Two thoughts lingered as we watched the final hours of the Phoenix Coyotes' ownership saga tick away last night during a Glendale City Council meeting. The first was that there's apparently room in the community for a "WATER BILL'S TOO DAMN HIGH" political party, because several disgruntled citizens mentioned that fact.
The second was that something was going to derail this thing before competition. An injunction. An unexpected "no" vote. Jim Balsillie flying overhead in a military chopper and dumping a billion dollars on the city until they gave him the team.
True to form, there is at least one loose end after the Council voted 5-2 to approve a new lease with prospective owner Matthew Hulsizer and keep the Coyotes in Glendale until 2040: The Goldwater Institute, those sticklers for fiscal responsibility in government that see the city's $100 million payment to Hulsizer for parking fee rights and $97 million to have his group manage the arena as "'grossly disproportionate' to the value the city will receive, according to the Arizona Republic.
From Travis at Five For Howling:
As far as the Goldwater Institute is concerned the City is meeting with them on Thursday to explain exactly how the deal is working. While in a statement the Institute said they would be fighting it as they thought it violated Arizona's gift clause. In tonight's meeting though the city attorneys as well as council members believed that they had crafted a deal that would pass anything GWI would throw at it and that GWI was basing it's objection on false information. At least from everything the, quite frankly, more lucid members of the council said, it should just be a matter of breaking the deal down for them so time wouldn't have to be wasted litigating anything.
So barring some sudden heel turn by the NHL's Board of Governors on Hulsizer as an owner ... is this really over? Are the Coyotes now Arizona's hockey team, with nary a moving truck in sight?
Because, if so, the fans and the team can start doing the really hard work now; in the sense that this Coyotes resolution is either going to be Bettman's Folly or the dawn of GaryLand in the next dozen years.
Rebekah Sanders of the Arizona Republic broke down the differences between the various deals that have been proposed for the Coyotes since Jerry Moyes placed them into bankruptcy last May:
Without considering interest based on how the city would have financed each of the proposals, here's a look at the amounts the city was asked to pay the buyers:
- The Hulsizer deal would require Glendale to pay an average of $39.4 million each year over the next 5 1/2 years and additional funding in following years to manage the arena.
- The Reinsdorf deal would have obligated Glendale to pay an average of $23 million each year over seven years.
- The Moyes request asked Glendale to pay $12.5 million each year, indefinitely.
- The Ice Edge deal would have compelled Glendale to pay an average of $10.25 million each year over 10 years.
So it would appear that Glendale lost the waiting game as far as the ante, but won it for the stability.
Ice Edge, god love'em, always had one skate in Canada. Reinsdorf wanted an out-clause that could be triggered by, like, a 5-game losing streak in December. There is an out for Hulsizer if the lease is changed due to litigation or if Glendale doesn't live up to their end of the deal. But the deal doesn't give him the same out it would have for other suitors; it keeps the team in Glendale for the long haul.
Here's a recap of the night from PhoenixCoyotes.com:
So Coyotes fans have their team and Hulsizer has the Coyotes, which means there are no more excuses. Yes, the pathetic attendance this year can be partially blamed on playoff momentum swallowed up by franchise uncertainly, especially among season ticket holders. There were 11,410 tickets distributed for Saturday night's game against the Dallas Stars.
Yes, it takes more than one playoff year to create a passionate fan base, especially after years of losing.
But the heavy lifting starts now. This team is now cemented in Arizona, to the point where they'll likely be renamed the Arizona Coyotes next season. It's time for rebirth for the franchise, a slate-wiping moment to mark the next phase of its NHL life. It's going to take more than a name change and clever BizNasty tweets to bring the fans to an arena that's still not in an ideal location; it's going to take the Coyotes and their fans spreading the sense of community that exists among a vocal minority now to other fans in the area.
Congrats to the few, the proud, the die-hard fans in Phoenix that stuck this out. Please know that Winnipeg has been reduced to making snide remarks about your climate in their newspapers.
Dustin Byfuglien Joe Callahan Andrew Campbell Brian Campbell
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