Lightning buyers add investor

Absolute Hockey Enterprises, the group attempting to purchase the Lightning, the St. Pete Times Forum lease and 5.5 adjacent acres from Palace Sports & Entertainment for about $200-million, announce, as expected, that Tampa attorney Steve Burton has joined the group as a partner.

Burton, 46, a commercial litigator with expertise in computer and technology law, is the managing partner of the law firm of Broad and Cassel. He joins former Blue Jackets president Doug MacLean, Coral Springs real estate developer Jeff Sherrin and Hollywood producers Oren Koules and Mark Burg.

"It's exciting,'' Burton said. "I've been a big fan of the Lightning, and with the Lightning being the treasure it is for our city, it's a thrill.''

MacLean said Burton and Sherrin are friends and it was Burton who asked the group about buying in. Considering Burton's local ties, MacLean said it was a good fit.

"It's all about local connections,'' MacLean said. "I just think that's important on the whole business side of things. When you're trying to sell tickets and suites, it's a good thing and gives you good connections.''

MacLean said there still are several other investors who will be named when the official applications are complete and sent to the National Hockey League, and they also could be local.

The process has been a long one. That Absolute Hockey signed a purchase agreement was announced Aug. 7. Since then, the groups attorneys and accountants have been doing their due diligence and completing the seven-part application that includes hundreds of pages of financial data and background information.

The transfer of ownership still must be approved by the NHL. The next Board of Governors meeting, at which the transfer can be considered, is in late November in Pebble Beach, Calif., though commissioner Gary Bettman can call a vote before that if the applications are accepted and interviews are conducted with the prospective owners.

The purchase agreement has a Dec. 30 deadline. If the deal has not closed by then, Palace Sports and Absolute Hockey could extend the deadline or squash the deal. If the latter, Absolute Hockey could lose its $5-million deposit.

MacLean said that is not on his radar.

"The deal is moving better than ever, and that's the truth,'' he said.

We'll have more on this in tomorrow's paper.

Comments

[Satch]

Damian, you should be ashamed. Reporting real news on the potential purchase and ownership is jj's job. After all, the columbus newspapers he quotes have a much better grasp on what's happening here than anyone else. Not to mention he reads and quotes blogs that we all know are written by idiots and are truthful and based in fact. NOT!!!

Nice to hear a real update. I was awaiting jj's blundering bull$#!+ as the next update. Hey, humor is always welcome here. Keep it coming jj. We enjoy the comic relief.

We already know where Burton got some of his money:

TALLAHASSEE - The 2003 session of the Florida Legislature was just around the corner and Speaker Johnnie Byrd decided the new House computer system couldn't do the job.

The system, used to operate the House Web site and track legislation, had been undergoing tests for months. Glitches persisted. Byrd saw messy problems ahead.

So he turned to a friend and supporter, Tampa lawyer Steve Burton, for help.

Burton, managing partner of Broad & Cassel's Tampa office and head of its technology litigation group, already was a House appointee to the board of an Alzheimer's center Byrd championed. The law firm donated $10,000 to a political fund that helped Byrd become speaker.

Hired by Byrd at $250 an hour to salvage the House computer system, Burton then turned to Jagged Peak, a Clearwater computer firm whose chief executive was a client of Burton's.

It began as a handshake deal with no competitive bids and no written contract with the state. It was lucrative, too, at $10,000 a day for Jagged Peak.

Byrd's decision already has cost taxpayers more than $1.5-million and triggered a lawsuit alleging a "sweetheart deal" between Byrd and Burton.

Jagged Peak was paid $10,000 a day for several months, totaling $1.5-million through June, according to testimony in a deposition by the company's chief executive, Paul Demirdjian.

Besides the $1.5-million paid to Jagged Peak, the House also has spent an undetermined amount of money on computer consultants and more to Burton, who had billed the House for $68,000 through February.

[Joe]

Bettman's gotta go!!!!!!!

http://www.FireBettman.com

[goldenbolt]

Ok, if you are going to post such nonsense and political jibberish at least use a name.