Ice Edge, Glendale talks break down

[A.E]

Ice Edge breaks off Coyotes talks on eve of key Glendale meeting

Another frustrating night for the snake-throwing faithful of the Phoenix Coyotes: Ice Edge Holdings chief operating office Daryl Jones told the Winnipeg Free Press that his group has broken off talks with the City of Glendale ahead of Tuesday's important council meeting. From the Free Press:

"We were adamant about needing exclusivity in these negotiations and they haven't provided it. I'm not totally surprised. We've been dealing with this for a while. We thought we had agreed to certain things and expected them in writing. That didn't materialize."

CBC's Jeff Marek reports that Glendale failed to meet a deadline Monday that would have secured an exclusive negotiating arrangement for Ice Edge, meaning the thought of Jerry Reinsdorf re-entering the picture could have still haunted the process. Marek quotes a source as saying Ice Edge will "leave their phones on, but their pencils are down" for now.

The vibe certainly doesn't make this feel like a definitive end for Ice Edge; it's more like a suitor that's been trampled on before attempting to ensure it won't happen again.

Rebekah Sanders of The Arizona Republic writes that the city council "should vote Tuesday evening to enter an agreement" that guarantees the city will cover the Coyotes' operating losses for next season "if a permanent buyer is not found."

Two other Coyotes-related items for your perusal. First, a terrific Phoenix Business Journal blog post that covers all the latest angles in the Coyotes' ownership dilemma, including how Glendale would cover the team's losses as requested by the NHL:

The Glendale plan would kick in in September if a new owner is not yet found. The city would use the bond proceeds or some kind of other user fees to cover the Coyotes losses for the season. This raises the questions of whether a deal to sell the Coyotes to an owner who will keep the team here ever will get done. There also are questions as to whether Glendale legally can cover the Coyotes losses.

First, the idea of a city government pretty much financing a private business runs into legal issues in Arizona. We have a gift clause here that restricts things, like say, a city government covering the costs/expenses/losses of a professional sports franchise. Glendale will argue the bonding district helps alleviate the gift clause worry. Critics might argue if the district quacks like a subsidy then it is a subsidy.

Finally, CBC reporter Tom Harrington tweets that the NHL has an alternative schedule for a Winnipeg franchise at the ready. Just in case. Much more in a great new columni by Y! Sports' Dan Wetzel, which you should already be reading now. -PuckDaddy

For the love of God...when the hell with Gary Bettman finally admit that he was wrong and everybody else is right? Winnipeg lost their franchise because of these so-called NHL marketing experts that gambled on the value of the American dollar (14 years ago) and Bettman's idea of expanding the game into markets that have little-to-no infatuation with ice hockey. Arizona was a complete failure, few actually care about hockey in Glendale and the franchise has done nothing but dive further and further into the red.

I have no doubts Winnipeg gets their franchise back...but I do wonder how long its gonna take Bettman to swallow his pride and finally make the right decision.

 

[RipCity32]

I thought the Coyotes fan support was actually pretty good during the Red Wings series. But yeah, they need to go back to Winnipeg. Phoenix just is not an NHL city

 

[A.E]

I thought the Coyotes fan support was actually pretty good during the Red Wings series. But yeah, they need to go back to Winnipeg. Phoenix just is not an NHL city

About the same as the Cardinals (sudden) overwhelming support during their post-season run. The regular season box office numbers don't lie. The city hasn't supported the team, the fans haven't supported the team and 14 years later...its still not fair that Winnipeg had their team ripped away from them b/c of Bettman's dumbass vision of a huge cash-cow sitting in the middle of the f'ing dessert.

 

[RipCity32]

I think we can all agree that Bettman is a complete dumbass.

 

[.infamous]

Yes I was waiting for the deal to crumble. Back to Winnipeg.

 

[Mooche]

It's only a matter of time. I'm keeping the faith.

 

[A.E]

NHL: Coyotes sale may close by June

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Glendale City Council late Tuesday guaranteed the NHL up to $25 million to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in Jobing.com Arena for the 2010-2011 season.

But city manager Ed Beasley and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly both told the council that the sale of the Coyotes is still expected to close by the end of June and the payments may never be needed.

Daly said in an e-mail to ESPN.com that the league "will proceed immediately to attempt ... to complete an ownership transition in time for the 2010-11 NHL season."

"The City Council of Glendale demonstrated strong and unequivocal support for the Coyotes' future in Glendale," Daly told ESPN.com.

Beasley also said that both Ice Edge Holdings and a group headed by Chicago sports mogul Jerry Reinsdorf are still talking about buying the Phoenix Coyotes. Reports have had Reinsdorf's group dropping out in recent days.

A member of the Reinsdorf group, Phoenix attorney John Kaites, said it still stands behind the agreement it made with the city in April.

"The bottom line is we've always been willing to stand by the memorandum of understanding," Kaites said after the meeting. "At no point did we walk away from that."

The NHL purchased the team out of bankruptcy last September with the stated intention of selling it to a buyer who would keep the franchise in Arizona. But the league has said repeatedly that if no local buyer can be found, it would look to find a buyer elsewhere.

"From our perspective this is nothing more than an insurance policy," Daly said of the $25 million the city authorized in payments to the NHL. "We feel confident an ownership transaction can happen and it can happen in an expeditious fashion."

"This is a great day for hockey," Ice Edge member Daryl Jones told ESPN.com. "We look forward to a positive ownership outcome in Glendale and closing this transaction."

The council's unanimous vote allows Beasley to sign agreements with the league and set up a Community Facilities District that would collect fees, possibly including ticket surcharges and parking charges, in the area around the arena.

That money would go to the NHL to run the arena and the team if it can't be sold by next season.

Glendale needs the team to stay in Jobing.com Arena, which it built specifically for the Coyotes.

An arena deal between Reinsdorf's group and the city was inked in April, but there were reports that the deal fell apart in the past week.

Ice Edge, a group of Canadian and U.S. investors, then re-emerged. They had submitted a competing bid to keep the Coyotes in Glendale that was rejected.

Talks between Ice Edge and the city on a memorandum of understanding broke down on Monday, leading to widespread speculation that the franchise was headed out of town, with Winnipeg the most likely destination. The Coyotes were the Winnipeg Jets before they moved to Arizona in 1996.

But a source told The Associated Press Tuesday afternoon that the talks were not dead, but "probably more like taking a nap." -ESPN

I don't expect the Coyotes to be leaving Glendale any earlier than the 2011-12 season anyways. I am thinking that the city needs to get to a point where they are fed up with the team and the process. Taxpayers having to fork over $25M to cover the losses of their hockey team is a pretty big deal & though it puts a band-aid over a horrible situation, long-term, can't see this as doing anything other than prolonging the inevitable.

 

[footballplaya52]

how could anyone think that a hockey team in arizona and not in canada was a good move.

 

[Blake]

Why the hell are there two NHL teams in Florida?

 

[footballplaya52]

Why the hell are there two NHL teams in Florida?

truth, the panthers have never done anything.

 

[Blake]

Besides getting Rex Ryan to put on a jersey...

 

[footballplaya52]

which earns them negative points

 

[A.E]

The Carolina Hurricanes got Rex Ryan to put the jersey on his fat-ass.