The future of the Arizona Coyotes is once again up in the air after the Glendale city council ruled in favor of terminating the team's arena lease deal on Wednesday.
Coyotes threaten legal action after city council votes to terminate arena deal
Glendale and the Coyotes are going to battle.
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
The termination was approved with a 5-2 vote after the city council listened to arguments from team owners, city officials and citizens of Glendale on Wednesday night. The decision could mean a long, expensive legal battle between the Coyotes and the city is forthcoming.
The city of Glendale is currently in a 15-year, $225 agreement with the Coyotes. The city paid $15 million last year to the Coyotes to manage Gila River Arena, but lost $8.1 million on that investment. Glendale is expected to lose another $8.7 million in 2015.
In a statement, the city said it is open to a resolution “that provides certainty and fairness to both parties, especially the taxpayers.“ It’s expected the city intends to force the team to make better concessions and to alter the deal by terminating the lease.
A statement on the Coyotes website after the meeting threatened legal action.
“We are disappointed with the city’s decision to violate its obligations under the agreement that was entered into and duly approved only two years ago. We will exhaust any and all legal remedies against the city of Glendale for this blatant violation of its contractual obligations to us.”
For his part, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman commented on Arizona’s possible relocation in June by saying that the Coyotes “are not going anywhere.”
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