DAYTONA, FL — Raleigh's hopes for a National Hockey League franchise are less than encouraging after a power meeting Friday in Daytona, Florida. Prospective team owner Felix Sabates, who is in Daytona monitoring his three Winston Cup racing teams, met with a contingent from Raleigh to discuss 11th hour strategy for bringing in an expansion team.

After the meeting, Raleigh officials had little to say.

Sabates said he had decided to pull out of the proposal altogether, but that the NHL commissioner encouraged him to keep trying. Sabates told WRAL-TV5'sMark Robertshe was betrayed by several people in this attempt, including Raleigh Mayor Tom Fetzer.

The NHL commission is scheduled to meet next week to narrow their prospects down to five. Whether or not Raleigh will be in that number remains to be seen.