Post by leafster on May 12, 2010 14:15:09 GMT -5
Winnipeg not in the cards. For now.
May 12, 2010 2:54 AM
By Scott Morrison
So the City of Glendale did the expected, about the only thing they could do really, and voted unanimously to cover the NHL's losses for next season if the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes falls through.
There really wasn't a plausible option if you think about it. Keeping the Coyotes alive, keeping them as a tenant in the Jobing.com Arena and keeping them as a source of revenue to pay down the city's debt load was the only option the civic fathers had.
If the team is sold, the city is off the hook. If they aren't sold, Glendale has agreed to cover up to $25 million US worth of losses. Imagine that: the NHL has its own cap with which to deal. But again, the city is in deep with the rink development, so what's another few million to try to protect a source of revenue long term?
All of which means a move to Winnipeg is not in the cards. For now, at least. My words, not the NHL's.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said after the council meeting Tuesday night, in which the vote was 7-0, that the Coyotes would not be moving.
For now, at least. My words, not Daly's.
What this decision by the city has done is give Glendale time to negotiate a new lease agreement with a potential buyer. Daly told council he expected a transaction could be completed by the end of June, with the sale expected to close in the fall. He also said the NHL and the city were willing to deal with both Jerry Reinsdorf, who was their preferred owner, and Ice Edge Holdings.
Reading between the lines, since Daly is confident that a sale is going to be completed within weeks and that Reinsdorf's lawyer was at the council meeting, sitting with the NHL group, it would seem fair to assume that Reinsdorf will be the buyer. But then the city has already turned away from a potential sale/lease agreement, so who knows how it will shake down.
A report has already surfaced that neither side will buy the team, that there will not be anyone interested in buying the Coyotes to keep them in Phoenix, and that the NHL will then decide to move the franchise to either Kansas City or Las Vegas.
As much as it might make sense, especially when you consider the league hasn't been able to finalize a sale for many months now, there is now no rush for the NHL. Glendale will cover the losses and they have bought the NHL time to plot the future of the franchise if no deal is done in the next month or so.
And it would be mean that Daly sold the council a bill of goods by saying the league would keep the team in Phoenix for the year if it received the insurance policy from the city. I just can't see it playing out that way.
However, what the council approved Tuesday night was to give the city manager the authority to negotiate a deal to satisfy the NHL's financial requirements, so that still has to happen and the lease has to happen and the sale has to happen. And one is left to wonder, if the city is prepared to have losses up to $25 million next season, what exactly is the attraction of keeping the team in Phoenix if you are an interested buyer?
Anyway, there is obviously much still to unfold in Phoenix, but it seems the folks in Winnipeg can at least turn the page. At least for a year. My words, not the NHL's.
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www.cbc.ca/sports/blogs/scottmorrison/2010/05/winnipeg-loses-out-for-now.html
May 12, 2010 2:54 AM
By Scott Morrison
So the City of Glendale did the expected, about the only thing they could do really, and voted unanimously to cover the NHL's losses for next season if the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes falls through.
There really wasn't a plausible option if you think about it. Keeping the Coyotes alive, keeping them as a tenant in the Jobing.com Arena and keeping them as a source of revenue to pay down the city's debt load was the only option the civic fathers had.
If the team is sold, the city is off the hook. If they aren't sold, Glendale has agreed to cover up to $25 million US worth of losses. Imagine that: the NHL has its own cap with which to deal. But again, the city is in deep with the rink development, so what's another few million to try to protect a source of revenue long term?
All of which means a move to Winnipeg is not in the cards. For now, at least. My words, not the NHL's.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said after the council meeting Tuesday night, in which the vote was 7-0, that the Coyotes would not be moving.
For now, at least. My words, not Daly's.
What this decision by the city has done is give Glendale time to negotiate a new lease agreement with a potential buyer. Daly told council he expected a transaction could be completed by the end of June, with the sale expected to close in the fall. He also said the NHL and the city were willing to deal with both Jerry Reinsdorf, who was their preferred owner, and Ice Edge Holdings.
Reading between the lines, since Daly is confident that a sale is going to be completed within weeks and that Reinsdorf's lawyer was at the council meeting, sitting with the NHL group, it would seem fair to assume that Reinsdorf will be the buyer. But then the city has already turned away from a potential sale/lease agreement, so who knows how it will shake down.
A report has already surfaced that neither side will buy the team, that there will not be anyone interested in buying the Coyotes to keep them in Phoenix, and that the NHL will then decide to move the franchise to either Kansas City or Las Vegas.
As much as it might make sense, especially when you consider the league hasn't been able to finalize a sale for many months now, there is now no rush for the NHL. Glendale will cover the losses and they have bought the NHL time to plot the future of the franchise if no deal is done in the next month or so.
And it would be mean that Daly sold the council a bill of goods by saying the league would keep the team in Phoenix for the year if it received the insurance policy from the city. I just can't see it playing out that way.
However, what the council approved Tuesday night was to give the city manager the authority to negotiate a deal to satisfy the NHL's financial requirements, so that still has to happen and the lease has to happen and the sale has to happen. And one is left to wonder, if the city is prepared to have losses up to $25 million next season, what exactly is the attraction of keeping the team in Phoenix if you are an interested buyer?
Anyway, there is obviously much still to unfold in Phoenix, but it seems the folks in Winnipeg can at least turn the page. At least for a year. My words, not the NHL's.
-------
www.cbc.ca/sports/blogs/scottmorrison/2010/05/winnipeg-loses-out-for-now.html