Well, without much surprise, the "Cupcake Summit" did not result in a settlement of the differences between the Goldwater Institute and the City of Glendale and the Phoenix Coyotes remain in limbo. As Seth has eloquently pointed out, however, the Summit did do a fine job of making sure that Goldwater looks like a "watchdog" that has brought a rubberband gun to a shootout. I encourage everyone to listen to the audio, read the transcript and review Goldwater's "7 Issues and 7 Solutions" document and make your own decisions.
The takeaway to me is that it appears Glendale and Matthew Hulsizer (who certainly looks the best coming away from the Summit from everything I've seen/heard) are going to try and get this deal finalized, get the bonds sold and simply deal with Goldwater when/if they bring a lawsuit. Is there a valid challenge to the deal? It looks like we are getting to the point where it will be put up/shut up for Goldwater, and really that would be progress in this whole ordeal.
For a group that was so insistent that everything happens in front of the press, my thoughts are that Goldwater does not come off looking great here, so perhaps they would've been best allowing this meeting to happen behind closed doors and trying to spin it however they want. Personally, I'm not surprised that Matthew Hulsizer left early nor that he seemed aggravated by the way he was treated by Goldwater Institute.
At this point, it's still wait and see for the Phoenix Coyotes and their fans. The commentary today from Don Maloney and Dave Tippett is encouraging as both feel the team will be back. My impression from speaking with Mr. Hulsizer on the concourse before game four is that the deal is going to get done.
Goldwater's stretched their 15 minutes of fame about as far as it is going to go. What will really be interesting is whether the bonds sell and whether Hulsizer and Glendale sue Goldwater for tortious interference - that will be an interesting lawsuit. I can't wait to see Goldwater start fighting discovery requests if Hulsizer and Glendale start asking Goldwater who they were talking to that may have effected the City's bond ratings.
Personally, I'm ready to focus on free agents, the draft and what the Coyotes need to do to win a playoff series next year (avoiding Detroit in the first round would be a good first start).
This is an ordeal that's been ongoing for about two years longer than it should have by any reasonable analysis. Although there's still not a definite answer, my take is that we're closer than ever to a resolution and I think that resolution will be the Coyotes staying. But, hey, I picked the Coyotes to win in 6 games over Detroit so perhaps I should just stay out of prognosticating.