Throwback Thursday: This week in 1980, the Flames officially moved to Calgary

Sale of the National Hockey League Atlanta Flames to Calgary business interests is in the negotiation stage, The Globe and Mail says. The newspaper says Thomas Cousins, owner of the Flames, is negotiating the $14-million sale of the financially-plagued Atlanta team with Darryl, Donald and Byron Seaman, three Calgary businessmen who are major shareholders in Bow Valley Industries, an oil and gas company worth an estimated $170 million. It quotes an unidentified NHL gover nor source as saying the Flames would play in the 6,400-seat Calgary Corral for two season until a new arena is constructed as part of the city’s push for the 1988 Winter Olympics. It says Peter Pocklington, Edmonton Oilers’ owner, has been acting as a middleman in the negotiations. The club, purchased in 1972 for $6 million, is the only NHL franchise that does not need the unanimous consent of the board to relocate if it does not infringe of the territorial rights of an existing NHL franchise. – The Canadian Press, March 1980