NHL

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Coyotes get new lease on life

Glendale, Jobing.com Arena reach agreement

By: John Marshall

Posted: 06/9/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Michael Schennum / the associated press NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, deputy commissioner Bill Daly and Greg Jamison (from left) listen to Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs on Friday. (CP)

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Phoenix Coyotes' long wait for an owner might finally be over.

Glendale's City Council approved a 20-year lease agreement for Jobing.com Arena on Friday, clearing the last major hurdle in the sale of the Coyotes to a group led by former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison.

The council ratified the 20-year, nearly $325 million agreement by a 4-2 vote after a sometimes-contentious six-hour meeting attended by Jamison, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

"We've been doing this a long time," said Bettman, who left the meeting to fly to New Jersey for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final. "We believe this team, the Coyotes, can be here with a new ownership in place and should be here."

Approval of the lease agreement should clear the way for Jamison's group to buy the team, ending a three-year odyssey that's included bankruptcy, failed deals with other prospective owners and the team playing under financial restraints while being operated by the league.

Jamison still needs to work out a final deal with the NHL and gain approval from the league's board of governors, but this was considered the last major obstacle to finally bringing an owner in and keeping the team from leaving the Valley of the Sun.

The city put up $25 million each of the past two years to cover losses by the NHL and keep the team in town. Glendale recently had a round of layoffs, along with tax hikes and service cuts to cover a $35 million gap in the upcoming budget, so a publicly-financed deal to keep the Coyotes -- one that includes an average of $15 million in arena operating costs -- wasn't popular with everyone.

According to a study commissioned by Glendale, the city would pay Jamison $203 million and bring in $45 million in revenue, leaving a huge gap. The study also calculated what it would cost the city should the Coyotes leave, estimating about $177 million in operating costs for Jobing without an anchor tenant.

The Coyotes thought they had a deal with Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer last year, only to have it thwarted by conservative watchdog group Goldwater Institute.

Goldwater tried to stop this deal as well, filing a temporary restraining Friday morning to prevent the vote that contended the city violated the Arizona open meetings law by failing to make public all documents related to the lease.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper denied the restraining order.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 9, 2012 C7

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