Blazers sale progressing smoothly

From The Daily News of Wednedsay, Sept. 19, 2007 . . .

The road that led to the sale of the Kamloops Blazers was a long and emotional one.
But Murray Owen, the president of the Kamloops Blazers Sports Society, said Tuesday all that is in the past and the society is working hard to complete the sale of the WHL franchise to River City Hockey Inc.
“Right now,” Owen said, “our focus is to be very proactive in the transition. We’re not in a situation of confrontation with RCH; we’ve taken a position that this is a reality and we’re going to assist them in every way that we can to make the transition very professional.”
Owen added that to date the transition has gone smoothly and that “as far as having it come to an end, it’s just a matter of getting all the work done.”
Of late, the society — primarily Bob Smillie, who resigned from the board of directors and was hired as executive director to oversee the sale, and business manager Angie Mercuri — has been mostly concerned with getting information to RCH.
The society’s membership voted Aug. 23 to sell its WHL franchise to RCH, which comprises Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi and ex-Blazers Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor.
“The main focus has been to put together all the documentation for River City,” Owen said. To that end, Mercuri has prepared books that include “all the data that they need to know . . . about how we run the operation.”
Owen said the society has a transition team in place — it comprises Owen, Smillie and “our legal and accounting firms.”
“We haven’t really had any formal communication with River City, other than responding to their requests for information,” Owen said. “They’re doing their due diligence on what they need to do. They’re going through the steps. They’ve been talking to the league and we’re in a position where we’re helping them wherever we can to make the transition as smooth as possible.”
Gaglardi, who said things are “going well . . . smooth,” is scheduled to appear in front of the WHL board of governors in Calgary on Oct. 10. He expects to present RCH’s business plan for the Blazers.
“They have asked me to come to that meeting,” Gaglardi said, adding that presenting a business plan “won’t be a problem at all.”
If the governors choose to vote on the sale at that meeting, RCH, from a WHL perspective, would be the franchise’s new owner as of Oct. 11.
Owen said that if there aren’t any hitches, everything, including the “signing of documents and payment of money” could be done by the end of October.
Meanwhile, the society’s board has talked about going forward.
“We are exploring different ideas,” Owen said. “We intend to discuss the issues with people other than our hockey group.”
The society tentatively has scheduled its annual meeting for Nov. 13. At that time, society members will have the opportunity to provide input into plans for the future.
That future will include the dispensation of funds accrued through the sale of the team, an amount that should be around $5 million after all is said and done.