The Glendale City Council yesterday "voted 7-0 to approve" a five-year, $28M contract with AEG Facilities "to run Gila River Arena," according to Paul Giblin of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Glendale officials directed AEG Facilities execs to "fill the venue" with concerts and, "more importantly, repair the city's battered relationship" with the Coyotes. The deal "comes with an out-clause that allows the company to renegotiate the deal or to walk away from it if the Coyotes vacate Gila River Arena or if the arena's naming-rights agreement crumbles." The team's current agreement with Glendale "runs through the end of next season." The Coyotes' future beyond then "remains uncertain." AEG Facilities COO Charles Steedman said that he is "acting under the presumption that the Coyotes will remain at the arena, where they have struggled to draw crowds." He added that AEG Facilities and Coyotes execs "have had preliminary discussions." He said that the talks have been "friendly, forthright and honest." Giblin reports the new deal splits the first $3M in profit from the arena "equally between AEG Facilities and the city." Beyond that, AEG Facilities will receive a 75% share, while Glendale will receive a 25% share. The contract "eliminates a complicated set of revenue reimbursements the city had with the Coyotes for naming rights, parking and other revenue sources." According to the new contract, "all future revenue would be lumped together for the 75/25 split" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 4/27). In Phoenix, Mike Sunnucks reported AEG will "create a $500,000 fund to recruit more Live Nation events to the arena." Live Nation is a "dominant concert booker in the U.S. and traditionally has landed more events at Talking Stick Resort Arena in downtown Phoenix." The city would pay AEG $5.6M "annually for five years to run the arena." The current deal with the Coyotes "has the city paying" $6.5M (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/26).
