The St. John’s Edge says they believe that St. John’s Sports and Entertainment acted in bad faith throughout the lease negotiation process and “never had any intentions to enter into any lease agreement that saw Deacon Sports and Entertainment oversee the operation of the NBL Canada franchise.”
In a release issued last night, the Edge accuses St. John’s Sports and Entertainment of misrepresenting their loyal fans and the taxpayers of the City of St. John’s by effectively forcing the St. John’s Edge and National Basketball League of Canada out of Mile One Centre.
The St. John’s Edge pull no punches in their assessment of today’s development regarding a tentative deal with a new basketball team. pic.twitter.com/lnryF8Vs1K
— Linda Swain (@LindaSwainVOCM) July 15, 2021
The Edge says its fan base deserves better, as well as the team, who after three successful seasons as anchor tenants at Mile One, lead the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC) in attendance.
The Edge says they were instructed by St. John’s Sports and Entertainment to come to an agreement on outstanding matters, including a resolution to debts owing on the recently installed 360 LED Board in the centre.
The team then negotiated a structured agreement to transfer the franchise to Deacon Sports and Entertainment to settle the matters, and continue to deliver the same level of basketball to the city
Growlers Going Back to the Drawing Board
It’s back to the drawing board for Deacon Sports, owner of the Newfoundland Growlers.
The team had submitted a proposal for both the Growlers and the Edge basketball team as anchor tenants at Mile One Centre but yesterday, the city said it was instead pursuing a new basketball franchise with local businessman Tony Kenny.
With the Edge seemingly out of the picture, Growlers president Glenn Stanford was asked what the future holds for the hockey team. He’s says everything remains up in the air, adding it’s back to square one now that its proposal has been rejected.
Councillor Korab Responds
Meanwhile, the City of St. John’s says the ball was in Deacon Sports’ court in terms of getting a new lease signed to bring the St. John’s Edge back to Mile One.
Councillor Jamie Korab notes a 10-year lease with the Edge and Growlers was never signed. He says they abided by the lease, but without any signatures, in April they informed the teams that their exclusivity was “void” and that the city was “open for business.”
As for why that 10-year lease was never signed, Korab says that’s a question for the Edge. He says they asked for the lease to be signed “multiple times” but it never happened.
The city says SJSE remains eager to sign a lease with the Growlers for next season.
