The Glendale City Council approved a 20-year lease agreement with the Coyotes on Friday, clearing the last major hurdle in the sale of the team to a group led by former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison.
The 20-year, $325 million lease deal, which will pay Jamison an average of $16.25 million annually for operation of Jobing.com Arena and other responsibilities, was ratified by a 4-2 vote on Friday after a meeting of more than six hours that was attended by Jamison and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Approval of the lease agreement should clear the way for Jamison's group to buy the team, ending a three-year excruxiating journey that's included bankruptcy, failed deals with other prospective owners and the team being operated by the league.
According to a study commissioned by Glendale, the city would pay Jamison $203 million and bring in $45 million in revenue, leaving a huge gap. The study also calculated what it would cost the city should the Coyotes leave, estimating about $177 million in operating costs for Jobing.com Arena without an anchor tenant. The city would still have to pay off the loan that was acquired to originally build the arena, with the payment amount cited at $13.8 million annually.
Then there is the Goldwater Institute - the Arizona protector of the public purse. Goldwater tried to stop this deall, filing a request for a temporary restraining order Friday morning to prevent the vote while contending that the city violated the Arizona open meetings law by failing to make public all documents related to the lease. A judge denied the restraining order, saying the court lacked the jurisdiction to do so, but added that there appeared to be violations of a 2009 court order requiring Glendale to provide Goldwater with all documents related to negotiations between the Coyotes and a prospective buyer in a timely manner.
The fight is not likely over yet. This is a letter sent to the Mayor and Councilmember from the Goldwater Institute prior to the vote last week. Stay tuned.
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