THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 20, 1997 TAG: 9702200061
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A9 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: NHL In Hampton Roads
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: 62 lines
Minutes after being told he would not get a National Hockey League expansion franchise Wednesday, George Shinn says he informed NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that he will seek to relocate an existing franchise in Hampton Roads.
``I told him, `I'm sure you're aware of my next step, that I plan to bring an existing franchise to Hampton Roads,' '' said Shinn, who applied to bring an expansion team to Hampton Roads. ``He asked me if I would work closely with him on this. I told him I would . . . but only if he considered the Hampton Roads market to be large enough for the NHL.''
Shinn pledged last November to pursue an existing franchise should his bid for an expansion team fail.
Asked when he would begin his efforts to buy an NHL team, Shinn said: ``I plan to begin working on that immediately.''
Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim said the Hampton Roads Regional Arena Task Force, which was formed to educate the public on the details of an arena deal between Shinn and the Hampton Roads Partnership, will continue its work.
``I think we need to step back and catch our breaths, and then sit down with George Shinn and see how serious he is about bringing an existing NHL team to Hampton Roads and what that will take,'' Fraim said.
Shinn insisted he is serious, and urged the region's leaders to approve funding for an arena. Failing that, he said he would consider buying a team and playing temporarily at Scope, which seats 9,010 for hockey, as long as the new arena were under construction.
``We'd take a hit financially for a few years. We'd just have to see whether that would make sense financially,'' he said.
Shinn, who owns the NBA Charlotte Hornets, is determined to bring an NHL franchise to Hampton Roads in part so that he can build a regional television network around both of his teams.
Shinn said his staff would begin working immediately to find out which NHL teams might be candidates for relocation. Most speculation has focused on Hartford, Edmonton, Calgary and the New York Islanders, although Bettman said: ``I am not aware of any franchises right now that are for sale.''
In order for Shinn to move a team to Hampton Roads, said Bettman, ``A club would have to be for sale and up to be relocated. The sale and the relocation would have to be approved by three-fourths of the Board of Governors. The only franchise that could conceivably be moved in the foreseeable future is Hartford and that's something we hope doesn't happen. But if it does, Mr. (Peter) Karmanos, the current owner of the Whalers has no intention of selling them. He's going to want to keep them.''
Shinn noted that antitrust laws prevent any league outside of major league baseball from blocking a team from moving.
``Al Davis took care of that,'' he said of the Raiders owner who successfully fought the NFL and moved his team from Oakland to Los Angeles. ``But I think it's in our interest to work with the league and Gary Bettman. And I will . . . as along as he doesn't put the brakes on me.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS/File photo
Charlotte Hornets owner George Shinn, left, and Norfolk Mayor Paul
D. Fraim submitted a bid for a National Hockey League franchise in
January. Shinn was turned down by the league Wednesday, but vows to
relocate an existing franchise in Hampton Roads.
KEYWORDS: NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE FRANCHISE EXPANSION ARENA