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Glendale City Council's Tuesday Meeting Is
Critical For Team's Future In Glendale |
Ice Edge Holdings has "walked away from the table in its bid to purchase" the Coyotes, according to Gary Lawless of the WINNIPEG FREE PRESS. The investor group had been "working with Glendale city council to draft a lease agreement that was amenable to both parties." But Ice Edge COO Daryl Jones last night said, "Talks have broken off. We were adamant about needing exclusivity in these negotiations and they haven't provided it. I'm not totally surprised. We've been dealing with this for a while. We thought we had agreed to certain things and expected them in writing. That didn't materialize" (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, 5/11). CBC SPORTS' Jeff Marek reported this "doesn't necessarily mean the Ice Edge bid is dead." A source said Ice Edge will "leave their phones on, but their pencils are down" (CBC.ca, 5/10).
DECISION DAY: ESPN.com's LeBrun & Burnside noted the Glendale City Council is scheduled to meet tonight in "what is a potentially huge moment in the NHL team's struggle to stay in Phoenix." At stake is a "resolution which would see Glendale cover any operating losses the NHL incurs moving forward as the city tries to negotiate with potential new owners, a process that could easily drag out all summer long" (ESPN.com, 5/10). TSN's Bob McKenzie said, “For the first time ever the whole notion of the Coyotes leaving is a little bit more legitimate than it ever was before.” McKenzie: "It's the NHL now that's pushing for a resolution to this thing over the next two to three weeks" ("NHL Live," NHL Network, 5/10). In Toronto, Damien Cox wrote, "You have to feel for the taxpayers of Glendale." They were "suckered into building" Jobing.com Arena, and now, "if they let the Coyotes go, they'll be left without a major tenant." But on the other hand, if they "do what it takes to keep the team, they may be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars, and may end up getting sued by various" taxpayer groups (THESTAR.com, 5/10). ESPN.com's E.J. Hradek wrote the situation seems "like a lose-lose for Glendale." To keep the Coyotes, the city "might have to guarantee financial losses with some sort of 'entertainment district' tax." But if the franchise leaves the city, taxpayers are "left with a white elephant of a new arena." Hradek: "Good luck, councilmen" (ESPN.com, 5/10).
READY OR NOT, HERE WE COME? YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel noted True North Sports & Entertainment, led by Thomson Reuters Chair David Thomson, "appears next in line to buy the Coyotes and it's made no secret of its interest in moving the club back to Winnipeg where there's a modern, 15-200 seat arena and, more important, fans who actually will fill it." It was not a "lack of devotion from Winnipeg fans" that caused the Jets to move to Phoenix in '96. It was the "spreadsheet projections of the not-as-smart-as-they-thought sports marketers" who counted on the "strength of the U.S. dollar, the profits of possible luxury-box sales and the potential of a massive American national television contract." But the Coyotes have "never turned a profit in Arizona, are currently insolvent and operate as a ward of the NHL" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/10). In Winnipeg, Gary Lawless notes True North, "should they enter negotiations to purchase the Coyotes from the NHL, wouldn't have the luxury of time to close a deal ... if they want to play in the 2010-11 season." Most of the deals "will have to be worked out in a short time and True North isn't in the habit of being disorganized" (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, 5/11).
