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Tampa Bay Lightning Sale Deadline Looming
A vote to approve the proposed sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning by Palace Sports & Entertainment to Absolute Hockey Enterprises apparently hasn't made it onto the agenda at the upcoming Board of Governors meeting, reports the St. Petersburg Times.
There likely will be a progress report by Lightning CEO Tom Wilson and president Ron Campbell on the $200-million deal that also includes the St. Pete Times Forum lease and 51/2 acres of adjacent land when the group meets Nov. 28-29 in Pebble Beach, California, but no action is expected.
Palace Sports & Entertainment agreed to sell the hockey team and lease agreement on the St. Pete Times Forum to Absolute Hockey Enterprises, which is led by former Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers executive Doug MacLean. The sale price is not expected to exceed $200 million and for the first time, the Lightning will have local ownership as two of the three new owners, including MacLean, plan to move to the area. The team's three previous owners were based in Japan, Palm Beach and Detroit.
The NHL granted a franchise for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1991 after negotiations with a group headed by Hall of Famer Phil Esposito. The team won the Stanley Cup in 2004. The team is obligated to stay at the forum until 2015 under a deal to remove the complex from the Hillsborough County tax rolls.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman could authorize a vote by fax. Still, with no other board meetings scheduled this year (the next is likely during January's All-Star weekend in Atlanta), the Dec. 31 deadline in the purchase agreement to close the deal is starting to loom large.
The deadline still could be extended by mutual consent.
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