2
He's the billionaire businessman with a thirst for privacy, a gift for philanthropy and a stately manor that cost $24-million to build. And now, Daryl Katz has a new property – the Edmonton Oilers – and a cult following who think he's Batman.
Why the caped crusader? Because Katz is Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter ego, in the flesh. He has it all – money, influence and isolation. He is as reclusive as he is successful. Even Katz's introductory media session as the Oilers' soon-to-be-approved owner was conducted not in person, but by a telephone conference call.
“I'm sorry I couldn't be in Edmonton today,” he said without revealing where he was. (Katz's public-relations man was no help, either, saying only that Mr. Wayne, er, Katz was “was out of town.”)
What Katz did say with a high degree of certainty was that he will be involved in running the Oilers, an NHL team he has “lived and died with” since the glory days of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. He will be included in key hockey decisions, as a sounding board. He will do his part to attract free-agent players to a city that has scared away its share.
Related Articles
And Katz will happily lead the charge for a new arena that he feels should be constructed in downtown Edmonton – not only to revitalize a lagging core, but also because the Oilers belong in the centre of the city, its heart. To that end, Katz has pledged $100-million on top of the $200-million he spent buying the NHL franchise.
As a fan and businessman, Katz wants to make this work.
“I think they have a great group of young players with loads of potential,” he said of the team's on-ice lineup. “I look back to a couple of years ago [when the Oilers reached the Stanley Cup final] and remember what things the management team did. What I'd like to see is more Stanley Cups. That's why you get into this business.”
This much is known about ever-so-retiring Katz: He's 46; he was born and educated in Edmonton; his Rexall pharmacies empire is based in the city; and his overall worth is in excess of $2-billion.
In a roundabout way, Katz implied he got wealthy by being bold and decisive. His approach to running the Oilers will be the same.
“Management will be empowered to make decisions very quickly and I personally will be actively involved on a day-to-day business,” he said, adding his other companies aren't big on spending a lot of time with committees in meetings. “I don't want to make it sound [like] we make rash decisions. I think our advantage is we have the luxury to move fairly quickly and we do.”
Without saying so directly, Katz was quick to give Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe and head coach Craig MacTavish a show of support that guarantees their presence in the years to come. Not a word, however, was said of club president Pat LaForge.
As for Cal Nichols, the former chairman of the club's former owner, the Edmonton Investors Group, whose support of Katz helped push the sale forward, the new owner would like Nichols to stay on as the franchise's NHL governor. Nichols is also a member of a committee examining where a new arena should be built in the provincial capital.
“I've had discussions with the mayor,” Katz said. “There are various ways to finance institutions like this.”
Katz addressed any hint of his some day moving the Oilers to another city as “ridiculous speculation.”
“We'll sit down with the city and discuss a [10-year location agreement to stay in Edmonton] like the one that was previously in place [with EIG],” he said.
As the solitary owner, Katz will bring more to the Oilers than the 34-man EIG could. His financial clout and business connections are beyond reproach at a time when the club needs an infusion of hope and cash. That's what Katz symbolizes: the start of a new era for Oilers hockey.
The lone complaint? That he's too reserved, too withdrawn. A mystery man who may have been talking to the media from deep within the Bat cave, for all any of us knew.
“I think we're very active within the community,” Katz said. “It's my preference to be private and keep a low profile. Through this process I've tried to be respectful of the EIG.”
He did that while reading the newspapers, websites and blogs and realizing “we had some fan support.” Including one online believer who concluded “initials D.K. match Batman's name Dark Knight.”
As nicknames go, it beats the Joker.
