BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Gov. George Pataki's reluctance to refinance a $22.9 million loan is holding up Mark Hamister's bid to buy the financially troubled Buffalo Sabres.

Hamister and his majority partner, Todd Berman, were granted a second one-week extension from the NHL on Friday to secure their financing to purchase the team.

But the prospective owners might have to find another way to make up the loan's difference -- part of a $33 million request for state assistance -- or consider relinquishing their bid, potentially leading to the Sabres folding or leaving Buffalo at the end of this season.

The problem is not the loan itself, but that Adelphia Communications cable television company holds the letter of credit on the loan, which was used to help finance the construction of HSBC Arena, the Sabres' home.

Adelphia, the team's largest creditor, owed $157 million that former team owner John Rigas used to help purchase and operate the franchise. Adelphia declared bankruptcy last summer and reneged on an agreement to build a regional office in downtown Buffalo.

The NHL took over operational control of the Sabres in June.

State Sen. Dale Volker, who has close ties to Pataki, said the governor is against using public money that could be viewed as assisting Adelphia.

"It's a genuine issue," Volker said. "If the state commits to taking that over with state funds, it could be considered an asset of Adelphia. And they do not want any of the state money to potentially go to Adelphia."

Volker also said the governor remains committed to helping keep the Sabres in Buffalo in other ways.

"There's no indication out of Albany that there was a reluctance to do anything," Volker said. "But there is a reluctance to do anything that might turn back on the governor and make his people look bad."

A Pataki spokesman would only say that negotiations are continuing.

Hamister has repeatedly said his purchase bid hinges on government assistance, which would go toward addressing the team's debt and upgrading HSBC Arena to make it more viable.

Having the Sabres file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection is one already-discussed option open to Hamister in the event the loan isn't refinanced.

Bankruptcy, however, would be a gamble. It would cleanse the Sabres of their debt and allow a new owner to renegotiate any existing concession and arena labor agreements, but it also opens the possibility of the team being sold to an outside bidder who could move it elsewhere.