The Jim Balsillie vs. Gary Bettman battle continued this morning as the Commisioner commented publicly about Balsille's attempt to purchase the now bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes.
Check out the comments courtesy of the Wall Street Journal and WSJ.com:
((gary bettman photo courtesy: Dave Sandford/Getty Images))
It's pretty obvious from this interview and other comments that the Bettman and Balsillie don't quite seem to get along. The Bettman seems particularly hung up on the Blackberry gazillionaire's attempt to buy the Nashville Predators and move them to Quebec, where he in fact had already started selling tickets before he officially owned the team. That didn't work out so well.
It's also obvious that the Phoenix franchise is in deep doo-doo. Team Owner Jerry Moyes has lost a fortune on the Coyotes and his other businesses. Bettman, in the interview mentioned that the NHL is trying to help facilitate a better deal with the City of Glendale in Arizona and help Moyes find a buyer. Whether that happens, is , we suppose the 9 figure question, one that eventually the NHL Board of Governors and the Commisioner are going to have to address.
Now...according to a story posted today in the Phoenix Business Journal, Balsillie or any other of the quoted "5" other potential owners or ownership groups, would have to pay Glendale a $750 million buyout. That would make moving to Quebec...a bit cost prohibitive.
Check out the story from the Journal here
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