PORTLAND — Maine’s largest city probably will not meet the deadline to apply for a minor league hockey franchise in time for the 2017-18 season.

The Portland Press Herald reports an unnamed investor identified as a potential financier has pulled out of the deal.

Godfrey Wood was leading the charge to bring a team to Portland in the wake of the Portland Pirates move out of state. He says it’s still possible to buy an existing franchise and relocate it to Portland by fall 2017.

Wood was a key player in bringing the Portland Pirates to the city from Baltimore in 1993. The franchise was sold to a group that moved it to Springfield, Massachusetts, in May. The move leaves Portland’s downtown Cross Insurance Arena with no major tenant.