Tampa Bay Lightning were the team to contact Winnipeg!

Scott Taylor's column in the National Post, sometime over the past couple days, says that the team that contacted Winnipeg about the possibility of moving to Manitoba was the Tampa Bay Lightning. He quotes sources within City Hall.

 

i recall hearing a month or so ago that he resigned in an editorial protest. is this not true ?
dr

 

Scott Taylor now writes a column that appears on Mondays in The National Post....

 

ok, and the National Post has most of its online content only available to subscribers as well.

 

I can't see why the Lightning ownership would move the team unless they sell it because they also own the arena.

 

My recollection is he was canned, for allegely plagerizing.

 

It was a resignation: http://www.cbc.ca/story/sports/national/2004/11/24/Sports/taylor041124.html

 

This is true. I think he resigned before he was canned !

 

Ok, I got the National Post from yesterday. Taylor says, "a number of Winnipeg City Councillors have admitted that it was the evenutal Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning that contacted former Deputy Mayor Dan Vandal about moving to the MTS Centre in December 2003. Six months later Lightning President Toms Wilson had changed his mind."

I'll scan and attach.

 

Enquiring minds want to know . . .

 

He was hauled into a meeting on a Friday, and basically resigned. Apparently him and the editor had a hate on for each other for quite awhile. On Monday, the editor went ahead and wrote an apology in the paper for "someone" passing off an article as his own. I can't remember the exact details, but I think Taylor said something to the effect that he'd used some quotes posted on a team website and that pretty much all journalists do this.......

It's good to see he landed somewhere. A radio station here still uses him too.....

 

Here is the article, scanned in two parts. The blurb I am referring to is in part two and has been highlighted with a box:

 

whatever. everyone knows it was nashville

interesting article. any idea on how credible this information is?

 

Actually, the rumour circulating from here right from day 1 was that it was TB......

Later on, Vandal admitted whoever it was' interest in moving was now only luke warm but he'd had some other inquiries since. It was believed then that one of the teams contacting Winnipeg was Pittsburg and Mario even addressed it in interviews with denials ... but said things could change if no arena deal in Pitts was forthcoming.....

 

LOL Someone really needs to explain to me how it would be in Bill Davidson's best interest to move the team and be left with an underused arena as opposed to selling it. Regardless, the Lightning signed a deal a few weeks ago that forces them to keep the team here for 10 years in return for a tax break. If anyone's interested, I can dig up the link.

I'll wait 'til I see this on a national site before I believe it.

 

Here, let me help you answer that:

Because no one in Tampa Bay cares about the Lightning outside of the snowbirds and the few thousand die hards. Sorry to tell you, Sotnos, but just because your team won the Cup doesnt suddenly make Tampa Bay a hockey town. Truth is that the ownership realized that, in a gate driven league, you goto where people will put their bottoms in the seats and in this case, outside of the Lightning winning it all every year for the next decade, thats Winnipeg and not Florida.

Truth hurts, yes. But its still the truth.

 

Sotnos,

this is from one of Canada's two National newspapers. It is also information from a little over a year ago. The only reason it is scanned from the paper and not linked is because some jackass in the National Post office decided that all their content would only be available to those that subscribe to the paper.

 

that's a joke. winnipeg wouldn't put butts in the seat.

 

If you really believe that, then youve been drinking too much Bettman Koolaid.

 

This is coming from an expert on the situation here in Tampa because you live in Tampa right? Or are you just making assumptions because you dont believe hockey should be in Florida. In a gate-driven league, an owner would realize that he has a 20,000 seat arena that has been filled to capacity and after a cup win would most certainly be filled. I dont think Winnipeg's new arena can fit 20,000 so wouldnt you stay in the market that has a potential for more attendance (which has been going up since 2000-2001)? It takes time for a market to succeed and the Tampa market is starting to become a successful one. I'm not going to call it a hockey town because this will always be a football town. But hockey is starting to prosper here and will be successful whenever the league starts up again. But please let me know more about the hockey status here in Tampa, I am a citizen of the city of Tampa bu I'm sure you have more of a feel on the hockey market here than I do...

 

I don't think you are right.

a) Winnipeg is would struggle to hold the team even with a $36-40m cap, its population is just a little bit too low for now.

b) Tampa won the cup. They have a great young team not a flukey crap team like the Canes. They'll be back for another crack at it next year, and the year after etc (assuming there is hockey). They could pull an Avalanche and become part of the local culture. A successful team can do that. Its up the Lightning to convert their cup into more fans.

If Tampa can't make a financial winner of its one ice success by another 4 or 5 years then maybe it doens't deserve a team. But until then lets just wait and see what they can do on and off the ice, because their chances of success in Tampa with the cup in the hand and better than their chances of success relocating to Winnipeg.

 

winipeg had good attendance and a bad areana thus they lost the team

NHL would be fooslto move TB now they have a chance to really capitalize on tb's sucess with a cup

OPPS THERE IS NO HOCKEY THIS SEASON

 

as much as i would hate to see any fans go through the pain of losing their team (as i know the feeling first hand), if the lockout goes a full season, season and a half, or longer, than some hockey markets are really going to suffer. everybody loves a winner, so hopefully the lightning won't have this problem.

that being said, winnipeg would be ecstatic to accomodate ANY team choosing to relocate.

go Jets go !

 

Again, LOL!

Gotta love how you haters get so worked up that you can't even read and answer a logical financial question.

Why would the owner want to MOVE the team as opposed to SELL the team and be stuck with a building and nothing to put in it? The building & surrounding property would be of no interest to anyone without a team to put in it.

IF this were true (and don't worry I'm going to try to verify it), it seems obvious that they used this tactic to scare Hillsborough county into giving them their tax break. This ownership group constantly threatened to move the team up until a few months ago. As I said before, they can't move it now, so the point is moot.

I would not be at all shocked if the team were to be sold, however. The owner bought the team mostly to get a chunk of land around the arena for development, but he lost interest in the project once his business partners died. He'd probably take the profit he'd make from selling now that the team is well set-up & has a favorable tax deal and wash his hands of it & have more time to deal with the Pistons. Wouldn't surprise me or any other Bolts fans one bit.

 

Mac,

Just to be clear, I was NOT suggesting that you made a fake newspaper article, I would not accuse you of such a thing. I know how some of those sites are with the registration, and I know the column is legit. I'm suggesting it's a case of rumormongering, but we'll see.

It just annoys me seeing this highlighted, of course, because as I'm sure you've noticed, people here have a hard time with reading comprehension, and now I'll have to put up with "Tampa is moving to Winnipeg!" threads for the next year. Thanks for nothing, Mac!