Ken King, the president of the Calgary Flames, released an open letter in the hopes of assuaging the fears of fans that the team would up and leave the city if it was not provided with a new arena.
The statement, released on Sunday, said that he wouldn’t use the tactic of moving the team as leverage in securing a new arena, but added that the team would just move if there wasn’t a solution.
It all comes from an interview King had with a Toronto sports radio station last week where he was asked if he would threaten to move the team.
King said that the team will continue to work with the city in an effort to develop a project that benefits both sides but, if a deal cannot be reached, the logical conclusion would be for the team to explore all options at its disposal.
“Our guys are not threatening people,” King told CTV Calgary on Saturday. “If they do (decide to move the team out of Calgary), they’ll just announce that.”
In the letter the following day, King reiterated that statement, saying:
"In response to a question, are you going to use the threat of moving as a tactic, I said we would not. I also said we would "just move." The facts are we need a solution and if it is deemed that there is no made in Calgary solution we will have to make a decision at that time, which logically could include deciding to move the team. It is merely one out of a few possible outcomes if we are unable to reach a deal with the City that will work for both sides."
His comments came just after Mayor Nenshi announced that the CalgaryNEXT project in the West Village was ‘dead’.
The Flames administration says it is now exploring another option in Victoria Park and King says he is continuing regular meetings with the city.
Nenshi also released a statement on the weekend about the idea of threats, saying that he assumes the team is staying away from its position of threatening to move the franchise.
He said he is confident that a project, using public money for public benefit, exists.
(With files from Bill Macfarlane)
