City councillors voted to resume talks with Oilers billionaire owner Daryl Katz after Katz’officials promised to abandon demands for an extra $210 million in direct subsidies from taxpayers.
Both sides are still hoping to get a deal in place to put shovels in the ground by April on the $478-million downtown rink.
Mayor Stephen Mandel said the two sides still need to resolve the core issue: the Oilers say they need more taxpayer dollars to make a profit on the deal while the city says they don’t.
“This is all about money,” said Mandel. “I think there’s a great vision to build a wonderful downtown and create a bunch of new buildings and all kinds of marvellous things.
“But let’s face it, at the end of the day if [the Oilers] don’t have enough money to pay their bills, it’s not good for them and it’s sure not good for the city.”
The decision was made after John Karvellas, a vice-president and lead negotiator for the Katz Group, and other Katz Group officials made a pitch to council that talks resume.
