SB Nation Arizona - NHL Commish Bettman Attempts To Save Coyotes Dealhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46593/arizona-fave.png2011-03-09T11:32:37-07:00http://arizona.sbnation.com/rss/stream/17964502011-03-09T11:32:37-07:002011-03-09T11:32:37-07:00Coyotes Sale Update From Gary Bettman: No Deadline, No Deal Changes, No Accountability From Goldwater Institute
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/P6ofBQ524D9vVwaMjMr-870A4J4=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828097/large_arizona.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>We are not sure what exactly was accomplished by yesterday's unexpected appearance by NFL commissioner Gary Bettman in Glendale. He meet with some of the parties involved -- although not with the Goldwater Institute since they refuse to meet outside a press conference -- and provided an update on the situation. That update basically came down to this: the deal isn't changing and the city and Matthew Hulsizer and the NHL are moving forward...perhaps.</p>
<p>While Bettman wouldn't put a firm timetable on what happens next, he also made it clear that this can't continue to drag on.</p>
<p>"Time is running out, and we are getting close to the end. I will not today say when the end is, and I will not today set a deadline, but at some point we may have no choice but to begin pursuing our other alternatives. Simply stated, this situation must be resolved," Bettman <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/morning_call/2011/03/nhl-hulsizer-playing-coyotes-hand.html" target="_blank">told reporters</a> during a press conference before Tuesday's game.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.foxsportsarizona.com/pages/video?PID=U_Ej7FAQtlDZ7vIS85vV5zfI5kpOlFWl" target="_blank">this interview </a>with Fox Sports Arizona, Bettman questions how the Goldwater Institute can be "this obstructionist". GWI's two main points of contention relate to the parking fees that would be generated if those rights were sold to the city.</p>
<p>Both the Glendale and the NHL claim GWI is wrong on their legal assertions regarding the deal and question who and why the private institute can block the sale of the financing bonds without actually filing a lawsuit challenging the proposed deal.</p>
<p><i>Video of Bettman's full <a href="http://www.foxsportsarizona.com/pages/video?PID=U_Ej7FAQtlDZ7vIS85vV5zfI5kpOlFWl" target="_blank">press conference can be seen here.</a></i></p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/phoenix-coyotes/2011/3/9/2040065/phoenix-coyotes-sale-update-from-gary-bettman-no-deadlines-no-deal-changesSeth Pollack2011-03-08T13:58:33-07:002011-03-08T13:58:33-07:00NHL Commish Gary Bettman Comes To Town For Last Ditch Effort To Keep Coyotes In AZ
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/P6ofBQ524D9vVwaMjMr-870A4J4=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828097/large_arizona.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>This is it folks, don't blink. The entire debacle otherwise known as the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes started with a surprise move to put the team into bankruptcy in May 2009 and then moved out of court and into the hands of NHL ownership of the team. The league went through several potential private owners before finally finding the right rich guy to buy the team and strike a lease deal with the City of Glendale.</p>
<p>The deal with Matthew Hulsizer, rich guy, was seemingly inches away from completion before the meddlesome Goldwater Institute raised concerns that sent things back into a tailspin. We are now, according to a report in the <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2011/03/08/last-ditch-coyotes-deal-could-be-in.html?ana=twt" target="_blank">Phoenix Business Journal</a>, facing the final show down. </p>
<p>How do we know it's the final showdown?</p>
<p>"Commissioner Gary BettmanNational Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly are flying into Glendale as the sale and future of the Coyotes reaches another breaking point," answers the Journal.</p>
<p>Bettman will reportedly meet with the various parties and try and work out yet another deal that will hopefully appease the GWI "watchdogs".</p>
<p>Either way, this could be the end of the road for the Coyotes as they either work out an agreement that moves the sale to Hulsizer to completion or they pack up their skates and head back to Canada giving the GWI what they seem to want, a giant financial blow to the tax payers of Glendale if the team leaves.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2011/03/08/last-ditch-coyotes-deal-could-be-in.html?ana=twt">Last-ditch Coyotes deal could be in the works | Phoenix Business Journal</a><br>If a new deal can’t be worked out or Goldwater’s opposition is not reduced, the sale could wither and die. Hulsizer could also end up pursuing other NHL franchises that are on the market, and the Coyotes would likely end up back in Winnipeg next season.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Bettman will reportedly make a public statement during the first intermission of <a href="http://arizona.sbnation.com/phoenix-coyotes/2011/3/8/2037721/coyotes-aim-to-keep-momentum-going-against-visiting-vancouver-canucks" target="_blank">tonight's game.</a></p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/phoenix-coyotes/2011/3/8/2038207/phoenix-coyotes-sale-nhl-commish-gary-bettmenSeth Pollack2011-03-07T15:51:42-07:002011-03-07T15:51:42-07:00Glendale Law Suit On Hold As Talks Continue On Coyotes Deal
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/P6ofBQ524D9vVwaMjMr-870A4J4=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828097/large_arizona.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>The never-ending saga drags on just a little bit further according to this latest report from ESPN:</p>
<p> </p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=6190901">Sources: Glendale holds off on filing suit in Coyotes sale - ESPN</a><br>The City of Glendale remains poised to file suit against the Goldwater Institute over what it alleges is illegal interference in the attempted sale of municipal bonds critical to keeping the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona.</p>
<p>However, discussions aimed at getting the bonds sold and a lease agreement finalized with Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer continued Monday and so the city held off on filing the suit, a source told ESPN.com Monday afternoon.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So the threat of a law suit aimed at stopping the Goldwater Institute from threating to sue has generated discussions that have put that law suits on hold...for now.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Five for Howling feels that GWI is in fact working the the best interest of the tax payers as they claim. The problem is, they are working in the best interests of Canadians.</p>
<p>
</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.fiveforhowling.com/2011/3/7/2035430/how-the-goldwater-institute-is-proving-phoenix-is-a-hockey-market">How The Goldwater Institute Is Proving Phoenix is a Hockey Market - Five For Howling</a><br>If that's true though then what does that mean for the taxpayers? Does that mean that the taxpayers themselves want to see a deal fall apart that would leave a big hole in the City of Glendale, no hockey team, and a multi-million dollar retail complex turn into a ghost-town?</p>
<p>What kind of tax payer would actually want that? The answer: Canadian ones.</p>
</blockquote>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/phoenix-coyotes/2011/3/7/2035881/glendale-law-suit-on-hold-as-talks-continue-on-coyotes-dealSeth Pollack2011-03-05T18:40:47-07:002011-03-05T18:40:47-07:00Report: Diamondbacks Owner's Wife To Be Sued By Glendale Over Coyotes Sale Snafu
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/P6ofBQ524D9vVwaMjMr-870A4J4=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828097/large_arizona.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>The City of Glendale is apparently not playing when it comes to the interference action being coordinated by the Goldwater Institute against the sale of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/teams/phoenix-coyotes">Phoenix Coyotes</a> to businessman Matthew Hulsizer. According to a <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=6185492" target="_blank">report from ESPN</a>, the city is fed up and will file suit against both the institute and individual board members including Randy Kendrick, the wife of Arizona Diamondbacks owner, Ken Kendrick.</p>
<p>The Goldwater Institute has inserted itself into the sale of the Coyotes by opposing the negotiation between Hulsizer and the city. They claim that a provision of the deal that sends a $100 million payment from Glendale to Hulsizer in return for the team transferring the rights to parking fees for Coyotes games violates a provision of state law. </p>
<p>In order to finance the $100 million payment, the city planned on selling bonds. However, a threat from the Goldwater Institute of a lawsuit has driven up the price of the bonds which would potentially cost the tax payers of Glendale additional money. According to the ESPN report, the conservative policy group named after former Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater has also contacted potential bond purchasers and actively warned them away from the deal.</p>
<p>The city estimates that if the Coyotes leave Glendale the cost to the tax payers would be in excess of $500 million over 20 years.</p>
<p>Glendale is reportedly going to sue the Goldwater Institute for "hundreds of millions" of dollars in damages and will also seek a legal finding that the $100 million pricing for the rights to the parking fees is not in violation of state law.</p>
<p>As for Kendrick's involvement, the ESPN report says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Among those expected to be named specifically in the suit will be Randy P. Kendrick, who is the wife of Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick and a member of the Goldwater board. She seemed shocked when contacted by ESPN.com Saturday afternoon but declined comment.</p>
</blockquote>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2011/3/5/2330960/report-diamondbacks-owners-wife-to-be-sued-by-glendale-over-coyotesSeth Pollack