Coyotes sale: Pending league approval, Arizona keeps NHL hockey

It was a long-winded, confusing, hilarious and largely pathetic piece of civic theater, but after more than four hours of debate, the Glendale City Council voted 4-3 to approve a lease agreement that’s expected to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona. The team will be renamed the Arizona Coyotes as part of the new agreement.

Renaissance Sports and Entertainment, the group purchasing the team from the NHL, will be paid $15 million per year for 15 years by Glendale to run the city-owned Jobing.com Arena, home of the Coyotes. RSE has an out-clause after five years which they can exercise if losses reach $50 million over that term. Several council members pushed for an equal out-clause that the city could exercise, but the NHL would not have approved the sale of the team to RSE. It was a deal-breaker, and the council voted against it for that reason.

RSE, also known as IceArizona, has already been approved by the NHL as a buyer for the still-league-owned Coyotes. The next step is for Glendale to sign off on a lease agreement for the team to remain in the City-owned Jobing.com Arena, and that’s the subject of Tuesday’s vote.

There are basically two options for Glendale. One keeps the team in Glendale while the other one likely sends them off to Seattle or Quebec City, but the bad news for hockey fans is that the latter option is more financially attractive -- at least in the short-term -- for Glendale.

The City of Glendale released a copy of the arena lease management proposal of Jobing.com Arena with the Renaissance Sports and Entertainment group on their website on Thursday afternoon.

The lease agreement also includes an out-clause after five years, which would allow the group to relocate the team if losses surpass $50 million. The Coyotes have lost an annual average of $20 million per season over the last few years, according to Mike Sunnucks of the Phoenix Business Journal.

Craig Morgan of FoxSports Arizona was the first to report that Tippett and general manager Don Maloney had come to terms on a new agreement. Elliotte Friedman of CBC reports that the extension is five years in length and has been approved by the NHL. Tippett has not signed the contract yet, but he has agreed in principle.

One of the reported sticking points of Tippett remaining with the franchise had to do with the team’s unstable ownership situation. However, that apparently was not a factor for Tippett and he will remain with the franchise regardless of their potential relocation, according to Sarah McLellan of AZCentral.com.

The Renaissance Sports and Entertainment Group and the Glendale City Council are attempting to negotiate an arena management lease that will provide RSE with $15 million annually, according to a report by Dan Bickley of AZCentral.com on Thursday afternoon.

The City of Glendale has budgeted an annual allocation of $6.5 million for management of the arena. Bickley cites a source who states that the two parties have developed a way to generate more revenue for both sides. This will include the city getting a cut of parking, future naming rights for Jobing.com Arena, a portion of ticket surcharge and an escrow account that could result in more money for the city.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Billy Daly was not fooling around on Wednesday when he suggested the Phoenix Coyotes may not be playing in Glendale, Ariz. next season. There may finally be an ownership group with a “handshake agreement” to buy the team, but they need the city council’s approval, which is not a slam dunk. The situation in that market has finally hit endgame, and the NHL has their “Plan B” set up.

According to CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Hotstove (which is always connected on these sort of things), there will be a city council meeting to potentially approve a deal on June 25. However, if the deal doesn’t work out and isn’t approved, the Coyotes may be gone within the week. On July 2, an ownership group led by New York Yankees minority owner Ray Bartoszek and investor Anthony Lanza will take the team to Seattle.