LOCAL : Winnipeg Jets Owner Says He’s Not Selling to Anaheim Group

The president of the Winnipeg Jets National Hockey League team said this morning he has no plans to sell his team to an investors group from Anaheim, despite reports out of Canada that an offer was made.

“People have come to Winnipeg and sat down in my office and said they want to buy the team,” Jets President Barry Shenkarow said today. “There have been people from Anaheim here, yes.”

But Shenkarow said: “We have not accepted any offers. We’re not moving and we’re not selling the team.”

Shenkarow wants a new arena with luxury seats and private boxes to replace the existing 15,000-seat Winnipeg Arena and to boost revenue. He said the chances of getting a new facility in Winnipeg are “50-50.” If a new arena is not built, Shenkarow said he would entertain other offers.

Shenkarow said he is unfamiliar with Anaheim’s arena proposal, which has been challenged in court by the Los Angeles Rams, among others.

Marie Monet, president of Ogden Financial Services, the firm selected to build and operate Anaheim’s proposed 20,000-seat arena, said there is a group ready to buy a basketball or hockey franchise for the new facility. But Monet and city officials have declined to identify the would-be owners other than to say “it’s not the city, not Ogden.”