Preds to remain in Nashville

[Habsfan84]

The Hockey News is reporting that the city of Nashville has reached an agreement to rework the Predators lease of the Sommet Centre with the local ownership group that will keep the team in Nashville for at least three years.
THN.com is reporting that a prospective ownership group, led by local businessman David Freeman has an agreement in place to purchase the franchise from Predators' current owner Craig Leipold for about $193 million. Sources tell THN.com that Freeman has reached a deal with the city to rework the team's arena lease that will guarantee the Predators remain in Nashville until at least through the 2010-11 season.
Although the tentative deal has not been approved by either the Metro Sports Authority or Metro Council in Nashville, it is expected it will be ratified by both bodies within the next 30 to 45 days.
"From the draft of the deal that I saw, I didn't see anything in there that would offend a council member or a citizen of Nashville," city councilor Charlie Tygard told the Hockey News.
If the deal gets done, it must then be passed by the NHL's board of Governors via a vote by fax. The NHL is not expected to formally approve the deal until the final details of the transaction are complete and that may take some time.

The reworked lease eliminates the attendance component that forces the Predators to remain in Nashvill if the team averaged 14,000 per game in paid attendance. The new lease would allow the team to leave the city after it expires in three to five years if the team continues to struggle financially.
Freeman's group insisted that the arena's lease be changed in an effort to make Predators financially viable. The group was asking for $4.2 million a year in sales tax and set fee revenue and $7 million in arena upgrades, to use towards building a smaller concert venue that would seat between 3,000 and 4,000 people.
The Preds are currently averaging just over 14,000 per game, however just over 12,000 of that is paid attendance.
Files from The Hockey News were used in this report