Predators owner Craig Leipold decided Wednesday to give more time to the local investors trying to buy the NHL team and keep it in town. The local investors put down US$10 million as a deposit in August for the $193 million purchase and faced a midnight deadline Wednesday to finalize the sale or lose exclusive negotiating rights.

Time is running out on the effort to keep the Predators in Nashville, as negotiations on Tuesday showed little progress toward today's deadline and ticket sales were running slow. A mostly local investors group has until the end of today to buy the hockey team from owner Craig Leipold. That won't be possible, given all the approvals still needed, but Leipold could give the group more time before he starts talking to other potential buyers. Meanwhile, the community is coming up short on its one sure way to require the Predators to stay in town ? buying tickets. After six home games, the Predators' paid attendance average stands at 12,305, well below the 14,000 that would enforce the team's 30-year lease of Sommet Center. However, attendance traditionally picks up in the second half of the season, after football ends. "That's the ultimate ace in the hole that we have," Mayor Karl Dean said last week.