Has Scruggs Had Enough...??? Are The Coyotes Really Done...???

((HT: KPNX-TV Phoenix))

Since Matthew Hulsizer pulled out of the latest deal to buy the Phoenix Coyotes, the team that calls Glendale home is now on the clock...

And, yes, we know people in Atlanta are now kicking themselves over this one...

But now with the NHL and Glendale pointing fingers over who caused the Hulsizer exit, Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs either sees the writing or is trying to court Jerry Reinsdorf one last time before she has to figure out whether out another US$25-million can come from city coffers...

Kevin Kennedy got a sitdown with the mayor...


So, the larger question is: Where do they go since Winnipeg is out of play...? Quebec City...??? Kansas City...??? The options are slim and he's heading out of town...

DEVELOPING: Glendale May Buy More Time From Bettman...

((HT: Arizona Republic, Sanders))

Rebekah Sanders has been front and center to all of this Coyotes-will-they-or-won't-they move stuff...

The new revelation from her digging is that the City of Glendale may buy more time from the NHL to either settle, or not settle, their reworked deal among themselves, Matthew Hulsizer, and the Goldwater Institute.

There is no idea at present how much more time US$25-million will buy from the National Hockey League, but we'll know more after the Tuesday vote at the new City of Glendale council meeting...

Maybe one more year...

2315 UPDATE: In a conversation with TSN's Dave Naylor released through his Twitter feed, Glendale City Councilman Phil Leiberman thinks: "I think it may pass 7-0 or 6-1. All of us want to buy more time."

Actually, not ALL of you...

Also, Puck Daddy has the versions of truth from the Phoenix Business Journal and the Winnipeg Sun...

Mike Sunnucks from the PBJ has a quote from Bill Daly...

“As we have for the past two-plus years, we have been working very closely with the city of Glendale to do everything possible to ensure the Coyotes’ future in Glendale. At the city’s request, we have agreed to pursue another one-year interim arrangement while we jointly pursue a long-term ownership solution. We remain confident that one exists, and we intend to continue to pursue it.”

And the Winnipeg Sun piece from Paul Friesen surmises that Hulsizer wouldn't have been interested in closing the deal this year, anyway, because he wouldn't have been a party to the revenue sharing at the league level or his arena payment for managing jobing.com arena...

Forbes.com's Mike Ozanian was reporting Hulsizer was shifting his gaze to the St. Louis Blues, but his Peak6 partners are denying that move in quotes with the Globe and Mail's Eric Duhatschek.

More when we know more...

Another Glendale-Coyotes Vote Tuesday...???

((HT: Arizona Republic, Sanders))

That's a possibility since the City of Glendale thinks its deal with Matthew Hulsizer has advanced from the stage of floating over US$116-million in bonds to, about, half that in a reworked version of the deal...

Tuesday would be the earliest time for a new version of the vote and an approval of the shaky-at-best financing.

There are two roadblocks if the proposal heads to a Tuesday reconsideration...

1) The Goldwater Institute, in all likelihood, would still pursue a lawsuit against the City of Glendale if there's any kind of bond financing and,
2) Moody's, the outfit that gives bond ratings, withdrew their rating. The bonds would have to go back on the market for the company to give any kind of designation.

None of the current bonds have sold...

The agenda for Tuesday should be disclosed some time Friday in Glendale...
More when we know more...

DEVELOPING: Thrashers Sale Price Is US$110M

((HT: Forbes.com/Ozanian))

The resident sports guy at Forbes is Mike Ozanian...

His talking to sources close to the/any proposed sale of the Thrash to anyone willing to pay pennies on the dollar looks like US$110-million to keep the team in town. That group would have Tom Glavine as part of the investor block...

The Thrash, according to Ozanian, would pay a flat-rate fee for rent to Philips since the Hawks are the franchise repsonsible for the arena bond payments.

With the decision on the Coyotes due today one way or the other, according to OSG sources, the next move for franchise relocation could fall to the Thrash. If Glendale, Goldwater, and an owner agree on terms ((which the HQ severely doubts)), then True North Sports and Entertainment would offer US$170M for the Thrash and ship them to Winnipeg.

US$60-million would be to the NHL for a relocation fee...

More when we know more...

Bettman Addresses Glendale Situation

((HT: JHendrix70/TSN/Arizona Republic-Sanders))

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has come out to address the ongoing Goldwater Institute versus The City of Glendale tete-a-tete...

And, naturally, he's coming out on the side of the bird in the hand...

"It's time for Goldwater to stand down," he said at a meeting with civic leaders. "In light of their conduct in this matter, I question whether this is really an organization concerned with the public interest."

And that is one thing public leaders never seem to understand...
Don't poke the bear...

Bettman did admit that time is running out on the timetable ((whatever it is)) to keep the Coyotes in town and that the league may have to move the team if the Goldwater/Glendale war of words and deeds doesn't stop soon.

Goldwater has also wanted to hold open discussions with the NHL and the City, but not all parties have responded in the affirmative...

Here's TSN Insider Dave Naylor on the latest...


Bissonnette is priceless...

For those of you whose eyes glaze over on the details, here's the short version...

Glendale would sell bonds to pay Hulsizer $100 million to buy the team. That money gets paid off by charging for parking during arena events. Glendale also pays Hulsizer and his group to manage the arena.

Hulsizer keeps the team in Glendale until 2041, pays rent, shares revenues if the team turned a profit ((which it never has come even close to doing)) and purchase the arena at the end of the lease for $40 million.

If the arena is worth that much by then...

Here's Bettman talking about the situation with Dave Strader...
((HT: NHL/FSArizona/MikosWPG))

Glendale Still Blaming Goldwater

Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs is accusing Goldwater Institute of "significantly hindering" completion of the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to Matthew Hulsizer.

Again...

Scruggs made the accusation at a news conference saying the city has provided the institute with thousands of pages of documents- 400 pages of stuff since last week.

Here's a podcast of her presser where she didn't take any questions...

Again... interesting that it was posted on the Coyotes website...

Scruggs is also hot over the idea that Goldwater is telling any bond-rating agencies that the city's agreement on a new lease for the Coyotes violates the Arizona constitution, and to stay as far away from it as possible.

In response, the Goldwater Institute referred to an Op-Ed piece in Thursday's Arizona Republic by institute president Darcy Olsen saying it would be wrong to give Glendale "a free pass" to break state law.

From Olsen's Op-Ed:
According to Moody's, the credit-rating agency, Glendale's mounting debt already is triple the national median for cities of its size.

Is it any wonder that Moody's downgraded Glendale's debt when it caught wind of the city's plan to issue another $116 million in bonds? Moody's said the "municipal market faces credit pressure not seen since the Great Depression." I suppose Moody's should back off, too.

Here's an interview TSN's Geno Reda had with Winnipeg Free Press Writer Gary Lawless on the latest salvo in she said-they said from Reda's "That's Hockey"...
((HT: TSN/youtube))


Remember, Goldwater is also exposing the review of the bond benefits by TL Hocking on jobing.com arena as a shenanigan since the publicly-funded arena that hosts the CHL's Arizona Sundogs is turning out not to meet financial expectations, either.

Hocking wrote that report...

BREAKING: Goldwater Gives Thumbs Down To Appraiser Hired By Glendale

((HT: KPNX-TV Phoenix/12News))

12News' resident bulldog, Brahm Resnik, relays some really big information on the possibility of the validity of any parking fee bonds appraisal that the City of Glendale wants to float for the intended sale of the franchise to Matthew Hulsizer...

The Goldwater Institute, Arizona's legal watchdog, says that the group that was consulted to crunch the numbers involved in the parking fees ((and their possible benefits)) is, currently, a party in a lawsuit involving the development of an arena outside of the Phoenix metro area- the home of the Arizona Sundogs...

Allstate Life Insurance Company filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Arizona in September of 2009.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants "misrepresented and failed to disclose material factual information that indicated the event center could not generate sufficient operating revenues and sales tax revenues to make the project economically feasible."

Allstate claims they got "false and misleading" information that gave the company the idea they were getting "A- rated" securities when it was determined the arena was not profitable and wasn't meeting expectations when it came to dates and events that could be housed at the Prescott Valley Event Center.

Joyce Lobeck of the Yuma Sun has the background hyah...

Resnik talks through a long file tape with the mega-important info...


TL Hocking's review is hyah... it's a bunch of numbers that claim a bunch of money can be made...

BREAKING: Coyotes Public Bond Issue Fails

((HT: Sportsnet Radio/Fan 590 Toronto))

Sportsnet Radio THE FAN 590's Bob McCown is reporting that sources close to the Phoenix Coyotes situation are telling him that the public bond issue involving the team in the city of Glendale has failed.

Once again, this puts the long-term viability of the team in the suburban Phoenix area in doubt. Matthew Hulsizer was in line to purchase the team from the National Hockey League with subsidies thrown in by the city of Glendale itself totaling an asking price of US$142-million.

Now, apparently, everything is back a few steps in the process...

More when we know more...

Here's the last Coyotes game on ice as a distraction...
Edmonton's win over the Desert Dogs last night...
((HT: NHL Video/FSCoyotes))

TWTW: OSG Is Glendale Saturday

The weekend in the desert is more a quiet time and sequestering for any of us trying to cover a national title game...

But "The Social Experiment" continues in earnest...

Let's get in to this whole "War Eagle" greeting-thing...

Oregon fans don't quack at each other, but Auburn fans, alums, and such make a point to greet each other and, in passing, say "War Eagle." And you're almost obligated to return the greeting unconsciously. And it's something they all do to one another- especially if you're dressed in team colors...

It's like what those of us who took Spanish in high school learned about the word "Carramba!" it can mean anything and everything from "Oy vey!" to "Ugh" and anything in between- cursing or otherwise.

From what the HQ has learned, the game on Monday night may be 70-percent Auburn faithful and the entire state seems to be in attendance- ticket in hand or otherwise. It's an opportunity for everyone at Click-Clack central to litter Arizona with their UA and tell Phil Knight to stick it once and for all.

TBH's party group from the Loveliest Village is ten strong out here. I was next to a guy who looked like he was coordinating his old fraternity with a six-page, fully-sectioned Excel spreadsheet. The only thing missing there was the paragraphs on the back of each one with captions in place.

So, in lieu of anything football in a lips-zipped shut weekend, TBH and I went to the Coyotes-Sabres game over at the hockey arena ((Coyotes goalie Jason LaBarbera is, temporarily, by himself, thanks to me)).
And the issues were easy to identify where the future of the Desert Dogs are concerned. We all know that Matthew Hulsizer is in process of purchasing the club from the league itself. The team won 50 games last year, but ran into Detroit in Round One. That resulted in the standard quick exit. The Buffalo Sabres were in town at Westgate, and the crowd was half Sabres fans in an arena that seats 17,125 for hockey and lacrosse.

The place was, probably, 70-percent full and at least half of that group was snowbird Sabres fans. When the game-winning goal was scored in overtime, the Sabres fans went berserk. It was a duel between the Coyotes fans and Sabres fans as to which group could be loudest- the Sabres fans won.

Here's your highlights from our friends at FSArizona and the NHL...


Don't get me wrong... seeing Ed Jovanovski get props for playing in his 1,000th game was cool. He got a watch and a golf vacation- for the record. But when you see the lower section look like this in the endzones- it's a huge problem. And I'm not even talking about just how dead the club level was... ((proof is off to your right, thanks again to me))

And who is that spends money...??? Not the folks who were looking for cheap tickets that filled the upper part of the tank from one end to the other...

Tell you something... I dragged TBH to the game as part of her continuing education of the sport. Hey, it was either there or driving to see an Arizona Sundogs game 80 miles from Phoenix to watch the Hansen Brothers pick up another paycheck. She knew who Ryan Miller was from his tour as goalie for Team USA in Vancouver- and that's a good pull. She wouldn't have been able to pick Tim Connolly or Lauri Korpikoski out of a line-up given two hints in three guesses, but she followed Miller.

Want to know how much we paid for 19th row tickets...???
Forty bucks... with service and handling charge...

This reaffirms one of two things... either I know an ancient secret to get killer tickets to an NHL game, or the franchise is in trouble well west of a metropolitan area that no one can travel to, realistically, 45 or so games a year unless you live close-by. It was a 20-minute run for TBH and myself and the hotel we're staying in IS IN GLENDALE...

If the Hulsizer sale goes through and the City of Glendale continues to eat the costs for this billion-dollar boondoggle, I would think there's a clause that would grant him the idea of clearing out within a few seasons of the continued financial hemorrhaging that goes on with this group on ice.

This is only one of several franchises in the NHL that needs a better home. The only way the Coyotes are safe in the desert long-term would be to do the impossible- move back downtown. But we all know that won't happen...

And that's sad... for a young franchise that is trying to turn the corner quickly...
Whether it's quick enough is the larger question...

Back to The Social Experiment tomorrow...

Ice Edge moves forward...Coyotes may stay put...

((ht:fanhouse))

We may finally have a winner in the Phoenix Coyotes ownership derby.

Yes, we know that this has been said before and yes, it may not be the last time we say it either. But, on Friday afternoon, the group that is stepping up to the plate, Ice Edge Holdings, got what they were looking for; a memo of understanding with the city of Glendale.

That memo will give them 60 days of exclusive negotiating time to come up with a lease deal that will work for them and the city of Glendale, where the Coyotes are currently located.

More from Fanhouse.com RIGHT HERE

((Phoenix Coyotes Logo//Courtesy: worldspantoursandtravel.com))

The next step in this process comes on Tuesday, when the Glendale city council takes up the memo and Ice Edge will have to prove that they have the financing to pull off the deal for the team and arena lease.

Hopefully, this will all work out and a deal will be done. We've reported on this story ad nauseum and we are ready for it to come to an end.

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...

Most Coyotes Documents To Remain Sealed

((HT: Arizona Republic/Sanders))

Glendale must immediately reveal a sliver of documents related to Phoenix Coyotes negotiations that the city asked a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to review. But in a ruling Friday, the judge allowed 90 percent of the records to remain sealed.

Of 322 pages detailing talks between Glendale officials and interested buyers of the NHL team, only 35 must be made public, Judge Edward Burke decided.

Glendale has been fighting to keep its discussions under wraps, while the Goldwater Institute has been pressing in court to open them up.

The institute says taxpayers should know, in time to make objections, whether Glendale will offer money as a deal-sweetener with a new owner in order to keep the team playing at city-owned Jobing.com Arena ((pictured, thanks ballparks.com)).

Glendale says such incentives aren't on the table and that the public will be able to review any deal before it goes to the City Council for a vote.

After reading the sealed documents, Burke concluded the city has not yet clinched a deal with the two groups aiming to take over the Coyotes. Until that time, the "disclosure of the majority of the documents," he said, "would have a devastating impact on the city's ability to negotiate with the bidders."

Chicago White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and his investor team have offered $148 million for the bankrupt hockey franchise. A group of American and Canadian backers, under the name Ice Edge Holdings, say they intend to bid $150 million and propose splitting Coyotes games between Glendale and a city in Canada. Both groups say the team would remain based in the Valley.

Burke noted each group has stated team ownership depends on negotiating with Glendale.

The city must release the remaining 288 documents as soon as officials decide to bring a proposal to the City Council, not when a meeting agenda is posted, the judge ordered.

He said he was concerned whether the Goldwater Institute and Glendale taxpayers would "have sufficient time to digest, analyze and prepare to comment on any proposed agreement and/or concessions."

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.

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.”