Balsillie Remains Determined To Bring NHL Team To Hamilton

Balsillie Feels There Is Still Enough Time To Move Team

RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie and Hamilton officials “are not throwing in the towel on Hamilton’s chances of landing an NHL team” despite yesterday’s ruling, according to Daniel Nolan of the HAMILTON SPECTATOR. Balsillie spokesperson Bill Walker: “We’re still here. The court did not approve either our approach or the NHL’s. Judge Baum did state he does not have time to decide all the relocation issues.” Walker noted that the court "still controls the sale process and that his client believes he has made the 'best offer and Hamilton remains the best location'" for the Coyotes. Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger said, “There’s still a window of opportunity here. The issue is still very much alive. It doesn’t mean relocation can’t happen. I’ve always expected it to be a bit of a roller-coaster ride and it certainly is” (HAMILTON SPECTATOR, 6/16). During a press conference this morning, Balsillie's advisor Richard Rodier characterized the ruling as part of the "ebb and flow" of a bankruptcy hearing. He added that the team is still bankrupt and that Balsillie's offer remains the only one on the table for the Coyotes. The judge said there were very important issues to be decided and there was not enough time to decide them, Rodier said, but he "invited us, I'd say encouraged us, to resubmit our motion." He expects the NHL to consider Balsillie's relocation application on an expedited basis. Rodier said the next step in the process for the NHL and Judge Baum seems to be to look for a local buyer in accordance with the NHL's schedule anticipating a sale of the team by September 10. He added, "I caution you in bankruptcy things can come out of left field. There's a lot of time between now and September 10. You still have a team that needs to be sold and creditors that need to be satisfied. (The creditors) are owed a lot of money. ...We'll wait and see what happens." Rodier also said Balsillie is open to paying a transfer fee to relocate the Coyotes to Ontario, but added that he isn't contractually obligated to pay a fee and can walk away from his purchase agreement if he feels the fee is too much. Rodier said, "I put that condition in to protect us. No one was under any illusion that there would be no transfer fee. you don't want to enter into a contract where you're agreeing to a blank check" (Tripp Mickle, SportsBusiness Journal). 

WORK REMAINS: In Toronto, Damien Cox writes yesterday’s decision “didn’t give Balsillie even a crumb of vindication or support.” The best Balsillie got was a “check mark for imagination, for a case that presented ‘novel and unique issues.’” It is “unclear whether this is it for Balsillie.” His “peculiar statement last night that the fight wasn’t over and the team could still be in Hamilton by the fall seemed more bravado than substance, but he’s got lots of money to keep his lawyers cooking up schemes.” Meanwhile, the Coyotes have gone from being a “financial mess to being a financial mess in limbo.” The NHL “may have blocked Balsillie … but it hasn’t even begun fixing the myriad problems with the blighted Phoenix franchise” (TORONTO STAR, 6/16).

VICTORY FOR THE NHL: The NATIONAL POST’s Bruce Arthur writes on the same night Judge Redfield Baum “said no” to Balsillie, the NHL sent out a press release “trumpeting the fact that Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals was the most-watched NHL game in 36 years” in the U.S. Arthur: “If the [NHL] has enjoyed a more triumphal hour in recent memory, it’s hard to imagine what it could be.” Whether this ends in a “legally bloody saga is impossible to say.” If this is the end, however, it "is the end of a road littered with impatience, stubbornness, and ruinous decisions” by Balsillie (NATIONAL POST, 6/16). In Calgary, Eric Francis writes Balsillie “had no right to dictate how or where the NHL conducts its business.” Whether the Coyotes will “ever be viable in Phoenix is irrelevant.” The “point is local and state governments, many businesses (and even some fans) had invested heavily in giving NHL hockey a chance to grow there.” The NHL “did well to protect their interests by defending its simple right to establish where franchises are located.” But, “more importantly, the league reinforced it is solely up to the league’s governors -- not a court or a group of well-heeled businessmen -- to choose who joins their esteemed ranks” (CALGARY SUN, 6/16). In Toronto, Steve Simmons writes, “This is, of course, a victory for the NHL.” The league “will pump more money into the Coyotes but as a secured creditor it will get every dollar back when the team eventually is sold in bankruptcy auction” (TORONTO SUN, 6/16).

NHL Likely To Proceed With Mid-September Auction Of Coyotes

WHAT'S NEXT? In Toronto, Kevin McGran notes the court will “likely proceed with a mid-September auction, which will see the Coyotes play in Phoenix next season and the NHL pay the club’s bills until a new owner is found. If no adequate bidder comes forward, the NHL is open to allowing the team to move for the 2010-11 season” (TORONTO STAR, 6/16). Coyotes President & COO Doug Moss said, “We’re thrilled for everyone in our organization, most of all our fans (and) the city of Glendale, because it means the Coyotes will be staying right here at Jobing.com Arena.” Steve Roman, a spokesperson for Coyotes Owner Jerry Moyes, said that Moyes is “still evaluating his options” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 6/16). The GLOBE & MAIL’s Stephen Brunt writes there is a “deal to be made -- it’s a buyer’s market -- though it’s hard to imagine who would step forward to assume the long-term lease in Glendale, and the inevitable, massive annual losses that would seem to entail.” All of which “would suggest that, one way or another, the NHL is going to have to work out a deal with someone: who will buy the team, pay lip service to the idea of making hockey work in Phoenix, and then relocate somewhere more palatable to the league’s current interests” (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/16). 

PUSH FOR SEVEN: The TORONTO SUN’s Simmons writes if “anything good came out of the past several weeks of hype and hyperbole, it is the clear notion that Southern Ontario is poised and ready for a second NHL team and there are no shortage of parties interested in involvement either through a Coyotes purchase and move or more likely a pricier league expansion” (TORONTO SUN, 6/16). YAHOO SPORTS’ Greg Wyshynski wrote Balsillie “solidified support in Canada for bringing a seventh team ‘home,’ and sufficiently made the case that Hamilton/Southern Ontario should have an NHL franchise in the near future” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/15). The GLOBE & MAIL’s  Brunt writes with this process “having demonstrated more than ever the value of a second team in Southern Ontario, it’s … hard to imagine that the league governors won’t try to exploit that pent-up demand for their own enrichment.” There is “simply too much money to ignore, and if it is framed as an expansion opportunity, they won’t even have to share it with the players” (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/16).

TAKING A LOOK BACK: Yesterday’s ruling is only the latest in a long line of events in the Coyotes saga. View a comprehensive timeline of significant moments leading up to the franchise’s court battle (THE DAILY).