The Brandon Wheat Kings and the Keystone Centre are expected to announce that a new lease agreement has been reached and will be announced at a scheduled news conference on Wednesday morning.
While the Keystone Centre and the Brandon Wheat King sources were tight-lipped about the prospective deal, representatives from both sides are scheduled to be present at the news conference.
The existing lease, which had been in place for 15 years, is set to expire at the end of the month.
When asked directly if this press conference would pertain to the Wheat Kings’ lease, Keystone Centre general manager Neil Thomson said coyly: “It may. I’m not sure.”
Thomson provided precisely the same quote when asked if the deal was being checked out by lawyers but noted that he had “many reasons to be happy.”
Keystone Centre board chairman John Macialek said the Wednesday press conference is, “an announcement of one of our contracts.”
“It will give a number of people a reason to cheer,” Macialek said, with a chuckle. “You’ll definitely get what you need about a contract we have been dealing with over the last six to eight months. It has gone through a whole set of processes and we should be pretty much there by Wednesday.
George McLeod, the Keystone Centre’s lead negotiator on the Wheat King lease deal, said the negotiating committee would not need any further meetings.
“Our board meeting is not until Thursday, but I do know we are in the final stages of this deal,” McLeod said.
“There was no need for a negotiations committee at this stage because it’s more wording at this point that’s being massaged by wordsmiths. Both of our lawyers are making sure it says what it’s supposed to say. We are massaging what we hope will be a final document.
“Our committee work is essentially completed unless we come across a stumbling block and I don’t anticipate one.”
Brandon Wheat Kings’ owner Kelly McCrimmon said he has no comment on the matter until Wednesday.
» kborkowsky@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition May 19, 2012
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