Stephen Mandel is speaking out against an email issued by the president and CEO of the Edmonton Oilers, which urges supporters of the team to push city council to reach a deal by Halloween.
Yesterday, Patrick Laforge urged people to contact their civic representatives, write letters of support, and be active on social media.
An excerpt reads, "now is the time to mobilize. If you and your organizations support the proposed downtown arena and Edmonton arena district, it is important that you be heard and make your support known."
Another part of the email goes on to say, "our need to have a definitive agreement with the city by October 31, 2011 is real."
The deadline was imposed by the Katz Group because land purchase options are set to expire.
During a meeting last week city council refused to vote on whether to spend $20-$25 million in order to secure the area currently occupied by the Baccarat casino on 104th Avenue, with many politicians saying the city shouldn't take on more risk until other aspects of the deal are ironed out.
The Mayor says at this point negotiations are not going well. He suggests the Katz Group needs to be part of finding a solution instead of just asking supporters to put pressure on the city.
"We've approved a framework and it's a bit frustrating that people are looking to us to solve problems, when people need to come to the table and negotiate and find ways to solve the problems not to try to point fingers at us and say it's our fault," said Mandel.
"Unless other people are willing to bend and to change the positions they have it's going to make it very difficult to do a deal."
At this point it's not clearly exactly who received the email. A spokesperson for the Katz Group says an answer to that question will be provided shortly.
The letter also warns NHL hockey is not sustainable in Edmonton without a new building. Mandel agrees, saying Rexall Place is too old and too small. Still, he says final details may not happen by the desired timeline.
Major issues that still need to be worked out include a $100 million shortfall, and a non-compete clause with Northlands for the local concert and entertainment business.
Also included in the email was an ultimatum of sorts, saying, "Our need to have a definitive agreement with the city by October 31st, 2011 is real. We simply cannot invest many millions more, as well as the time and energy required, into a project that has no commercial certainty."
Brad Humphreys, a sports economist, says public negotiations for sports arenas are always messy, and the team usually wins.
"I've been saying for years that it would ultimately come to that - that that threat would be made.," he said. "I can think of any number of stadium and arena deals around North America where the city basically gave away everything."
With Files from Bill Fortier
