It’s a face-off over money.

The owner of the Des Moines-based Iowa Chops American Hockey League team wants to sell the team and is offering to pay the owners of Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines about $700,000, as the team will be moved to another city once the sale is complete. Wells Fargo Arena is owned by Polk County and the Polk County Board of Supervisors is demanding more.

Supervisor Tom Hockensmith says a 2004 agreement between the county and the hockey team calls for its owners to pay $12.5 million if the team leaves Des Moines.

"Frankly, this is an insult," Hockensmith says. "This proposal is an insult to the citizens of Polk County."

Hockensmith admits it’s unlikely there’ll be AAA hockey at Wells Fargo Arena next season, but he remains hopeful one will eventually be attracted.

"I’m really disappointed because I felt like there was really positive attendance towards the end of the season, things were starting to get turned around," Hockensmith says. "So it’s a setback, but I don’t think we’re back to square one. I think we’re going to be O.K."

Last season, the Iowa Chops franchise ranked 17th amoung the 29 American Hockey League clubs in attendance. The National Hockey League’s Anaheim Ducks dropped its affiliation with the Chops earlier this year.

The Polk County Board of Supervisors filed a lawsuit today, trying to prevent the team from leaving Des Moines.

San Jose Sharks forward Joe Paves was in Waterloo over the weekend where his jersey number eight became the fifth to be retired by the Waterloo Black Hawks. Pavelski helped turn the franchise around and in 2004 led the Black Hawks to a national championship and was named U.S.A. Hockey’s junior player of the year.

A fictional northwest Iowa institution opens its actual sports competition today, the University of Okoboji Winter Games . Erin Roe, spokeswoman for the Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, says more than 60 planned activities are being held outdoors in the brisk chill of the season — many of them on the frozen Lake Okoboji.

A putt-putt golf tournament will be held on the ice around sculpted objects made out of snow. Ice bowling is also on the list, along with hockey, broomball and softball. Roe says the weekend of events is expected to draw 40 to 45-thousand people, many of whom will be watching the wacky wintertime antics. She says flag football on the ice is one of the more comical events to watch as people are slipping and sliding all over to try and make plays.

Other entertainment on the agenda ranges from hot air balloon rides and a chocolate-tasting event to live music and a polar bear plunge. Roe says Saturday night’s activities will peak with what’s called "The Burning of the Greens" as hundreds of dried-out Christmas trees are piled in the center of the frozen lake and set ablaze.

Once the big bonfire is lit, the fireworks display will be launched, offering a warm and beautiful sight all at once. The Winter Games run through Sunday.

The American Hockey League franchise in Des Moines has signed a two year affiliation agreement with the Anaheim Ducks. The team had been affiliated with the Dallas Stars and were known as the Iowa Stars for the past three years. Anaheim’s AHL team had been located in Portland, Maine.

Duck’s General Manager Bryan Burke says it’s a big day as they take their A-H-L affiliate very seriously and are committed to winning. Burke says they believe in Des Moines as a hockey town. He says they want their players to become part of the community. He says their goal is to provide "a winning hockey team with a competitive presentation and strong community spirit."

Burke says the Ducks teach an aggressive style that helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2007. He says their style of play is "not for the feint of heart." Burke says they either possess the puck or are pursuing the puck at all times. "We believe in fighting when necessary, and sometimes when it’s not necessary," Burke says.

Kirby Schlegel is the owner of the Des Moines franchise and says they are in the process of renaming the team. He says they’ve narrowed it down to several names and will make an announcement in three-to-four weeks.

Schlegel says the team will not take the names of the parent club and instead will choose a name that gives the team a local identity. He says they’ve been doing fan surveys and through outreach on their website to come up with a name.