SBNation.com - Glendale approves Phoenix Coyotes lease deal, paving way to sale

Phoenix Coyotes lease deal approved by Glendale City Council

2012-11-28T13:03:28Z

The light at the end of the tunnel for the Phoenix Coyotes remaining in Arizona appears to be visible.

On Tuesday, the Glendale City Council voted 4-2 in favor of a 20-year, $320 million deal that includes a lease agreement for Jobing.com Arena. That should allow Greg Jamison's ownership group to purchase the Coyotes from the NHL. The former CEO of the San Jose Sharks would thereby become the anchor tenant for the city-owned arena.

After discussing a reworked deal a week ago, the new agreement that includes incentives and penalties. It also has lower yearly payments in the early years of the 20-year deal, according to AZCentral.com.

Glendale mayor Elaine Scruggs and councilwoman Norma Alvarez voted against the deal, saying the financially-struggling city could not afford the deal. Scruggs went as far as saying she supported police and firefighter uniforms, not that of a hockey team.

The Coyotes went bankrupt in 2009 and after the NHL took control, the team had a long, strange search for a buyer as the threat of the franchise leaving the state loomed.

Jamison and his ownership group will pay $170 million to complete the purchase of the Coyotes, and that should completed in the next month or two.

Phoenix Coyotes lease deal to be voted on by Glendale council

2012-11-27T22:21:55Z

The Phoenix Coyotes' quest to secure an owner to keep the team in Glendale has been a long and tedious one. According to this report from ESPN, the Glendale City Council will vote on a reconfigured lease agreement between potential owner Greg Jamison and the municipality on Tuesday night.

If the Coyotes, the city council and Jamison are able to reach an agreement, it could lock in a 20-year lease for the team to remain in the Phoenix area. The proposed deal would pay Jamison and his investors $320 million over the course of the lease. This could be enough for his group to purchase the Coyotes from the NHL.

There are plenty of opponents to keeping the Coyotes in Glendale. Mayor Elaine Scruggs once supported keeping the franchise around, although she is now against the deal due to the budget restrictions facing the city. And with concerns surrounding the team's profitability, some wonder if they are destined to be relocated down the road.

If the lease deal is rejected, it could mean the end of Jamison's bid for the franchise, which would put the Coyotes' future in Glendale in serious jeopardy.

Phoenix Coyotes sale: Glendale to extend team deadline again

2012-10-09T00:47:06Z

The NHL and the City of Glendale plan on extending the agreement that sees the league running Jobing.com Arena for 30 more days, as Greg Jamison attempts to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes, the Phoenix Business Journal reported on Monday.

Jamison has been trying to purchase the team from the NHL and keep the team in the Phoenix area. The NHL took over the Phoenix Coyotes after the previous owner Jerry Moyes declared bankruptcy in 2009. The latest 30-day agreement between Glendale and the NHL expired at the end of September.

The Glendale City Council approved a deal in June for a new arena, but the city is holding out and trying to get better terms on a deal. Meanwhile, Jamison has an agreement with the NHL in place, but is still seeking capital to meet the NHL's $170 million asking price for the Coyotes.

The city of Glendale has paid the NHL approximately $25 million for each of the past two seasons to run the Jobing.com Arena.

Phoenix Coyotes sale: Greg Jamison, Glendale reportedly close on deal

2012-09-29T12:05:58Z

Once again, the Phoenix Coyotes appear to be close to staying in Arizona. The City of Glendale and potential owner Greg Jamison are close to reaching a renegotiated lease deal, according to a report from The Arizona Republic.

In late August, the NHL gave Jamison more time to work out a lease agreement and finalize the purchase of the team. It appears Jamison has worked out any issues with the lease, as interim Glendale City Manager Horatio Skeete said he will present the "final agreed-upon restructuring terms" to officials on Tuesday. The City Council will still have to vote to approve the deal.

This is just the latest in what has been a long up-and-down process for Jamison. He agreed to a lease agreement in June, and it was approved by city leaders, but the city council directed Skeete to renegotiate the deal two months later. Jamison has also had financing issues as he tries to securing the funds needed to purchase the team from the NHL.

If the newly-agreed upon lease gets approved, it will go into effect as soon as Jamison finalizes the purchase of the team.

Phoenix Coyotes Sale: Greg Jamison Finally Secures Funding To Buy Team, Report Says

2012-09-05T02:52:15Z

ESPN is reporting Greg Jamison has secured funding to buy the Phoenix Coyotes from the National Hockey League for $170 million. The report also states the city of Glendale and the potential owners shouldn't have any hangups regarding the lease agreement on Jobing.com Arena, the home stadium of the Coyotes.

Jamison is the former president and CEO of the San Jose Sharks and has pursued the purchase of the team from the NHL despite a potential looming lockout and issues with the city over lease agreements. The NHL has managed the books of the Coyotes since 2009 when the team's finances took a massive turn for the worse.

Scott Burnside's report has more on lease agreement:

Jamison had previously agreed to a deal with the City of Glendale for a 20-year lease that would see the city pay $324 million in management fees over the life of the lease. That agreement only becomes valid when Jamison closes the deal with the NHL although multiple sources said that once the sale is completed the lease agreement will kick in virtually simultaneously. There could be some minor tinkering with the lease agreement before the sale is complete but nothing major, the source said.

Jamison's fellow investors haven't been identified yet, but some are members of the Ice Edge Group, a collection of North American businessmen originally trying to purchase the Coyotes.

Stay tuned to this story steam as this is a developing situation.

For more on the Phoenix Coyotes follow Five For Howling. For all of you NHL needs, follow SB Nation's dedicated NHL hub.

Phoenix Coyotes Sale: Glendale Looks To Rework 20-Year Lease Deal With Greg Jamison

2012-08-30T20:00:37Z

Greg Jamison's bid to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes appears to have hit a snag, according to AZcentral.com.

Jamison negotiated a 20-year, $324 million deal with the city of Glendale this summer, but now the city is looking to rework the deal. Glendale officials approved a lease on the Jobing.com Arena with Jamison in June, but have been waiting for him to finalize his purchase of the team from the National Hockey League.

Julie Frisoni, a Glendale spokeswoman says the city will not finalize the deal until Jamison purchases the team and some amendments have been made to it.

"Since June, the city and the NHL have been saying the next step is for Mr. Jamison to purchase the team, at which time the city was ready to sign the agreement," she said. "At this time, in light of other issues, the council has asked us to look at options that are feasible in terms of the management agreement."

Concerns over a potential NHL lockout and an unsuccessful effort to get Glendale residents to vote on the deal in a November referendum have further complicated the sale, but Jamison remains optimistic that the deal will be finalized.

"There were a lot of political things that came as a part of this that had to be overcome. It took a long time to put a deal together, but now we're at the point where I'm prepared to go forward and sign the deal with the city."

Stay tuned to this story steam as this is a developing situation.

For more on the Phoenix Coyotes follow Five For Howling. For all of you NHL needs, follow SB Nation's dedicated NHL hub.

Phoenix Coyotes Sale: Greg Jamison Speaks

2012-08-30T02:25:59Z

As Greg Jamison continues to push forward in his purchasing of the the Phoenix Coyotes, the city of Glendale wants to retool the proposed 20-year, $324 million deal, according to Arizona Central.

Officials in the city of Glendale say the deal is on hold until Jamison holds up his end of the agreement by purchasing the Coyotes from the NHL. They already approved the leasing of Jobing.com Arena back in June, though the city was expected to get Jamison an updated draft on the proposal on Wednesday night.

Fox 10 Phoenix reporter Jude LaCava recently caught up with Jamison, asking if all the time and effort to buy the team is worth it. Here is what Jamison had to say:

I think it's been worth the effort. I respect the city of Glendale greatly because they committed to the arena, and commited to keeping the team there....I think there is a tremendous upside there. I believe it's a great community, it's a great place for NHL hockey to do well...I really believe in the long run that it's very much worth the effort. I hope that not only can we get it done, I hope we can continue to grow what's already there, and build on that foundation and take it to the next level.

Jamison also cited numerous "political situations" to LaCava that have held up the deal. One major issue stems from the Arizona Court of Appeals ruling last week that an initiative to reverse a sales-tax increase, including next year's budgeted $17 million arena-management fee for Jamison's purchase, should appear on the November ballot.

There's also the NHL lockout to take into account, as well. Luckily the NHL extended the lease agreement to keep Gelndale's arena under league management for another month, which hopefully will give both sides time to hammer out an accord.

For more on the Phoenix Coyotes, head on over to Five For Howling. For more on hockey in general, please check out SB Nation's dedicated NHL hub.

Phoenix Coyotes, NHL Allow Greg Jamison More Time To Finalize Team Purchase

2012-08-28T13:55:44Z

Potential Phoenix Coyotes buyer Greg Jamison has been given more time to complete his purchase. The NHL extended its lease agreement to manage Glendale, Ariz.'s hockey arena for another month, according to the Arizona Republic.

Jamison already has a deal in place with the city of Glendale, but he is still working to meet the NHL's asking price of about $170 million.

The cloud over the sale of the team has handcuffed front office dealings. Most notably, free agent Shane Doan has said he will wait no longer than Sept. 15, the day the current CBA expires, to find a suitor. Doan would like to stay with Phoenix, but does not want to risk finding out what the new market conditions might look like after a newly negotiated CBA.

For more on the sale situation in Phoenix, stick with our StoryStream and check in with SB Nation Arizona and Coyotes blog Five For Howling.