DEVELOPING STORY: Reinsdorf Bid Approved By Glendale Over Ice Edge

((HT: TSN))

The Glendale City Council has voted in favor of a proposed arena lease agreement submitted by a group headed by Jerry Reinsdorf ((pictured, thanks Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)) that is seeking to buy the Phoenix Coyotes. The council rejected a plan submitted by Ice Edge Holdings, a group of Canadian and U.S. investors looking to do the same thing as the Reinsdorf group.

Reinsdorf's group, known as Glendale Hockey, must now reach an agreement with the NHL, which purchased the team in bankruptcy court last year.

Proposals from both groups would change the team name to either the Glendale Coyotes or Arizona Coyotes, with the NHL's approval, and would keep the team in Glendale.

According to KPNX-TV/12News Brahm Resnik, through his Twitter page, John Kaites was the representative for the Reinsdorf group for the vote while Anthony LeBlanc was present for Ice Edge. The Ice Edge vote, while apparently the choice of the fans attending, was voted down 5-1 while the Reinsdorf vote was a 6-0 in favor.

LeBlanc thanked the fans outside the meeting who supported their bid for the Coyotes. According to Resnik, it's the "end of the road" for IEH.

John Kaites claimed outside the meeting that everything should be finalized between Reinsdorf and the City of Glandale within the next 60-90 days. He also referred to the five-year "out clause" as an "assessment period."

The HQ reminds Kaites that it's an "out clause."

In the interim, here's Lauren Shehadi and Wes Goldstein previewing the Desert Dogs Round One playoff series with the Detroit Red Wings...

Gee, thanks for that one...
((HT: CBSSports))

Round 3: PHX To WPG, Reinsdorf Back In...???

((HT: GlobeSports/Willis))

Ice Edge Holdings seems to be in a race against time with the City of Glendale to reach an appropriate lease agreement with the City of Glendale over Jobing.com Arena.

Thursday is a deadline given for either Ice Edge or a Jerry Reinsdorf/John Kaites group to get to the finish line. The City, according to Willis, is willing to extend the deadline if negotiations are going in a positive direction.

Lease negotiations have been handled by the National Hockey League and all indications are leaning toward the Reinsdorf gambit- as has been the feeling of some of OSG's sources close to the Coyotes' situation since the beginning of all of this jibber-jabber dating back to Jim Balsillie.

But... Reinsdorf may be looking for a special tax district near the arena if he is the chosen one. That would dredge up the thought again where Reinsdorf would create a White Sox spring training facility nearby as part of a package deal.

So, then, what about Ice Edge and Mark Chipman...???

Chipman will continue to lobby the League for another troubled franchise- plenty of whom are available as the HQ has discussed in recent days.

Ice Edge may be SOL in all of this...

Here's the history that Winnipeg is chasing... the day the team went up "For Sale."
Michael Landsberg, with more hair than present, anchors coverage for TSN...


Here's Coyotes captain Shane Doan addressing the whole leaving-not leaving situation in front of a bunch of Canadian microphones recently...
((HT: FS Arizona/Todd Walsh))

PM UPDATE: Mike Sunnucks at the Phoenix Business Journal allows that the National Hockey League will not own the Phoenix Coyotes for another season and that they're really looking at having a new owner in place by June.

Really looking...

Remember Ice Edge is looking for their deal with the Saskatoon gambit and Jerry Reinsdorf, in addition to his tax district, wants an out clause if the team's finances still are south of profitable...

Sources tell Sunnucks that the League is not interested in renewing its jobing.com arena lease or any contracts after the fiscal year ends.

The Phoenix Business Journal also is floating the Coyotes-to-Kansas City idea, but the HQ thinks that the Islanders are still the number one contender for that move...

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...

Coyotes Bid Highlights

((HT: Arizona Republic/Watters))

Friday's bid deadline for the Coyotes included one bid and a near-bid.

A group of Canadian and American investors who came forward earlier this month with interest in the bankrupt franchise filed a letter of intent to bid up to $150 million, according to those close to the deal.

As expected, sports mogul Jerry Reinsdorf waded in with a bid worth up to $148 million.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said he was pleased to see that offers to purchase the team were filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

"We look forward to continuing the review and approval process," he said

At stake is whether the Coyotes, who moved to the Valley in 1996, will remain at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale.

The city and league have spent three months battling to keep the team in place.

The court could decide neither bid satisfies creditors and launch a second auction Sept. 10 for buyers interested in relocating the team.

The judge will review bids at an auction Aug. 5.

Daryl Jones, leading the Canadian-American investment group, said they should have a detailed bid to the judge by that date.

The group missed the court's June 26 deadline to submit term sheets outlining offers and now Friday's bid deadline.

Jones said the missed deadlines are because the group began reviewing the team's finances just three weeks ago.

"As excited as we are about this, we can't make major decisions in this time frame," he said.

Friday's filing attempted to show the judge the group is serious, he said.

Judge Redfield T. Baum has made it clear he would seek the best possible deal, and if Bill Gates walked in with an offer he couldn't refuse, he wouldn't.

"The only person that can determine the viability of a bid is Judge Baum," said Steve Roman, a spokesman for team owner Jerry Moyes.

Bid highlights

• Reinsdorf group: Glendale Hockey LLC would include Reinsdorf, Valley attorney John Kaites and former sports executive Tony Tavares.

The group was negotiating to buy the team before Moyes filed put the team for bankruptcy May 5.

Their offer reportedly followed the term sheet submitted last month which included negotiating new agreements with secured creditors such as the NHL and an affiliate of computer entrepreneur Michael Dell's MSD Capital, as well as unsecured creditors such as arena vendors.

Not included in the bid is money for Moyes, who wants paid at least a portion of the $104 million in loans he says he made to the team.

Those loans are just a portion of the investment Moyes made during his eight-year stint with the club. He estimates losing more than $300 million.

• Jones group: Ice Edge Holdings LLC should include about six investors. Among them are Jones and Keith McCullough, both from Research Edge, a Connecticut-based firm.

Jones declined to name other investors, although he said at least one was from the Phoenix area. The group also wants to keep Coyotes coach and minority owner Wayne Gretzky.

Said Jones: "He's been underutilized, and we have some plans and ideas."

He said he's talked to Gretzky about maintaining his head-coaching spot as well as taking a larger ownership stake and involvement in operations.

"He hasn't agreed, but we hope he will be a partner," Jones said.

Glendale Courted Reinsdorf For Coyotes

((HT: Arizona Republic/Harris and Watters))

Hours before Jerry Moyes put the Phoenix Coyotes into bankruptcy court Tuesday and agreed to sell the team to a Canadian millionaire, Glendale was working on a deal to have Chicago sports executive Jerry Reinsdorf, along with other investors, take over the hockey franchise.

"The city of Glendale is working with interested parties and one of those parties we had a conversation with was Mr. Reinsdorf," Ed Beasley, Glendale city manager, said Wednesday. "We are working with the (NHL) league and will aggressively work to keep this team in Glendale and the state of Arizona."

Beasley declined to provide additional details on negotiations with Reinsdorf, a part-time Paradise Valley resident who, through a spokesman, declined to comment. Reinsdorf is majority owner of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and baseball's Chicago White Sox, who this year moved their spring training facility from Tucson to Camelback Ranch, which Glendale built.

Phoenix attorney John Kaites said that he began putting together a team of investors and approached the city and team six months ago about taking over and keeping the Coyotes in Glendale.

Kaites, who represents the White Sox among other sports teams, declined to say who or how many investors were involved.

"It's a robust group, and that is what it's going to take to save the team," he said.

Kaites said he met with National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman in Phoenix on Tuesday.

For weeks, Reinsdorf had been courted to run the Coyotes, and the NHL was working with Glendale to broker a deal. The city had hoped Reinsdorf's extensive experience in running championship sports teams would resurrect the Coyotes, who have made the playoffs just once since Moyes became an investor.

Although Kaites has a long history with Reinsdorf, the attorney would not say if Reinsdorf was part of the group. Kaites said each partner would contribute equally, and each had an extensive background in sports.

"There's a really big desire on the part of our group to be involved in Glendale," Kaites said.

He would not say whether the investment group would need concessions from the city, but he did say it would take a "huge effort from this entire community to make this work."

Kaites said he and others in the investment group would "do what is necessary and reasonable," but would not engage in a bidding war for the team.

"We just sit back now and wait for it to be resolved between the team, the city and Jerry Moyes," Kaites said.

Here's how the Balsillie salvo was reported on "After 40 Minutes" on CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada" Tuesday night.
((HT: CBC/NHL))