Quebec Arena Vote Delayed

The Premier of Quebec has delayed a vote on a bill to secure a deal between one of Canada’s largest media companies and the city of Quebec, leaving some uncertainty over the possibility of luring the NHL back to the region.

Bill 204 was aimed at protecting a naming rights and management agreement between Quebecor and the city of Quebec from lawsuits. The legislation caused an uproar with lawmakers, leading to the resignation of four members of Parti Quebecois.

Quebecor had offered in March to invest between $110 million and $200 million toward a new, 18,000-seat hockey arena in Quebec in exchange for management and naming rights to the venue.

While Quebec Mayor Regis Labeaume stood behind the offer, he told the Montreal Gazette that without a bill to confirm the legality of the deal, it could quickly fall apart.

Quebecor head Pierre Karl Peladeau apparently agreed.

“The optimal conditions for ensuring the return of a National Hockey League team are no longer aligned and the extra delays could compromise the ultimate objective,” Peladeau said in a statement.

Discussions of the bill in parliament reportedly became strained when Parti Quebecois members were asked to approve 204 and several decided they’d rather quit the party than support the measure, the CBC reported.

Premier Jean Charest, who could have forced closure of the bill, decided instead to delay consideration of the matter until the fall and told the Gazette he wasn’t sure what will come of the deal in the meantime.

“Mr. Labeaume and Mr. Peladeau will have to determine what that course of action will be,” he said.

Quebec lost the Nordiques in 1995 when the team was moved to Denver and has had trouble luring a new team to the aging Colisée Pepsi in the time since.