of the 650-member Ottawa
chapter of the almost 12,000-strong NHLFA at the Ottawa Public Library.
"There is no deadline, including the December date," he said,
referring to talk of the issue being raised at an NHL board of governors
meeting Dec. 7-8.
"I think it's probable we'll get most of what needs to be done," said
Bryden, focusing on his efforts to lighten last year's $37-million tax
burden through $10- to $12-million in assistance in the form of "tax
fairness" from various levels of government.
But Bryden reiterated that once all levels of government appear to
have fully investigated the situation, "I will do everything I can to
preserve the asset I have."
The NHLFA, a fan advocacy group founded in Ottawa by recreational
hockey players Jim Boone, 32, and Jim Spendlove, 44, threw its weight
behind Bryden yesterday by sending letters to NHL commissioner Gary
Bettman and every player in the league, urging them to support the
Senators owner.
"If the NHL, NHL Players' Association and governments act together, a
solution will be found," said the letter to Bettman. "If the NHL and the
NHLPA do not make a more serious attempt to work with the government on
this, we will lose more Canadian teams and you will lose valuable, loyal
fans."
"Bryden has done a great job lobbying the government," said Boone.
"The players' association has not brought a thing to the table. If the
players' association and the NHL were to put something significant on
the table, the governments would follow suit.
"Bryden is not really in a position to lobby the players and owners,"
Boone said. "Fifty-six per cent of the players are Canadian. Let's go
after the league and players' association and make them accountable.
We're the biggest stakeholder here and we should be the ones who have a
positive influence on what's happening."
Bryden said it would be a terrible mistake to lose the team just as
it is coming into its own.
"We delivered more points per dollar than any other team last year,"
he said. "We've never been worse than second over the last three years.
Despite that, for every fan who came to a game last year, I had a net
loss of $15 million.
"The issue is tax fairness."
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