The head of the NHL has summoned officials from the city and the Katz Group to New York City, in an attempt to moderate the drawn-out negotiations on the proposed downtown arena.
The back-and-forth between the City of Edmonton and the Katz Group over the proposed arena has heated up in recent weeks.
The Katz Group recently set an October 31 deadline for a firm deal to be signed, and later said the deadline was also the expiry date of the purchase of the land for the arena to sit on.
Since the deadline was set, the company has also sent an e-mail to the public in an attempt to spur Edmontonians to lobby city council.
As of late, some city councillors have publicly said they're not optimistic a deal will be reached by October 31, if ever.
The NHL Commissioner said he's stepping in to moderate negotiations.
"I called the meeting to see if we can get the parties on the same page," Gary Bettman said in an interview over the phone Thursday. "It's clear that the city has not yet been in a position to address the needs of the Oilers in terms of the new arena.
"With the options expiring on the land that's part of the project, I thought it was important to see if we could [have] everyone on the same page."
Representing the city, Mayor Stephen Mandel and City Manager Simon Farbrother will travel to New York, and meet with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Tuesday, October 11, and then with Bettman and the Katz Group the following day.
The Mayor told CTV News Thursday he has many points on the ongoing negotiations to bring to the table.
"Edmonton is working very hard, councillors are working very hard, citizens would like to see an arena," Mandel said. "But there has to be balance, we have political issues we face and challenges,
"Hopefully we can bridge some gaps."
Councillor Tony Caterina spoke to CTV News Thursday evening on the meeting, and said he and the other city councillors found out about the meetings through an e-mail, and have not been briefed.
Caterina said he would ask Mandel and Farbrother for clarification on the details of the meetings on Friday.
A major point for the councillor was the choice to not invite representatives of Northlands to the meetings – saying the organization should have been involved, especially because the contentious non-compete clause "is such a big stumbling block."
When asked whether Northlands was invited to New York, Bettman said no.
"They weren't, there was no reason to [invite them]."
The mayor agreed, saying the organization recently said it would not sign the clause – unless it's given millions in exchange.
"You've seen the numbers Northlands has put out," Mandel said Friday. "As far as what they believe the value is,
"No one is even going to begin negotiations based upon those kinds of parameters."
The trip to New York will cost less than $12,000, and a full report on the meetings will be presented to council on Friday, October 14th.
With files from Scott Roberts
