There is "no disputing" that the Coyotes attract more people -- and their money -- to businesses around Gila River Arena, as Glendale's monthly reports on the arena "show that the city easily pulls in more sales taxes during hockey season," according to Hansen & Doerfler of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. The city during the '13-14 NHL season "took in $951,000 in sales taxes inside the arena during the eight months with hockey games," and it collected $1.1M during the '14-15 season. Those figures for two seasons "include 86 hockey games and 20 non-hockey events." By contrast, the months without hockey "brought in $259,000." Coyotes President & CEO Anthony LeBlanc said of a scenario in which the team no longer played in Glendale, "The impact on Westgate alone would be devastating. To the city alone, it's buffering up on $10 million a year. I mean, this is real money" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 6/20).
BUBBLING TO THE SURFACE: TSN.ca's Rick Westhead cited documents as showing that the Coyotes and Glendale have "been at odds" over an arena management contract "since at least January." E-mails between city staff and Coyotes execs "document a contentious relationship over the past six months, during which time the Coyotes allegedly opposed the city’s move" to hire former former Ducks and Angels President Tony Tavares to "oversee an audit of the NHL team, and bickered over whether the team was purposely delaying that audit." The e-mails also reveal that the city has "made Coyotes officials aware as early as March of their concerns" that Coyotes General Counsel Craig Tindall "might inappropriately use information he obtained while previously working for the city to help the Coyotes" (TSN.ca, 6/19).
