Glendale pays AEG $5.6M annually to manage the arena, which is offset by the shared arena revenuesGETTY IMAGES
The city of Glendale has "extended its contract with AEG Facilities" to manage Gila River Arena through '26, according to Jen Fifield of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Glendale in '16 "approved a five-year contract with AEG with an option for the city manager to extend the contract another five years." Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps yesterday said that he has "approved that extension with a condition that AEG install a high-tech LED lighting system in the arena." The city pays AEG $5.6M annually to "manage the arena, which is offset by the shared arena revenues." Three years "still remain on the original contract." But Phelps said that AEG was "interested in securing the longer-term contract now." AEG Facilities VP/Content Development Dale Adams, who serves as Gila River Arena GM, said that the company "realizes the huge potential for the arena." The city collected $1.6M "after the first season" and $1.68M following the second season, "after expecting" $1M. That is a "sizable improvement from a net loss" of just under $10M in FY '15. Glendale also pays about $13M annually to pay off the $183M it "borrowed to open the arena" in '03, and $500,000 annually in maintenance costs. Due to the city's deal with AEG, the Coyotes are on a "year-to-year lease" with Glendale for the arena. There is a "provision in the management contract that says AEG can back out of its contract with Glendale if the Coyotes leave." But Adams said that the Coyotes' future "did not play into the company's decision to stay involved with the arena" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 8/2).
