EDMONTON - The road to building an arena in Edmonton's downtown core has been a long and bumpy one. And now some experts believe the most recent roadblock has taken the dilemma to a new level.
Since 2007, when the city first commissioned a report to look into the feasibility of a new arena, the biggest obstacle to moving the project forward has been money.
After meetings in New York last September, both sides finally seemed to be on the same page. Then last Monday, the deal hit another road bump when council learned of, what they feel, are requests from the Katz Group for more money, including a yearly subsidy for maintenance.
On Tuesday, Mayor Stephen Mandel and some city councillors responded to comments made by Daryl Katz to 630 Ched, with Mandel saying the Edmonton Oilers' owner should come to city council and explain his new demands.
University of Alberta sports economist Brad Humphreys believes this most recent exchange has taken things to a new level.
"Because the mayor is now saying, 'ok, we're going to make this laundry public and see what the public thinks about this. And that puts pressure on the team."
"It's a game of chicken for both," he says. "And the stakes are large. We're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars here."
While Humphreys admits Edmonton's arena deal has taken longer to negotiate that most typically do, he says he's not surprised by the latest developments.
"I think the city is trying to do the best they can for tax payers, in their bargaining, and Katz is trying to get the largest subsidy in the Oilers that he possibly can from the government. So there's nobody to blame."
Even though there has never been any threat to move the team, and the League may not even allow that, observers suggest it's a card that could be played, giving Katz the upper hand.
"There are many, many, other existing arenas in North America that would love to have a tenant. So those places - Kansas City, Seattle, just approved the funding for a new arena, Quebec City - they'd line up to get a pro-franchise," Humphreys says.
"That's why the Oilers and the Katz group have all the cards in this game of bluff."
Lyle Best, who chaired the mayor's 2007 Arena Feasibility Committee, can see both points of view. He stresses the importance of both sides coming together to communicate.
"I think if the two of them are that far apart in what they thought each other wanted, then obviously they need to talk," the Edmonton businessman says.
He adds that in his report, he suggested an arena funding model similar to the one used in Columbus.
"You get all these businesses to become part of the development, the money that they put in makes the arena better, the arena that's there makes their business better because more people are coming," he explains. "So it's a real symbiotic relationship that doesn't work when not all the pieces are together."
How long it will take for the pieces of Edmonton's arena deal to come together remains to be seen. And until they do, all eyes are on the Oilers' owner and Mayor Stephen Mandel to see what direction the deal goes.
You can watch interviews with Brad Humphreys and Lyle Best below:
With files from Vinesh Pratap, Global News
© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2012.