Glendale, NHL Weigh New Offers for Coyotes

DALLAS — Glendale, Ariz., and the National Hockey League are considering new offers for the Phoenix Coyotes after a deal to keep the team playing in the city’s bond-financed arena hit a roadblock, according to reports.

The fate of the team and the $180 million arena has been in limbo since May 5, 2009, when former owner Jerry Moyes filed for bankruptcy with plans to sell the team to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie. Balsillie planned to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, costing the six-year-old Glendale arena its main source of revenue.

To keep the team in Glendale, the NHL bought the team out of bankruptcy for $140 million in October with plans to find another owner committed to the arena.

The favored bidder, Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox, appeared to be the frontrunner under a deal that would have required Glendale to put up $65 million for the team through a bond sale. Reinsdorf would have paid the NHL $100 million, and Glendale would have financed its portion through higher parking fees at the site of the arena named for the website Jobing.com.

In addition to the $65 million, Glendale would have protected the new owners from losses up to $25 million. That money was to be raised from special taxes imposed on businesses operating around the arena in a development called Westgate City Center.

In April, the Glendale City Council unanimously approved a 24-year lease of the arena to Reinsdorf’s group. However, he backed out in June, leaving only one remaining bidder, a group of U.S. and Canadian investors operating as Ice Edge Holdings.

Now, an attempt to close a sale with Ice Edge has reportedly hit a snag over the investors’ ability to document their financing arrangements with the city. Negotiations took place under a 60-day period in which the investors had exclusive rights to bargain for the team. That exclusivity ended this week.

That has brought Reinsdorf back into the picture, according to several news reports.

City officials will not confirm the new developments.

“The city has a policy of not talking about any negotiations,” said Glendale spokeswoman Julie Frisoni. “Our city manager is confident that a deal will be done by December.”

Ice Edge spokesman Robert Johnson said talks are still in progress.

“We have been at this since June 8 when the Glendale City Council approved the [memorandum of understanding] and two months later, we are making great progress,” he said. “Our focus is on buying the team from the NHL and we remain confident in our ability to complete the deal. We are in constant communication with all parties involved in this process and are committed to a successful outcome.”

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