Nelson Skalbania
Encyclopedia
Nelson M. Skalbania is a Canadian businessman from Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 best known for signing a 17-year-old Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...

 to the Indianapolis Racers
Indianapolis Racers
The Indianapolis Racers were a franchise in the former World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1978. They competed in five seasons, folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena...

 of the World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...

.

In 1961, Nelson Skalbania graduated from University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

 with a Bachelors in Applied Science, then received his P.Eng. in 1962. He received a Masters of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1964 at the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...

, Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

 (specializing in Seismic engineering).

His initial profession as a very active consulting engineer in the early 1960s expanded into an extensive real estate career in parallel with the consulting business.

Married to his second wife Eleni (the owner and operator of the luxury Wedgewood Hotel in Vancouver), he has two daughters and two stepdaughters.

Consulting businesses

President and majority owner of McKenzie Snowball & Skalbania, consulting engineers. Started as one-third owner of 3 man company in 1964, but by 1971 there were over 100 staff in four locations in structural, electrical, and mechanical engineering consulting.

Real estate transactions

Skalbania is active in real estate, primarily in the US and Canada. During the 10 year period from 1971 to 1981, he averaged over $500 million each year (over 1,000 transactions). Some highlights include:
  • Purchased in three consecutive years: three packages of real estate from Genstar
    Genstar Development Company
    Genstar Development Company is a real estate development company that creates master planned communities throughout Canada. Genstar has a history dating back over 50 years developing thousands of acres into some of the most recognized communities across Canada. Today, Genstar has active...

    . The last package of real estate of $150 million included hotels, shopping centers, apartments, and raw land (from New York to Vancouver).
  • Purchased over a span of 10 years: 31 different Eaton's
    Eaton's
    The T. Eaton Co. Limited was once Canada's largest department store retailer. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying offices across the globe, and a catalogue...

     properties/stores across Canada from Victoria
    Victoria, British Columbia
    Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

    , B.C. to Moncton, N.B. The larger ones included a downtown Vancouver Store, (redeveloped, constructed $100M project downtown Winnipeg
    Winnipeg
    Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

     catalogue store, redeveloped into $50M retail complex, etc.)
  • Bought and resold Omni Complex in Atlanta, Georgia (hotel, two office towers, retail for $55M - his price $150M). He sold to Ted Turner
    Ted Turner
    Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...

    .
  • Bought Circus World in Orlando
    Orlando, Florida
    Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

    , Fla from Mattel
    Mattel
    Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...

     co., sold to Jim Monaghan and Harcourt Brace Johanovich (Sea World
    Sea World
    Sea World is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and theme park located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It includes rides, animal exhibits and other attractions, and promotes conservation through education and through the rescue and rehabilitation of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife. The...

     owners).
  • Opera Square, San Francisco ($100M project, three towers, offices, retail, etc.).
  • Watergate Apartments (1,200 suite condo - $40M), Oakland, California.

Bankruptcy and decline

On December 16, 1982 Skalbania filed a proposal in Vancouver, British Columbia, under the Bankruptcy Act that called for his 125 unsecured creditors to allow him five years to repay $30.3 million in debts. High interest rates, a depressed real-estate market and millions lost on sports ventures such as the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...

 of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 and the Calgary Boomers
Calgary Boomers
The Calgary Boomers were a professional soccer team, that competed in the North American Soccer League during the 1981 season, after which they folded. They were owned by Nelson Skalbania, a Canadian businessman who moved the Memphis Rogues to Calgary, Alberta after the 1980 season.-1981 Roster:*No...

 of the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

 brought about the bankruptcy.

Sports

Skalbania purchased the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....

 of the WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...

 from Charles Allard in 1975. With debts in the range of $1.6 million during the next season, he took on Peter Pocklington
Peter Pocklington
Peter Hugh Pocklington is a Canadian entrepreneur.He made his initial fortune as the owner of one of the largest auto dealerships in Canada, and later took over a meat packing company involved in a high-profile labour strike....

 as a partner. Pocklington gave Skalbania a vintage Rolls Royce Phaeton used in the film The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....

, a painting by Maurice Utrillo
Maurice Utrillo
Maurice Utrillo, , born Maurice Valadon, was a French painter who specialized in cityscapes. Born in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France, Utrillo is one of the few famous painters of Montmartre who were born there....

 and a diamond ring worth about $150,000 that happened to be on his wife's finger. The swap was worth about $700,000, according to Pocklington, who also agreed to take on half of the team's debt. Several months before Skalbania held talks with the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 about a possible merger with the WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...

. After it became clear that no merger would happen by 1977, Skalbania had decided to sell his half of the Oilers to Pocklington.

He surfaced next with the Indianapolis Racers
Indianapolis Racers
The Indianapolis Racers were a franchise in the former World Hockey Association from 1974 to 1978. They competed in five seasons, folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena...

 of the WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...

, when be bought the club from Harold Ducote in 1977, after a dreadful season, and helped it avoid folding. Skalbania tried to revitialize the club in 1978 by signing Sault Greyhounds star Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...

 to a personal services contract. However, this ploy failed to put enough fans in the stands, and Gretzky was sold to Edmonton for $800,000. This helped the Racers for a while but the faithful knew the end was near as Skalbania conceded defeat, folding the Racers on December 15, 1978.

In March 1981, he purchased the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...

 of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 from long-time owner Sam Berger. Skalbania tried to continue the Montreal Alouettes glory years by hiring several very expensive American football stars (Vince Ferragamo
Vince Ferragamo
Vince Anthony Ferragamo is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League.-College career:...

, Billy Johnson, James Scott, David Overstreet
David Overstreet
David Arthur Overstreet was a running back in the Canadian Football League and National Football League.A native of Big Sandy, Texas, Overstreet prepped at Big Sandy High School, where one of his teammates was Lovie Smith. Big Sandy won three consecutive Class B state championships 1973-75...

,) but his bid failed miserably, as the team was dreadful. This was the beginning of a fatal decline for the team, which later became the Concordes and then folded. Fans, who were already bitterly disappointed, were infuriated by his remarks about his ownership: "Its not like I raped a nun."

Skalbania had a short but very important tenure as leader of an ownership group that purchased the Atlanta Flames
Atlanta Flames
The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1972 to 1980. The team, a member of the National Hockey League , was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the start of the 1980–81 NHL season and were re-named the Calgary Flames. The NHL returned to the...

 of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

. He was instrumental in their move to Calgary
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...

.

He has also owned the Memphis Rogues
Memphis Rogues
The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978, 1979, and 1980 seasons and played their home games in Memphis' Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.-History:...

 of the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

, which became the Calgary Boomers
Calgary Boomers
The Calgary Boomers were a professional soccer team, that competed in the North American Soccer League during the 1981 season, after which they folded. They were owned by Nelson Skalbania, a Canadian businessman who moved the Memphis Rogues to Calgary, Alberta after the 1980 season.-1981 Roster:*No...

, and the Vancouver Canadians
Vancouver Canadians
The Vancouver Canadians are a minor league baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Canadians are the Northwest League affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The C's have previously affiliated with the Oakland Athletics between 2000-2010. They are the only Canadian team in the...

 baseball team.

His final foray into professional sports was as owner of the BC Lions
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...

 of the CFL
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 in 1996, but this attempt at a comeback fell through when he was forced to hand over control of the Lions to a receiver in August, 1996, only six months after he had taken on the ownership role.

Present business

As of 2003, Skalbania has continued to work behind the scenes in Vancouver to finance real estate projects, including an $800-million ski and golf resort near Squamish
Squamish, British Columbia
Squamish is a community and a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located at the north end of Howe Sound on the Sea to Sky Highway...

, B.C..

He is also involved in a New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

 company researching ways to desalinate sea water using solar energy. He also has interests in Solar Energy Ltd. of Los Alamos
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos is a townsite and census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, built upon four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau and the adjoining White Rock Canyon. The population of the CDP was 12,019 at the 2010 Census. The townsite or "the hill" is one part of town while...

, N.M., a company he helped to reorganize in 1997, and whose shares are quoted on the Nasdaq Stock Market's unregulated over-the-counter bulletin board.

Real estate industry sources say Skalbania's usual practice is to create a syndicate of investors, even though he may not be an investor himself.

Skalbania retains a keen interest in sports, particularly the business side. Friends describe him as a very knowledgeable and "fun guy to be with." But they also attribute his earlier financial troubles to a lack of patience. "Probably his biggest flaw is that he is way too quick, and maybe not thorough enough", one friend said. "He has just got a very, very quick mind."
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