Goldwater Waiting To Sue Glendale

But waiting not too long, and really surprising no one when this goes down...

David Shoalts, in his piece for the Globe and Mail, caught up with Arizona watchdog Carrie Ann Sitren to get her impression of the deal that the City of Glendale has with the National Hockey League at present...

"By delegating the power and responsibility of [council] to the city manager, the city has violated the law,” Sitren told Shoalts.

In the City Council meeting, mayor Elaine Scruggs gave city manager Ed Beasley the go-ahead to work out the agreement with the National Hockey League to backup any Phoenix Coyotes losses- up to US$25-million.

Sitren and the Goldwater Institute are waiting until the minutes of the meeting from Tuesday are officially published, but this is really a fait accompli...

“The city gave away all its power and responsibility to the city manager to come up with a deal," she added. "That does not fly under the laws here.”

KPNX-TV/News12's Andy Harvey got to do the standard after-the-fact fan reaction piece
Naturally, Harvey was able to find people from both sides of the argument to fit into his 1:30 time frame...
((HT: News12/azcentral.com))

Glendale Votes Unanimously For Covering NHL Losses

After about an hour and a half of debate, the City of Glendale unanimously approved the idea of City Manager Ed Beasley to continue negotiations with prospective suitors and to cover the National Hockey League's losses up to, roughly, US$25-million for a "one-time only" act to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in the town of Glendale ((pictured very pleased, thanks NHLI/Getty))

If an owner is found, other than the NHL, the requirement goes away from the table. According to Beasley, the passing of Resolution 4377 "assures operation of the Jobing.com Arena" and will be used as a "funding mechanism." Beasley also admitted that the City of Glendale is negotiating with two parties and that "nothing has changed." Beasley also said in the meeting that "everything is right on track" to have everything done by the end of June.

Jim Colson, Deputy City Manger for Glendale, referred to the Resolution as an "insurance policy for the city."

Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs, in a discussion with the City's Craig Tindal, asked about the formation and dissolution of the proposed tax district. Mayor Scruggs asked what would happen if the NHL went in a different direction:

"The CFD would serve no purpose, and the board can terminate it at any time..."

But Tindal also said that it would take up to four months to form the district- which would put it ((at earliest)) in use by September. But Tindal indicated the time frame would be "shorter if everything lines up..."

The NHL's Bill Daly addressed the council and admitted that the league wants to keep the team in Glendale: "We are committed to that objective."

Daly also said that the league remains confident that matters can be taken care of on an "expedited basis." In an interview with KPNX-TV/News12's Brahm Resnik after the meeting, Daly said he expects a deal done by June 30 and that the team will not be moving.

Here's Scott Oake's tete-a-tete with Gary Bettman during the Vancouver-Chicago game last night...
((HT: CBC/NHL/fiXxed98))


The HQ's Dime Store Analysis:
While Committee Member Joyce Clark ((Yucca District)) said in session that no taxpayer dollars will be used for this CFD and apparent covering of the Coyotes losses for 2011, there are still too many questions here...

1) How long will it take for the Goldwater Institute to serve the City of Glendale with papers...?

2) If Reinsdorf doesn't sweeten his bid with some actually cash...? Then what...?

3) If Ice Edge never gets anymore cash, then what...?

At the least, as of right now the Phoenix Coyotes are in Glendale for one more year... and we'll go through this all over again next summer at the latest...

Coyotes And Glendale: Saturday Update

((HT: TSN/CP, Arizona Republic/Sanders-Harris))

A source close to the whole Phoenix Coyotes sale says Ice Edge Holdings is close to a memorandum of understanding ((MOU)) that gives the group exclusive negotiating rights with the city of Glendale over the Phoenix Coyotes.

The HQ asks if we've been here before...
We believe we have...

The agreement is expected to be finalized next week...

The HQ asks if we've been here before...
We believe we have...

The NHL is, apparently, also going to ask the city of Glendale to cover the US$20-million the franchise lost this year. The council is supposed to act on the request at its Tuesday night meeting where they'll be asked to give city manager Ed Beasley authority to sign agreements that would give the NHL the money the league says is required to keep the team in Glendale.

"The NHL has expressed its intention to keep the team in Glendale," the agenda item reads, "but has established deadlines and imposed requirements that require certain immediate financial commitments and assurances" by the city.

From Sanders:
City Attorney Craig Tindall said the amount that Glendale would guarantee is unknown.
The city may not have to fund any losses if a new owner is secured, he said.

"Depending on how things go, it may be nothing," he said. "It all depends on how negotiations go over the next few days."

Councilman Phil Lieberman called for a cap on the guarantee and criticized the staff's recommendation as being vague.

And altogether being a really bad idea...

"We lay people off. We have all sorts of vacancies. We're going to have to cut our services eventually. And we have an unlimited amount of money for the sports facilities."

Money wouldn't come from the city, but from arena operations and the special "taxing district" that is to be designed and implemented as part of the sale of the team and the new lease agreement- to whichever group would be awarded the sale of the Coyotes.

The HQ really, really does not see this happening...
Soon... bordering ever...

Insider Questions Arise With Glendale And Reinsdorf

((HT: Phoenix New Times/Fenske))

Something is rotten in the city of Glendale.

That's my conclusion after poring over bankruptcy files for the Phoenix Coyotes, reading hundreds of pages of municipal records, and getting an earful from some insiders.

I can't say for sure what's happening — Glendale officials are using the specter of litigation to dodge key questions.

But I can tell you this: It smells pretty damn bad.

The record suggests, in fact, that Glendale City Manager Ed Beasley is trying his best to hand over the Coyotes to his friend, lobbyist John Kaites, and Kaites' Chicago buddy, Jerry Reinsdorf. The deal might well suck for the team's current owners (who stand to lose millions) and its creditors (who suggest they're getting a raw deal). And never mind that the Valley has never shown much interest in driving to Glendale for games: Beasley has been working for months to make a deal that would give Kaites and Co. the franchise and force the team to stay in town.

Some of my sources insist that's okay. As a good city manager, Beasley has to do whatever he can to keep the Coyotes in Glendale. That's the only way to save Glendale's multimillion-dollar investment in Jobing.com Arena.

But it's one thing to fight to save a team. It's another thing entirely to fix the playing field for connected insiders.

And that, I think, is exactly what's happened here. Even more than Phoenix, where Frank Fairbanks rules the roost, Glendale is a town run by its city manager, Beasley. And city records suggest that long before Beasley let on to the city's elected officials that the Coyotes were in trouble, he was helping to wire the deal for Reinsdorf and Kaites.

And that begs the question: Was Beasley trying to find the best ownership deal for the team or favor some longtime associates?

Here's what I've learned:

In the fall of 2008, Coyotes owners Jeff Shumway and Jerry Moyes began explaining to City Manager Beasley just how bad the team's financial situation was. They asked the city to sweeten the pot and give them incentives to help the team stay in Glendale.

Instead, in October, Beasley inked a deal with a small Massachusetts firm, Beacon Sports Capital Management. (Because Beasley kept the contract below $50,000, he didn't need the city council's involvement. To date, Beacon has come in just under the threshold, at $48,175.)

Beacon was ostensibly hired to assess the Coyotes' finances. Its report, filed in January, has become Exhibit A in the city's argument that the current ownership screwed up and that another group could do a better job. That, of course, opened the door for Reinsdorf and Kaites.

But get this.

Beacon was in Glendale for just three days. And during that time, according to Beasley's own calendar, the sports analysts actually had a meeting with Kaites and Reinsdorf!

To understand how shocking that is, you have to understand the timing. Kaites and Reinsdorf weren't being talked about by anyone as prospective buyers at that point. At that time, in December, as far as owners Shumway and Moyes knew, they were asking City Hall for help — not a buyer.

Some of the best investigative reporting on the Coyotes situation has come from Channel 12's Brahm Resnik. But even Resnik doesn't put Kaites and Reinsdorf into negotiations with the city until February.

Yet Beasley's calendar shows that the Reinsdorf and Kaites were in the loop as early as December.

And some new information makes me suspect that Beacon's hire was little more than a setup to bring in Reinsdorf and Kaites — which puts the duo in the picture even earlier.

Michael Reinsdorf, who is Jerry's son, had been hired to help manage the Arizona Cardinals' stadium in 2004. (His firm, IFG, got the contract as a joint venture with Global Spectrum, a Philadelphia-based firm that just happens to employ John Kaites as a lobbyist.)

In the fall of 2008, Glendale hired Michael Reinsdorf's IFG to assess stadium operations at the Coyotes' home, Jobing.com Arena. It was IFG — which, again, is Michael Reinsdorf's firm — that suggested Glendale hire Beacon, as city officials confirmed to me.

The Reinsdorfs have a long history of working with Beacon. In fact, court records show Beacon was sued in Los Angeles by a client who claimed Beacon had leaked a confidential report to, yes, Michael Reinsdorf.

So when the Coyotes ran into trouble, Ed Beasley brought in Michael Reinsdorf's firm. At the suggestion of Michael's firm, he brought in a second company, one that had a history of dealing with Michael Reinsdorf. Then he stood by as that firm secretly met with Kaites and Jerry Reinsdorf.

And now we're supposed to look at the firm's analysis as neutral, looking out for Glendale's best interests?

I simply don't buy it.

In May, the Coyotes filed for bankruptcy. Its current owners want to sell to an investor who'd move the team to Canada; it's their only hope to recoup even part of their investment, they say. Meanwhile, for reasons that are still unclear — to me, at least — Kaites and Reinsdorf have become the NHL's pick.

There's more... keep going... it's an interesting read...

Moyes Questioned Reinsdorf About "Collusion"

((HT: GlobeSports/Shoalts))

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Redfield T. Baum allowed Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes ((pictured, thanks CP file)) to ask bidder Jerry Reinsdorf’s group about collusion with the City of Glendale and the NHL yesterday.

Moyes was also ordered to appear in court today to defend himself against charges of misconduct levelled by the city. Judge Baum will decide Moyes’s fate on charges of contempt of court this morning.

A few hours later, the judge is expected to decide if an auction for bidders seeking to relocate the Coyotes will follow the one on Sept. 10 for Reinsdorf and one other bidder, Ice Edge Holdings LLC, both of whom plan to keep the Coyotes in Glendale.

The judge will also rule on whether a $212.5-million (all currency U.S.) offer from Research In Motion co-chief-executive-officer Jim Balsillie can be part of the relocation auction even though the NHL has said it will not accept him as an owner. It appears Judge Baum may hold one auction for all three bids.

The judge allowed Moyes to have his lawyer question Reinsdorf or his partner, John Kaites, a controversial Phoenix-area lobbyist and former politician, yesterday about possible collusion with Glendale officials or the NHL. No information about the session was filed with the court.

While Moyes has long questioned how Glendale officials treated him compared to Reinsdorf, the issue was given a fresh push following a story in the Phoenix New Times newspaper on Monday. The story raised questions about the relationships between Glendale city manager Ed Beasley, who is leading the arena negotiations, Reinsdorf, Kaites, Reinsdorf’s son Michael and two companies hired by Beasley to study the Coyotes’ situation.

One of those companies, IFG, is owned by Michael Reinsdorf. The other one, Beacon Sports Capital Management, was hired last October by Beasley to provide a supposedly independent study of the Coyotes’ finances after former Coyotes chairman Jeff Shumway and Moyes told Beasley the team was in financial trouble and needed help from the city to survive. The Phoenix New Times story said Beacon Sports has a history of doing business with Michael Reinsdorf.

Earlier, Shumway said in a court document that Beasley never showed any interest in helping Moyes. Shumway said Beasley once told him he would only be interested in making lease concessions to a new owner, not Moyes. Shumway also said Beasley would not inform city council of the problems and accused the city manager of asking him to destroy a letter Shumway wrote outlining the issues. Beasley denied the allegation.

There has been no indication Beasley or any other Glendale official has agreed to Reinsdorf’s demands. But city council has not been kept apprised of the negotiations.

Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs did not respond to a request for comment.

Councillor Joyce Clark declined to comment other than to say council will not make financial subsidies to any Coyotes owner.

“There has been no discussion of concessions,” she said. “Council’s direction [to Beasley] made it very clear we’re not interested in using city money to subsidize any potential owner of the team.”

Moyes came under attack by the city and the NHL when his lawyers “inadvertently” revealed confidential information in a court filing last Friday. The document showed Reinsdorf is seeking $23-million a year in subsidies from Glendale as part of a new arena lease and wants an escape clause in 2014 if the team is losing money.

Yesterday, the city filed another document again asking the judge to find Moyes in contempt of court and end his involvement with the sale. It cited “new evidence” apparently gleaned in examinations last week of Moyes and Shumway, but the information was filed under seal.

Both the city and the NHL said Reinsdorf threatened to withdraw his bid when the confidential information became public.

Moyes dismissed the charges by the Glendale lawyers in a filing with the court yesterday.

“After all the breathless allegations are fully aired in court, what will be shown is that some confidential-designated information was inadvertently put in the public record due to mistake of Mr. Moyes’ personal counsel, nothing more,” the filing said. “As soon as the mistake was brought to the attention of Mr. Moyes’ personal counsel, it was remedied.”

Balsillie Bid "Highest and Best," Auction September 10th

((HT: GlobeSports/Shoalts))

Jim Balsillie’s $212.5-million (all currency U.S.) bid for the Phoenix Coyotes survived more attacks from the National Hockey League and the city of Glendale Monday thanks to a U.S. bankruptcy court judge who declared it the “highest and best” of the three offers for the team.

Judge Redfield T. Baum also kept in the game a bid from a group of Canadian and American businessmen known as Ice Edge Holdings LLC when he agreed to postpone the auction sale for bidders who want to keep the Coyotes in suburban Glendale, Ariz., from Wednesday to Sept. 10.

Both of the local Glendale bidders – Ice Edge and Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf – wanted more time to negotiate a new arena lease with the city and new deals with creditors. The sale will now be held on the same day as an auction for Mr. Balsillie and any other bidder seeking to relocate the team if neither of the Glendale bids are accepted. His offer is conditional on moving the team to Hamilton.

The judge said he will rule on what will happen with the relocation auction by Wednesday, musing in the hearing that he might hold one auction for all bids. The judge also recognized the legal fight over the team will probably get even nastier, saying lawsuits are likely to follow from the losing parties on Sept. 10.

The NHL formally rejected Mr. Balsillie as an owner last week but could be overruled by the court.

“We … note that the judge acknowledged the fact that Jim Balsillie’s bid is ‘the highest and best’ bid for the Phoenix Coyotes,” said Bill Walker, a spokesman for Mr. Balsillie. “We agree. That is the reason why the court is not ruling out the relocation auction despite the NHL’s request for it to do so.”

The NHL, which earlier in the day charged that Mr. Balsillie, the co-CEO of Research In Motion Ltd., “lacks the good character and integrity required” by the league’s constitution and bylaws, declined to comment. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said there would be no comment until Judge Baum rules on the relocation auction.

Both the Reinsdorf bid ($148-million) and Ice Edge’s ($150-million) involve relatively little cash for the creditors and are conditional on negotiating new deals with the team’s creditors and a new arena lease with Glendale.

Mr. Balsillie received another boost yesterday when a lawyer for the Coyotes’ largest creditor said it was only interested in being paid in full and in cash. A lawyer for SOF Investments, a fund owned by computer tycoon Michael Dell, told Judge Baum that only Mr. Balsillie’s bid would do that, although the fund had issues with all three bids. Lawyers for SOF Investments reserved the right to agree to any of the bids if negotiations with either Mr. Reindsorf or Ice Edge produced an acceptable result.

The City of Glendale and the NHL started throwing punches even before the emergency hearing began. The city asked the court to find Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes and his lawyers in contempt of court for disclosing confidential information and the NHL launched its attack on Mr. Balsillie in court filings.

However, shortly after the hearing began, Judge Baum waved off the demand to find Mr. Moyes and his lawyers in contempt. He later called on the lawyers for all parties to meet and discuss the situation.

As a result of Mr. Moyes revealing some of the concessions the Reinsdorf group is seeking from the city – a demand for subsidies of $23-million a year from 2010 until 2014 and $15-million a year after that plus an escape and relocation clause – lawyers for Glendale claimed that attempts to negotiate a lease with Mr. Reinsdorf and Ice Edge were badly damaged.

The declaration said Mr. Reinsdorf threatened to withdraw his bid after he learned that the concessions he was demanding from Glendale city officials were revealed in a court filing last Friday by Mr. Moyes and his lawyers.

“Glendale is absolutely outraged that Moyes and the Jennings Strouss firm would intentionally disclose confidential information produced in discovery and willfully violate the court’s confidentiality order,” the document said.

Glendale city manager Ed Beasley, who is leading the negotiations with Mr. Reinsdorf, said in a declaration filed with the court that efforts to agree on a new lease were “severely compromised.”

The Moyes filing said the $23-million subsidy was to be raised by creating a special district around the Jobing.com Arena and the neighbouring Westgate City Center in Glendale. There would be “voluntary” surcharges to retail sales in the district, as high as 11.5 per cent, although no details were given as to how this would be accomplished.

The Arizona Cardinals made it known on the weekend they are not happy with the idea of the surcharges. The NFL team’s stadium would be in the special district and team president Michael Bidwell was quoted in local media reports as saying it was not fair that Cardinal fans should have to pay for the Coyotes’ problems.

In addition, if the surcharges failed to raise the required amount, the city itself would have to pay the Coyotes. The Coyotes would also get the right to move after 2014 if the team operated at a net cash loss (it lost more than $60-million in the 2008-09 season) and the city refused to pay it $15-million per year. The document also said Glendale officials had so far refused to agree to the demands.

Daryl Jones, one of the leaders of the Ice Edge group, said they are not seeking the same kind of subsidies from Glendale, nor do they want an escape clause to let them move the team.

“We aren’t looking for concessions,” Mr. Jones said in an e-mail message. “We are looking for an enhanced long-term partnership with the city. We have also not contemplated an escape clause.”

Glendale Wants Moyes Held In Contempt

((HT: GlobeSports/Shoalts))

The City of Glendale and the NHL served notice that Monday afternoon’s emergency hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court will be a major brawl, with the city asking the court to find Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes ((pictured, thanks Arizona Republic file)) and his lawyers in contempt of court for disclosing confidential information and the NHL calling into question Jim Balsillie’s character.

In its declaration, the NHL said the league’s governors found Balsillie, the co-CEO of Research In Motion, “lacks the good character and integrity required” by the league’s constitution and by-laws. Earlier, the Balsillie camp charged that this was a charade created by the league because it did not want to see the Coyotes relocated to Hamilton and that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has a personal bias against Balsillie.

As a result of Moyes revealing some of the concessions the Jerry Reinsdorf group is seeking from the city – a demand for subsidies of $23-million (all currency U.S.) per year from 2010 until 2014 and $15-million a year after that plus an escape and relocation clause – lawyers for Glendale claimed in a court filing Monday morning that attempts to negotiate a lease with Reinsdorf and Ice Edge Holdings LLC, the other group interested in keeping the Coyotes in Glendale, were badly damaged.

The declaration said Reinsdorf threatened to withdraw his bid after he learned that the concessions he was demanding from Glendale city officials were revealed in a court filing last Friday by Moyes and his lawyers. Judge Redfield T. Baum, who will hear requests from the NHL and both Glendale bidders to postpone an auction sale scheduled for Wednesday, was asked to find Moyes and one of the law firms representing him in contempt of court because they knew the information was subject to a confidentiality agreement.

“Glendale is absolutely outraged that Moyes and the Jennings Strouss firm would intentionally disclose confidential information produced in discovery and willfully violate the court’s confidentiality order,” the document said.

Glendale city manager Ed Beasley, who is leading the negotiations with Reinsdorf, said in a declaration filed with the court that efforts to agree on a new lease were “severely compromised.”

Judge Baum was asked to bar Moyes and his lawyers from the sale process, in which an auction for bidders wishing to keep the team in Glendale will be held first, followed by one for bidders who want to relocate the team if both the Reinsdorf and Ice Edge bids are rejected.

“I believe that this disclosure has had and will have a chilling effect on the Glendale negotiations with Reinsdorf and potentially Ice Edge Holdings LLC,” Beasley said. “Reinsdorf has indicated that it might withdraw from the negotiations and the Glendale sale process.”

The Moyes filing said the $23-million subsidy was to be raised by creating a special district around the Jobing.com Arena and the neighbouring Westgate City Center in Glendale. There would be “voluntary” surcharges to retail sales in the district, as high as 11.5 per cent, although no details were given as to how this would be accomplished.

In addition, if the surcharges failed to raise the required amount, the city itself would have to pay the Coyotes. The Coyotes would also get the right to move after 2014 if the team operated at a net cash loss (it lost more than $60-million in the 2008-09 season) and the city refused to pay it $15-million per year. The document also said Glendale officials had so far refused to agree to the demands.

Daryl Jones, one of the leaders of the Ice Edge group, said they are not seeking the same kind of subsidies from Glendale, nor do they want an escape clause to let them move the team.

“We aren’t looking for concessions,” Jones said in an e-mail message. “We are looking for an enhanced long-term partnership with the city. We have also not contemplated an escape clause.”

Both the NHL and Glendale once again asked Judge Baum to postpone the first auction until early September to give the Reinsdorf and Ice Edge groups time to finish negotiating a new lease and new deals with creditors.

The NHL followed the Glendale accusations with a filing that responded to the accusations of a personal bias by Balsillie, who has offered $212.5-million for the team on the condition it be moved to Hamilton.

The NHL’s filing denied this and said Balsillie was rejected as a potential team owner last week because the league’s governors determined he lacked the proper character. Balsillie said Bettman’s resentment of him stemmed from an attempt to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2006 that fell apart after a disagreement about a clause in the deal that said the team could not be moved for seven years. Balsillie said this was inserted at the last minute, which the NHL denied, and withdrew his offer.

Moyes also took some shots from the NHL, which said he appears to be doing everything he can to scuttle the two Glendale bids in favour of Balsillie’s. Last week, Moyes and Balsillie both accused the league of stalling in order to subvert Balsillie’s bid.

In its filing on Monday morning, the NHL agreed the Penguins dispute played a role in Balsillie’s rejection. But the league also said the governors were angry about Balsillie’s conduct in a subsequent attempt to buy the Nashville Predators and for other dealings with league owners.

The NHL declaration said it would not use the word “grudge” in describing its rejection of Balsillie but “he is correct in that several of the owners formed an unfavourable opinion of him as a potential business partner well before his current attempt to buy the Coyotes. Those opinions were based largely on the owners’ personal dealings with Mr. Balsillie since the more favourable reception he received from the [governors’] executive commitee in 2006.”

During Monday’s hearing, lawyers for Balsillie are expected to ask Judge Baum not to postpone the relocation auction, which is set for September 10, even if he grants the requests to postpone the Glendale auction. They will also be seeking permission to examine Bettman and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly about the decision to reject Balsillie’s ownership application.

NHL: Moyes Holding Up Coyotes Sale

((HT: CBSSports))

The NHL is accusing Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes of trying to derail the sale of the team to a group headed by Jerry Reinsdorf by filing a flurry of requests for depositions before the July 24 deadline for formal submission of the bid.

The league also says another potential buyer for the team has surfaced. The NHL did not identify the would-be purchaser and said in documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court this week that it was uncertain whether the person's interest would lead to a formal offer to buy the club.

Reinsdorf, owner of baseball's Chicago White Sox and the NBA's Chicago Bulls, plans to submit a $148 million offer to buy the team and keep it in Glendale, where the team has lost more than $30 million in each of the last three seasons.

Despite the team's dismal history since moving from Winnipeg in 1996, the NHL contends the Coyotes can succeed in the desert with better management and more success on the ice.

Among those Moyes wants to question are Reinsdorf, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly, and Glendale city manager Ed Beasley.

The NHL, in a court filing this week, called the interview requests -- known as "Rule 2004 Motions" under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code "nothing more than Moyes' attempt to frustrate the sale of the Coyotes in Glendale."

While saying little about the purported new potential purchaser, the NHL said Moyes' requests for discovery -- testimony and other evidence -- "is intended to, and may in fact, chill any such bid."

Judge Redfield T. Baum has indicated repeatedly that he has little use for so-called "potential" purchasers until they've made their intentions known to the court.

Moyes backs Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie's offer to buy the team for $212.5 million and move it to Hamilton, Ontario. Under Moyes' Chapter 11 filing, he would receive $100 million as part of the Balsillie sale.

Moyes could wind up with little, if anything, under the Reinsdorf deal. The city of Glendale, in a court filing, contended the $100 million was not a loan to the team, as Moyes has characterized it, but should be considered equity, thereby removing it as a debtor obligation.

Glendale also has challenged the claims of Wayne Gretzky ((pictured, thanks GlobeSports file)), the team's coach and owner of a small share of the franchise, of $22.5 million under the Balsillie agreement. Court documents have shown Gretzky is paid about $7 million a year, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in sports.

Glendale has filed a "2004 Motion" to get depositions from Moyes and his wife Vickie, Gretzky, and others.

Baum scheduled a hearing Monday to sort out the latest claims in a case that, as of Thursday, had 419 filings on record since Moyes took the team into Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 5, to the surprise of the NHL.

Baum rejected Balsillie's initial bid to buy the team, citing the inability to meet the June 22 deadline imposed by the Canadian. This week, the judge signed an order setting out a dual track for selling the team.

First, the judge will accept bids to keep the team in Glendale with sale approval scheduled for Aug. 5. If there is no acceptable bid by then, the court will then consider offers to move the team, reopening the door for Balsillie.

Moyes, who considers himself the lead unsecured creditor, is seeking the release of details of Reinsdorf's bid as well as interviews with the parties involved to determine whether it is "a bona fide and good faith offer, and is in the best interest of the estate and all of its creditors."

The NHL characterizes the process sought by Moyes as a waste of time as the league works with the Reinsdorf group and Glendale to develop details of the bid under a tight timeline. The league said that the time for questioning those involved should come after the formal bid is submitted and the details are known.

"Until the Reinsdorf group presents a definitive proposal to acquire the Coyotes in Glendale, it will not only be meaningless to conduct discovery, but it will also waste precious time and resources," the NHL said.

Glendale wants to hold the Coyotes to the terms of the lease to play in Jobing.com Arena, which was built by the city for the hockey team. However, the Reinsdorf proposal hinges on reworking the team's agreements with the city to make it more favorable for the franchise.

That creates a tricky political environment for the city council, which would have to approve any new deal. The conservative Goldwater Institute has sued the city in state court after being denied access to records of Glendale's negotiations with Reinsdorf.

The institute successfully sued the city of Phoenix over subsidies given to developers of a shopping mall. That case is now before the Arizona Supreme Court.

Issues With Glendale- More Than One

((HT: Arizona Republic/Watters-Sanders via Howard Bloom))

Glendale claims it would be financially devastated should the Phoenix Coyotes bolt to Canada. But should a bankruptcy judge rule that the team stays, Glendale will likely be pressed to cough up more money for the struggling hockey franchise.

Court filings show the team and the National Hockey League for the past year have pressed for concessions. Attorneys for potential Coyotes buyer Jim Balsillie used Glendale's plight to push to relocate the team to Hamilton, Ontario.

In U.S. Bankruptcy Court this week, attorney Susan Freeman painted a dismal picture for the Coyotes in Glendale without city concessions.

She cited a survey conducted by the team that said 72 percent of Glendale residents would rather see the Coyotes leave than have the city make such concessions. The request for concessions put the city in a tough spot, politically and financially.

Glendale is making the payments on the $180 million borrowed to build an arena for the Coyotes off Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue. But there's little wiggle room.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute, currently litigating a case before the state Supreme Court involving a $100 million subsidy that Phoenix offered at the CityNorth shopping center, sent a letter to Glendale on Monday to let city officials know it is watching.

"As an organization dedicated to curtailing excessive government intervention in private economic matters, the Goldwater Institute has been paying very close attention," the letter read.

The institute cites media reports of a $15 million annual concession and the possibility Glendale would offer $25 million it has set aside for a parking facility.

Glendale City Manager Ed Beasley has repeatedly said concessions are not up for negotiation.

But court documents filed by team associates say Beasley was repeatedly asked, and eventually agreed, to forfeit city funds to the financially struggling franchise.

Beasley did not return a call from The Arizona Republic seeking comment.

Gary Husk, contracted to speak on behalf of the city during the bankruptcy proceedings, said that Beasley never agreed to the concessions.

"The city can't agree unless it's publicly acted on," he said.

Husk said Glendale is willing to talk about opportunities to enhance revenue, not concede money from the city.

"If you can bring more money into the pot, that has an equal economic impact," Husk said.

Along those lines, the city hired Gerald Sheehan with Beacon Sports Capital Partners, who said the team already had a lucrative contract with the city.

He identified ways for the team to reduce expenses and generate revenue.

But the Coyotes still asked, according to court documents:

Former Coyotes CEO Jeff Shumway said he visited Beasley in June 2008 to seek more-favorable lease terms for the team to collect parking revenue at Jobing.com Arena. By July, he said, he asked for $12.5 million in annual concessions.

Shumway said that by fall, the specter of the team's bankruptcy was raised to Beasley.

In a November meeting with team officials and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Beasley proposed the team add a ticket surcharge to collect more funds. Bettman said that wasn't a viable option and got Beasley to agree to as much as $15 million in concessions, although only with new ownership in place, Shumway's filing says.

By March, Beasley told Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes and his attorney, Earl Scudder, that "he had determined methods by which Glendale could provide an annual subsidy of $14.6 million," Scudder said in a court filing.

Scudder said Beasley told them a buyer needed to be identified before he would take the proposal to the City Council.

By April, Scudder said, the team's request for concessions rose to $20 million. "I pointed out to Mr. Beasley that this was the same amount requested by Jerry Reinsdorf," Scudder said in the filing.

Reinsdorf, who owns the Chicago White Sox, is one of four potential buyers identified as interested in keeping the team in Glendale.

Scudder said the city manager told him a subsidy of that magnitude couldn't be approved by the City Council and would require a vote of residents.

Council members say they were not updated on negotiations between the city and the team until May 5, the same day that Moyes filed for bankruptcy.

Glendale City Manager Ed Beasley is being accused in a court filing of aiming to destroy a sensitive document to keep it out of the public eye.

Former Coyotes CEO Jeff Shumway claims Beasley said he would "tear up" a letter from Shumway and "pretend that he never received it," according to a sworn declaration Shumway filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court recently.

Beasley said the letter, sent to him and the city attorney, had "caused problems for Glendale," the declaration states.

Glendale spokesman Gary Husk, hired by the city to speak on Coyotes matters, denied Shumway's account. He declined to specify which parts were untrue.

"At best, he (Shumway) has a poor recollection of events," Husk said. "At worst, he has distorted the truth in order to protect his own interests."

Shumway's letter, dated September 14, 2008, said he had requested repeatedly over several months to restructure the team's lease at Jobing.com Arena, but that Beasley had not agreed to begin those negotiations. Shumway claimed the team was losing millions of dollars each year because of the arena lease, which included giving the city as much as $2.5 million annually from ticket revenues.

"When things weren't progressing at all and Ed wouldn't even say, 'No,' I sent that letter," Shumway said in an interview.

After threatening to "tear up" the letter, Beasley asked Shumway to "withdraw" it, according to the court filing, "so that he could approach the City Council in his own way."

Shumway consented, but Beasley did not notify council members. They learned of the city's negotiations on May 5, the day the team filed for bankruptcy.

Destroying Shumway's letter would have been illegal under Arizona public records law. It's not clear what Glendale officials did with the letter after Shumway's meeting.

Even if Shumway had retracted the letter, Glendale would need to keep a copy and note its withdrawal, said Liz Hill, the state's assistant ombudsmen for public access.