Arizona attorney John Kaites and Bulls and White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf are part of a group called Glendale Hockey LLC that is "again looking to purchase" the Coyotes, according to Lisa Halverstadt of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Glendale Hockey spokesperson David Leibowitz said that Stars interim President Tony Tavares is "also part of the group." Leibowitz "could not provide details about the financial stake of each partner or other investors," although he said that Kaites "is the managing partner." The city of Glendale and the NHL are "working with a second group of potential buyers, as well." That investment group "emerged last month," led by former Sharks CEO Greg Jamison. It "remains unclear when a buyer could be chosen and a deal approved by the NHL and the City Council." Glendale officials have said that they are "determined to have a deal done by the end of the year." Kaites and Reinsdorf previously "had worked with the NHL and the city to buy the financially troubled Coyotes," but the group "walked away from negotiations" last year (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 9/22).
TROUBLE SPOT? The GLOBE & MAIL's David Shoalts reports those "in the know in NHL ownership circles think the Devils could be the league’s next big financial crisis." The "root of the problem, as it is in most cases in the NHL, is poor ticket sales." When the Devils moved from the Izod Center to the Prudential Center four years ago, a "lot of their fans, who weren’t known for jamming their old arena, declined to follow." In the "wake of the bankruptcy talk, the Devils insisted their new season-ticket sales were up 130 per cent over last season, without saying how many season-ticket holders they have." Sources said that the Devils are "especially hurting when it comes to the premium seats." Shoalts notes a lot of the contractors who worked on Prudential Center apparently "wound up buying club seats and their renewal rates were rather low once the initial contracts were up" (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/22).
