The Glendale City Council rejected a sweetened lease buyout from Jim Balsillie and will stick with its support of the NHL in the ongoing bankruptcy process for the Phoenix Coyotes.
The Glendale City Council rejected a sweetened lease buyout from Jim Balsillie and will stick with its support of the NHL in the ongoing bankruptcy process for the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL).
The decision came during a dramatic meeting last night, when the council turned away Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes and did not allow him to speak in favor of Balsillie's revised bid, which kept the payment to Glendale at $50 million but did not deduct any relocation fees due the NHL. That sweetened offer wasn't enough for Glendale officials, who stayed by the NHL's promise to keep the Coyotes in town for a year and seek a local buyer.
Moyes rose to speak and then was cut off by the council.
Balsillie is offering $242.5 million for the franchise, with the plan of moving it to Hamilton, Ontario. The NHL has mounted a competing bid for the Coyotes for $140 million; the plan is to buy the team to leave it in Arizona. The team's largest creditors and the city are for this bid.
Last night saw the beginning of the exhibition season for the Coyotes; attendance at jobing.com Arena was around 1,000, and coach Wayne Gretzky was a no-show.
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