Post by NHLWinnipeg on Sept 2, 2011 17:12:18 GMT -6
Quebec City, Quebecor in negotiating blitz over arena
QUEBEC — Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume is in "final blitz" negotiations with media giant Quebecor to finalize a controversial deal to build a new $400-million NHL-calibre arena.
The parties have until Sept. 7 to come to an agreement that would give Quebecor naming rights to the city's proposed arena scheduled to be completed in 2015, and which could serve as the future home of an NHL team.
Labeaume will have a tete-a-tete with Quebecor president Pierre-Karl Peladeau in the coming days to put the finishing touches to the proposed deal.
"It's a final blitz of negotiations," said Labeaume's press secretary Paul-Christian Nolin.
The two men were set to meet in a cabin in the picturesque Charlevoix region, but the place was damaged by tropical storm Irene. Nolin declined to say where the negotiations will take place instead.
Labeaume has put all his weight behind the arena project that has generated a lot of drama since it became public — starting with the months-long debate over whether the federal government should pay, in part, for the infrastructure.
"We don't want to get this wrong because when these documents will become public, we have a feeling it will generate a lot of interest on the part of specialists and pseudo-specialists. So to be honest, we'll work on it until Sept. 7," Labeaume said last week, of the negotiations.
The tentative deal with Quebecor is also facing opposition in the province and a legal challenge of the agreement is scheduled to be heard in court on Sept. 6, the eve of the deadline.
Former civil servant and Parti Quebecois minister Denis de Belleval is fighting to nullify the proposed agreement because it is a municipal contract that never went to public tender. Instead, Labeaume used what he called a competitive bidding process, inviting companies to express their interests in managing the proposed 18,000 seat facility.
De Belleval also argues Quebecor got a sweetheart deal from the city. The media company would get full control of the amphitheatre until 2040, with a possible extension to 2045, plus naming rights, for $63.5 million if Quebecor succeeds in landing an NHL team; the price tag would be $33 million without NHL hockey.
Quebecor's rent would be $4.5 million annually with a team, $2.5 million without.
The project also caused political casualties. The provincial Liberal government, which has agreed to provide half the arena's funding, was forced to postpone the adoption of a bill that would have retroactively made legal the agreement with Quebecor after it reportedly caused a rift within its caucus.
And it triggered the ongoing implosion of the Parti Quebecois Opposition when leader Pauline Marois forced her members to vote for it or to quit, leading to the resignations of four high-profile members.
Quebec Premier Jean Charest has promised to reintroduce the bill when the legislature resumes its work on Sept. 20.
Quebecor and the city have made it clear they need the bill to go ahead in order to start the construction of the arena because without a new building, Quebec City has no chance of obtaining an NHL franchise.
Read more: www.canada.com/sports/Quebec+City+Quebecor+negotiating+blitz+over+arena+project/5347152/story.html#ixzz1Wq7ly5OR
QUEBEC — Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume is in "final blitz" negotiations with media giant Quebecor to finalize a controversial deal to build a new $400-million NHL-calibre arena.
The parties have until Sept. 7 to come to an agreement that would give Quebecor naming rights to the city's proposed arena scheduled to be completed in 2015, and which could serve as the future home of an NHL team.
Labeaume will have a tete-a-tete with Quebecor president Pierre-Karl Peladeau in the coming days to put the finishing touches to the proposed deal.
"It's a final blitz of negotiations," said Labeaume's press secretary Paul-Christian Nolin.
The two men were set to meet in a cabin in the picturesque Charlevoix region, but the place was damaged by tropical storm Irene. Nolin declined to say where the negotiations will take place instead.
Labeaume has put all his weight behind the arena project that has generated a lot of drama since it became public — starting with the months-long debate over whether the federal government should pay, in part, for the infrastructure.
"We don't want to get this wrong because when these documents will become public, we have a feeling it will generate a lot of interest on the part of specialists and pseudo-specialists. So to be honest, we'll work on it until Sept. 7," Labeaume said last week, of the negotiations.
The tentative deal with Quebecor is also facing opposition in the province and a legal challenge of the agreement is scheduled to be heard in court on Sept. 6, the eve of the deadline.
Former civil servant and Parti Quebecois minister Denis de Belleval is fighting to nullify the proposed agreement because it is a municipal contract that never went to public tender. Instead, Labeaume used what he called a competitive bidding process, inviting companies to express their interests in managing the proposed 18,000 seat facility.
De Belleval also argues Quebecor got a sweetheart deal from the city. The media company would get full control of the amphitheatre until 2040, with a possible extension to 2045, plus naming rights, for $63.5 million if Quebecor succeeds in landing an NHL team; the price tag would be $33 million without NHL hockey.
Quebecor's rent would be $4.5 million annually with a team, $2.5 million without.
The project also caused political casualties. The provincial Liberal government, which has agreed to provide half the arena's funding, was forced to postpone the adoption of a bill that would have retroactively made legal the agreement with Quebecor after it reportedly caused a rift within its caucus.
And it triggered the ongoing implosion of the Parti Quebecois Opposition when leader Pauline Marois forced her members to vote for it or to quit, leading to the resignations of four high-profile members.
Quebec Premier Jean Charest has promised to reintroduce the bill when the legislature resumes its work on Sept. 20.
Quebecor and the city have made it clear they need the bill to go ahead in order to start the construction of the arena because without a new building, Quebec City has no chance of obtaining an NHL franchise.
Read more: www.canada.com/sports/Quebec+City+Quebecor+negotiating+blitz+over+arena+project/5347152/story.html#ixzz1Wq7ly5OR