Time is running out on a new lease agreement for the St. Albert Steel at Servus Credit Union Place.
The deadline for the struggling Alberta Junior Hockey League franchise to renew its contract is Feb. 28. The lease expires Aug. 31.
A stalemate in negotiations with the City of St. Albert over ice times and rates, sponsorship and advertising agreements and repayment of dressing room costs has heightened speculation the Steel will relocate or sell the team to the highest bidder.
“Right now the indication is the Steel want to move,” Mayor Nolan Crouse said at Wednesday’s editorial board meeting at the Gazette. “We are going to do everything we can to keep the Steel, but that being said it shouldn’t be a city-run hockey team [and] I don’t think we would put taxpayers’ money towards this.”
The loss of the Steel would be another blow to St. Albert’s sports community that was left reeling when the Saints left the city for a better deal in Spruce Grove in 2007.
“The community at large cared whether the Saints were here, but neither the community nor the Steel have endeared themselves to one another,” Crouse said. “They haven’t put together the appropriate community engagement plan.”
Prior to meeting with the Gazette, Crouse held a conference call with AJHL officials to discuss the status of the Steel in St. Albert.
“The league isn’t just going to allow teams to move overnight like the Saints did when they went to Spruce Grove. There’s a whole bunch of bylaws and the league is more in control of this,” Crouse said. “The contract we have with the Steel is they can’t negotiate with anyone else so if they are negotiating with somebody else they’re not supposed to.”
A meeting was scheduled Friday between the Steel and the city in hopes of resolving their issues.
“I don’t think their stance has changed yet. Maybe it will by the end of February. If it doesn’t I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” said Greg Parks, head coach, general manager and part owner of the Steel. “We’re trying to negotiate in good faith. We’ll wait and see what the city’s approach is, but we certainly want to be here and we’re willing to sit down and talk.”
Whitecourt or Leduc have been rumoured as possible destinations if the Steel leave town.
“There are tons of rumours and speculation but we’re still going about our business. Our focus is to finish the season as best as we can,” Parks said. “Definitely our intention is to be here next year, but it comes down to if the city will work with us or not.”
The Steel want a better deal than what the city’s final offer was in the summer. Parks said the way the current deal is structured it’s nearly impossible to operate an AJHL team in this market.
“We started the negotiations over a year ago. We’re the ones trying to work with the city and see what we can do to make everything work long term and there hasn’t been a whole lot of cooperation from their side,” Parks said. “The uncertainty affects everything. It affects season tickets, recruiting and advertising. It’s really unfortunate that the city has chosen to make the stance that it has.”
Crouse reiterated the city isn’t budging from its position.
“I’ve got a mandate with council that the agreement we have in place is the agreement we have in place and Greg is going to have to live with that,” he said. “February 28 is when the Steel have to give us notice on what their intent is. If they don’t give us notice, that triggers actions. If they give us notice, we’ll see what that notice says. We have a period of time, if they give us notice, to put together a plan B and council will be ready for plan B by March 1.”
The city has been active in trying to locate potential buyers for the Steel.
“We do have interested parties,” Crouse said.
The Steel has lost money since the Fort Saskatchewan Traders relocated to St. Albert in 2007. At a city budget meeting in November of 2010, Steel governor Kelly Smith’s request for $125,000 annually for 10 years to assist the team financially was rejected.
The Steel’s operating budget is about $525,000 per season.
Fan support has also dropped dramatically from 454 season ticket holders in the Steel’s inaugural season at Performance Arena to 117 in 2010-11. The Drive for Five campaign launched last June to sell 500 season tickets generated about 75 sales.
With Parks at the controls the Steel has never advanced past the best-of-five opening round in the north division and are 3-12 overall in the playoffs. Their best season was 29 wins and 65 points for sixth place in 2008-09.
This year the Steel (6-34-2) will miss the playoffs for the first time in team history. Seven out of eight teams in the north make the playoffs.
“I’m disappointed,” Crouse said.
