In 1980, the National Hockey League finally arrived in Calgary when Nelson Skalbania, a Vancouver-based businessman, got wind of the pending sale of the Atlanta Flames to a group of Calgary-area businessmen. Skalbania intercepted the sale by offering team owner Tom Cousins a 25% increase over his previous asking price of US$12 million and providing an immediate $1 million down payment for the team. The purchase price of US$16 million was the highest ever paid for an NHL team at the time. Relocating the team to Calgary, Skalbania's interest was soon bought out by the "original six" Calgary businessmen (Ralph T. Scurfield, Daryl Seaman, Byron Seaman, Harley Hotchkiss, Norman Green, and Norman Kwong) thus ensuring the future stability of the franchise in Calgary.