Analysis: Keeping Coyotes In Glendale

((HT: Arizona Republic/Watters, Sanders))

Glendale officials have been tight-lipped about what they might do to entice buyers to keep the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes at the city-owned Jobing.com Arena ((pictured, thanks Arizona Republic/Carlos Chavez)).

But that could change today. A Maricopa County Superior Court Judge on Tuesday said the city must provide records related to negotiations once bids for the hockey team are submitted.

Those bids are due today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The Goldwater Institute, a conservative watchdog, sued the city to force disclosure of the records, saying it was protecting taxpayers from the city's giving up money to the team.

Up to this point, Glendale officials have maintained they would not give up city revenue. Rather, they have said they would help an owner find new sources of revenue for the NHL team.

Although details have not yet been released, here's a look at some possibilities for Glendale and a taste of what's happened elsewhere.

POSSIBLE CHANGES

Build a new parking garage: Glendale has a $25 million account intended for building a parking complex at Westgate City Center near the arena. The money was paid by Westgate developer and owner Steve Ellman last year to fulfill his agreement with the city to ensure enough parking as the shopping and entertainment development grows. The city has not built a garage yet, citing a current abundance of parking. But if Glendale built the garage, could it allow a new Phoenix Coyotes owner to charge fans to park there?

Form a special taxing district: Other cities, like Tempe, Chandler and Phoenix, have special taxing districts in their downtowns that pay for "enhanced services," such as security, parking control and marketing. A majority of property owners must vote to create the district, form a governing board and set the tax rates.

The extra property taxes are then collected by the city and used for the services the property owners choose. Could Ellman and other property owners around Jobing.com Arena, who have a big stake in hockey fans' continuing to visit the area, form such a district to help a new team owner pay for services?

PREDATORS PRECEDENT

The Nashville Predators took to the ice in 1998 with a 30-year lease at a city-owned arena.

Less than a decade later, a deal was in the works to sell the team to business mogul Jim Balsillie, the same guy who wants to buy and relocate the Coyotes to Canada.

When a local investment group came forward to purchase and keep the Predators in Nashville, city officials renegotiated a more favorable lease.

Among the 2008 changes:

Predators given a way out.

After 2010, if average paid attendance drops below 14,000 per game and cumulative losses reach $20 million, the team could opt out of its lease.

The team would have to pay Nashville an early-termination fee that ranges between $10 million and $25 million, depending on the year.

THE MONEY

Glendale has fought to keep the Coyotes, saying the impact of losing the team and the fans they attract could exceed $500 million.

The city counts on the team, and the commercial centers it bolsters, to pay off the $180 million it borrowed to build Jobing.com Arena.

City leaders promised residents they would not siphon money from local services, such as parks or road work, to pay that debt. Rather, they said growth in tax collections

and other revenue from the arena and new commercial development around it would cover the cost.

From fiscal 2006 to 2008, the city made good on its promise.

Glendale paid $25.9 million on its arena debt in that period and collected $27 million from the arena and developments linked to it.

However, financial projections included in the 2004 contract show the Coyotes deal has been far less lucrative than the city anticipated.

The projections were that the city would collect $23.3 million in the 2007-08 budget year.

In reality, the city collected only about half that.

KEY DATES

July 24: Bids to buy and keep the Coyotes in Glendale are due in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The city must reveal, under court order, what concessions, if any, it plans to give a future team owner.

July 31: Objections to bids must be filed with the Bankruptcy Court.

Aug. 3: Responses to those objections are due with court.

Aug. 5: Hearing on the team's auction.