Blazers board meets with RCH, Priestner

From The Daily News of Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2007
The Kamloops Blazers Sports Society’s board of directors has, for the first time, heard from the two groups that are wanting to purchase its WHL franchise.
Mike Priestner, the owner of the Edmonton-based Mike Priestner Automotive Group (MPAG), was up first Monday morning, meeting the board at 9:30. He was accompanied by his son, Jared, who works with MPAG, and Kamloops lawyer Dev Dley, a former WHL commissioner.
Tom Gaglardi, the Vancouver businessman who heads up River City Hockey Inc. (RCH), followed, accompanied by partners Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor, both ex-Blazers players. Shane Doan and Jarome Iginla, the two other ex-Blazers who are partners in RCH, weren’t able to attend.
Both groups used all of the 90 minutes they were allotted.
Society president Murray Owen had said these were to be information sessions, as opposed to negotiations. Which, he said, is exactly how it turned out.
“It went pretty well,” Owen said. “We heard their stories and we were able to explain our position. I thought it was a good exercise.”
The board’s position has been that it can’t negotiate until given such direction from its members.
Yesterday’s sessions also allowed the parties to meet face-to-face for the first time. RCH had been wanting to meet with the board since last summer when it first tried to purchase the franchise.
“I think it was a productive meeting and we were able to do what we set out to accomplish,” Gaglardi said. “It was a long-time coming and it was a pretty good meeting.
“We had a chance to outline (our offer) . . . we’ve been asking for a meeting for 14 months and finally had it.”
Recchi added: “We weren’t asking them to sell us the team right there. We just wanted to talk to them.”
Gaglardi said he, Recchi and Sydor spent time explaining the genesis of their offer and their relationship, something that began, Sydor said, “five or six years ago at a golf tournament.”
“Every golf tournament, we brought it up,” Sydor said, referring to conversations he would have with Recchi.
“We wanted to do it,” Recchi said. “It became a matter of, ‘How do we figure this out?’ ”
Which is how they ended up bringing in Gaglardi, who is the president of Northland Properties, which includes in its holdings Sandman Hotels, Inns and Suites, Denny’s Restaurants and Moxie’s Restaurants.
“We understand hockey,” Sydor added, “but we needed some guidance on the business side. Tom’s record speaks for itself in terms of business.”
RCH was rebuffed in an attempt to purchase the franchise for $6 million early last summer. RCH, which wants to purchase 100 per cent of the operation, came back July 18 with a second offer, this one for $6,100,176.
Mike Priestner sent an offer to board members Friday -- he calls it a partnership proposal -- that would have him take over 51 per cent of the franchise, with the society retaining 49 per cent. Priestner is offering to pay $3,626,100, something that would place a value of $7,110,000 on the Blazers.
“It was a great meeting,” Priestner said. “It went well. (The board) seemed very open-minded to the idea. They were asking the right questions . . . good questions.”
Jared Priestner agreed.
“Definitely,” he said. “I felt (the board’s) participation was good. There was good dialogue back and forth. They had some good questions.”
And now the nine-man board of directors -- all but treasurer Dennis Coates were in attendance yesterday -- will continue preparations for the extraordinary general meeting it has called for Aug. 23.
“We are going to continue to provide information to our members so that they are fully aware of what the issues are,” Owen said, “and to get ourselves prepared for the meeting of Aug. 23.”
At least part of the meeting is expected to deal with a requisition made by RCH supporters that asks for an immediate vote on RCH’s bid.
Asked if yesterday’s sessions might lead to more dialogue, Owen said: “We are still faced with this requisition and that’s a tough pill for us to swallow.”