Glendale Filing Suit Against Coyotes Move

((HT: GlobeSports/Waldie))

The City of Glendale, Ariz., has asked a court to block the Phoenix Coyotes from relocating to Hamilton, alleging the move would violate the terms of the club's arena lease and damage the “reputation, goodwill and civic pride of the community.”

The Coyotes play their games in the Jobing.com Arena, which the City of Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix, spent $183-million (U.S.) building six years ago. The club has a 30-year lease and pays roughly $2-million in annual fees to the city. The Coyotes also manage the facility through a subsidiary, which has lost more than $20-million over three years, according to court filings.

In its lawsuit filed yesterday, Glendale alleges that Coyotes majority owner Jerry Moyes has broken the law by putting the club into Chapter 11 protection and proposing to sell the team to Canadian Jim Balsillie, who wants to move it to Hamilton. The city has asked for an injunction to block the sale.

Glendale has become something of a sports mecca in recent years, attracting several teams to the area. They include the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League, spring training sites for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, and the future home of USA Basketball.

The Coyotes, the city argues, are an important part of that mix, and the city was counting on $800-million in revenue and taxes generated by the team over the course of the lease. The arena is also supposed to anchor a $1-billion shopping and housing complex that the city hopes will attract 22-million visitors annually when completed.

“In addition, although some might like to see Wayne Gretzky return to the ice as a player, fans in Phoenix and around the world are excited that the greatest player in the history of the game is affiliated with the team as a partial owner and its head coach,” the suit said.

Mr. Moyes has argued in court filings that the Coyotes have never made money since moving from Winnipeg in 1996.

And his group has made it clear the city is not a viable market for hockey.

Glendale argues the team is “an integral part of the character” of the city and that, if the Coyotes move, the Phoenix area will lose “a community asset that is a major and unique source of entertainment, pride and spirit which cannot be replicated.”