Cannons' Owner Decides Not to Sell Team; PFE Renews Discussions With Other Triple-A Teams With Written Offer.

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BW SportsWire)--Nov. 18, 1999--

Portland Family Entertainment announced today that Calgary Cannons' owner, Russ Parker, has informed them that he is not willing to proceed with the sale of the Pacific Coast League baseball franchise.

PFE is now in discussions with other Triple-A franchises to purchase a team for Portland's Civic Stadium. The purchase of a Triple-A team must be concluded in order for PFE to move forward with the renovation of Civic Stadium.

On August 25, PFE announced that it had signed a Letter of Intent to purchase the Calgary Cannons and move them to Portland. PFE entered into an exclusive negotiating period with Calgary owner Russ Parker, which expired September 29, during which time PFE was prohibited from negotiating with any other baseball team.

"Frankly, we were stunned when Mr. Parker informed us today that he is not willing to move forward," said Mike Higgins, PFE general manager. "We negotiated in good faith and dealt exclusively with Mr. Parker in an effort to get the deal done."

Under the terms of the MOU with the City of Portland, PFE was required to acquire a Triple-A baseball team by October 1. The deadline was extended to October 31 after the City of Portland learned from Mr. Parker's representatives that the final agreement was imminent. Just prior to the October 31 deadline, additional issues, including Canadian sales and income tax laws, were raised which led to a further delay.

PFE had been in discussions with four Triple-A franchises prior to entering the exclusive negotiating period with Calgary. These discussions have been reactivated and have resulted in PFE responding to requests from two teams who have asked for written offers.

It is expected that PFE and the City of Portland will review these developments in light of the significant progress that has been made under the original terms of the MOU. These accomplishments include: the written financing commitment to finance PFE's portion of the renovation and to fund the acquisition of the teams; equity investors have been secured and Minor League Baseball has accepted PFE's application for Controlled Interest Transfer; and an agreement has been reached with the United Soccer Leagues to purchase an A-League soccer team.

"We're extremely disappointed that Russ waited this long to change his mind," said Mark Gardiner, PFE general partner. "He told us that he couldn't get use to the idea of the team leaving Calgary after all this time."