The ownership group of the Edmonton Oilers visited Seattle on Monday, exploring options after their plans for a new arena hit a road block in Alberta.
The group, comprised of Oilers owner Daryl Katz, team president Patrick LaForge and president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe, visited Seattle on the same day that the city approved hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen's plan to bring professional men's basketball and hockey back to the city with an new arena.
The team released a statement and said that they would like to stay in Canada and reach a deal with the city of Edmonton on an arena, but are keeping their options open. Talks on a new arena hit a snag when the team told the city council it wanted more money in new concessions from taxpayers.
Previously, the Oilers and the City of Edmonton had agreed on plans for a proposed $475 million arena that would begin construction sometime in 2013.
"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 team also said it would not comment on discussions with other cities or markets.
Earlier on Monday, the Seattle City Council voted 6-2 to approve Hansen's arena near the Seahawks and Mariners stadiums south of downtown.
"I was a skeptic when this came forward because I was worried about our taxpayers," said Councilwoman Sally Bagshaw to the Associated Press. "The fact that we have a personal guarantee from Mr. Hansen ... that makes a big difference.
Seattle is attempting to bring a team, back to the city after the SuperSonics moved in 2008 to Oklahoma City and changed their name to the Thunder. The team has had great success since moving, reaching the NBA finals last season.
The city has not had a hockey team since 1924, when the Metropolitans were disbanded. The team had won a Stanley Cup in 1917.
Hansen began the process of building a new arena last year and has said that he will personally guarantee the debt payments on the plan, which helped it gain approval by the city. The new plan will involve $200 million in public financing that will be repaid by arena-related taxes.
"I want to thank all of Seattle's elected officials and their staffs for their willingness to roll up their sleeves and work with us to get us to this point," Hansen said in a written statement. "Today's vote demonstrates that by listening to each other and working hard to address the concerns of all stakeholders that we can make the arena a reality and bring professional basketball and hockey back to Seattle."
The Oilers have been exploring new options due to the fact that the team has lost money each year since the franchise was purchased by Katz in 2008.
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