The clock may be ticking down on the Island Storm’s contract with the City of Charlottetown, but Duncan Shaw says he isn’t worried.
The owner and president of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) franchise said Tuesday preliminary talks have taken place with city council.
“The (Eastlink Centre) arena group, it’s really well run and all of city council are really open to us, but it’s a bit of a bear because it’s kind of intertwined with the (Charlottetown) Islanders and ourselves,’’ Shaw said. “It’s going to take some time, but we’re working at it.’’
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The Islanders recently inked a four-year contract with the city before announcing Tuesday that head coach Jim Hulton has also signed on for the duration of that contract. The Islanders’ contract with the city was set to expire at the end of this season.
The Storm is in the same boat. Its contract with the city is also set to expire at the conclusion of its season.
“The biggest thing is we all want a nice long deal here so we don’t have to do this every year. It takes too much time every year. You want to get working on stuff. We’re taking the time to work through it.’’
The Storm is in the process of completing its fifth season in Charlottetown after moving from Summerside following its second season in the NBL. Since then, the Storm has had a three-year contract and two one-year deals.
Shaw says there are items that come up when working with council.
“You get into things like ticketing fees and all the little pieces and you’ve got to work through it. . . We talk and we knock off an issue and we talk and we disagree on an issue and we’re free to come back and work on that issue some more and you go back and forth.’’
