City is on slippery ice with its hockey team.

• Author: Murray, Arthur O.
• Position: Tar Heel Tattler

Greensboro officials want to make it clear: The city is paying the bills and calling the shots for the Greensboro Generals this year, but it doesn't own the professional hockey team. It's just trying to keep the Generals alive until it can hand the team over to new owners next year.

Why? To protect the city-owned Greensboro Coliseum from going deeper into the hole. Matt Brown, managing director of the coliseum, says it lost about $1.1 million in the fiscal year that ended in June--its best performance in five years. The city expects the coliseum to lose about $1.5 million this fiscal year.

Losing the coliseum's main tenant, which plays in the East Coast Hockey League, wasn't just a threat. Majority owner Art Donaldson, a Greensboro lawyer, wanted out this summer after losing money every year since starting the team in 1999. Two Greensboro businessmen have agreed to buy the team but want a year to bring in more investors.

That left a problem for this season. If the Generals hadn't played, the coliseum estimated its loss at more than $300,000. Enter Brown, who came up with a plan for the city to be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the team, including player and coach salaries. Donaldson still owns the team, but he's leasing it to the two businessmen for...