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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Hulsizer Coyotes' mystery man
Chicagoan interested in buying NHL team
Matthew Hulsizer is the mystery man interested in buying the Phoenix Coyotes according to ESPN.com.
The Chicago businessman is a former collegiate hockey player and CEO of Peak6 Investments.
The longtime financial services executive is reported to have the ability to purchase the Coyotes for the expected $170 million the NHL will demand.
ESPN's Scott Burnside reports Hulsizer is in negotiations with the City of Glendale for a lease agreement at Jobing.com Arena.
Hulsizer, should he be able to reach a deal with Glendale, would then have to buy the Coyotes from the NHL.
The NHL purchased the team out of bankruptcy last summer for $140 million and lost as much as $30 million operating the team last year.
City of Glendale officials would not confirm Hulsizer's interest.
"The city does not not talk about negotiations as they are proceeding," city of Glendale spokesperson Julie Frisoni told the Free Press Thursday night.
Hulsizer is believed to be friendly with the principals behind Ice Edge Holdings. IEH has been in negotiations with Glendale for some time but have not been able to close a lease agreement.
Ice Edge chairman Keith McCullough told the Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal earlier this week that his group had found a partner to help buy the Coyotes.
"Ice Edge would be a minority owner and an adviser," McCullough said. "That investor is a friend of ours."
The City of Glendale entered an agreement with the NHL this summer to cover any losses the league incurred while operating the franchise this season.
Glendale has put $25 million in an escrow account that the NHL can begin using on Sept. 15.
The Coyotes have sold under 4,000 season tickets for this coming season and only 25 per cent of their luxury suites are booked.
Funding the team will require monies from the escrow account almost immediately.
The NHL has also told Glendale that should they be unable to find a buyer to keep the team in Phoenix by Dec. 31, the league has 'a bona-fide offer from a viable purchaser who would relocate the hockey team to another market for the 2011-12 season.'
The Free Press previously reported that offer is from Winnipegbased True North Sports and Entertainment.
gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 2, 2010 C2
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