The Glendale City Council yesterday decided it still "will not rescind its vote" to terminate the 15-year, $225M agreement to operate Gila River Arena, but the council "welcomes the idea of negotiating a better deal," according to Craig Morgan of FOXSPORTSARIZONA.com. Glendale interim Assistant City Manager Tom Duensing said, "This isn't about hockey. We want the Arizona Coyotes in Glendale and we want to see them succeed. As we've consistently indicated to the team, we are prepared to negotiate a mutually beneficial approach to address concerns" (FOXSPORTSARIZONA.com, 6/16). THE HOCKEY NEWS' Adam Proteau wrote the "open war" between the city and Coyotes continued yesterday. Following Glendale's decision, the Coyotes issued a statement saying, "We expect the City of Glendale to honor its contractual commitments. We intend to continue to honor ours" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 6/16). Meanwhile, TSN.ca's Rick Westhead cited a source as saying that Coyotes officials "will explore relocation if the team loses" its legal battle with Glendale. The source said that team officials "believe they can raise the cash required to pay other NHL team owners a relocation fee after an ownership shakeup this week." The source said of Majority Owner & Chair Andrew Barroway, who will cede controlling interest, "Andy just got in over his head" (TSN.ca, 6/16).
