Westhead: Coyotes' survival hinges on arena deal battle

[hisgirlfriday]

It certainly sounds like Morgan believes Glendale doesn't have a leg to stand on.

I am sure he has team sources telling him that.

It all comes down to how a court interprets "significantly involved."

The state, its political subdivisions or any department or agency of either may, within three years after its execution, cancel any contract, without penalty or further obligation, made by the state, its political subdivisions, or any of the departments or agencies of either if any person significantly involved in initiating, negotiating, securing, drafting or creating the contract on behalf of the state, its political subdivisions or any of the departments or agencies of either is, at any time while the contract or any extension of the contract is in effect, an employee or agent of any other party to the contract in any capacity or a consultant to any other party of the contract with respect to the subject matter of the contract.

 

[GKJ]

Here we go, 6 pages overnight. Not that I was involved in the thread either

Call me naive, but I don't think they're moving under any circumstances. In my non-educated law opinion, this will go to court and tie everything up again.

I guess.

I don't know, the internet has doomed the Coyotes how many times in the past, and Bettman always finds a way.

 

[wildcat48]

Here's Morgan's take....

The City of Glendale has chosen the nuclear option.

The City Council will discuss ending its 15-year Gila River Arena lease agreement with the Coyotes at a special voting meeting on Wednesday, scheduled for 6 p.m. Whether it has the legal basis to do so is a question that will now likely be left to legal experts.

READ MORE>>>>

 

[Acesolid]

Here we go, 6 pages overnight. Not that I was involved in the thread either

Call me naive, but I don't think they're moving under any circumstances. In my non-educated law opinion, this will go to court and tie everything up again.

I guess.

I don't know, the internet has doomed the Coyotes how many times in the past, and Bettman always finds a way.

To (mis)quote Jurassic Park:

- "Mr. Bettman, Are you saying an hockey team can play in the desert without an arena after the City kicked them out?"

- "No..hum.... I'm just saying that..... hum.... The Coyotes.... hum.... always find a way!"

----------------------

This is truly an epic adventure 65 million years in the making (or at least it feels like it to me!).

In fact, I think the first new Megathread title ought to be:

"Coyotes C: "The Coyotes always find a way"

 

[CGG]

Let's all take a moment to retract the instant doubt and vile hatred and shouts of "evil Canadian media" and "hack" and "making stuff up" from when the Westhead article first came out. Once again he was mostly right, even if he did get the vice mayor's name wrong, just like Shoalts was mostly right about the Coyotes being in a serious pile of trouble way back in 2009.

On another note, maybe this was a master stroke by Tindall - negotiate a sweetheart deal, then get hired on by the Coyotes so he can be the reason the deal gets scrapped, allowing new owner Barroway to pull them out of Glendale three years ahead of schedule.

 

[Agalloch]

Coyotes will move to Las Vegas. NHL will be able to say that Glendale put them out and the NHL tried everything they could to make it worked in Arizona.

 

[Llama19]

let's all take a moment to retract the instant doubt and vile hatred and shouts of "evil canadian media" and "hack" and "making stuff up" from when the westhead article first came out. Once again he was mostly right, even if he did get the vice mayor's name wrong, just like shoalts was mostly right about the coyotes being in a serious pile of trouble way back in 2009.

On another note, maybe this was a master stroke by tindall - negotiate a sweetheart deal, then get hired on by the coyotes so he can be the reason the deal gets scrapped, allowing new owner barroway to pull them out of glendale three years ahead of schedule.

 

[Nordskull]

I'm ready to bet 2 pounds of blueberries tonight's session will be postponed sine die.

And even better, Leblanc and co won't have to be there. Mayor will take the decision himself after taking advice from his legal counsel.

Farther, Coyotes will stay put for the next 3 years.

Remember: the Coyotes never dies, despite all the TNT it will take in the head. You think something big will happen to see everything settled later.

No stress, they are well and are in control, no matter the BS thrown at them by COG.

PS I am surprised Elliot Friedman and other media people all get excited. They dont learn.

 

[CGG]

Only if we end up in bankruptcy court.

A definite possibility, in all honesty.

 

[cbcwpg]

Wow... just when you were bored because there is no hockey on TV, the Coyotes / CoG find something to excite things.

Late to the party this AM and I'm sure I'm repeating some things, but my thoughts...

- It's obvious that the City of Glendale is not happy with continuing to payout the $15MM / yr for the AMF, nor would anyone be happy given the actual results that said Arena Management team has produced so far. So they want to re-negotiate IMO and voiding the contract with IA is the only way to maybe get them to re-negotiate. So they found some way to cancel it... potentially.

- I don't believe for one second that the CoG actually wants the Coyotes to pack up and leave. IMO they just want better terms going forward. Will they get they votes to pursue their legal action?

- If the CoG is ever successful in voiding the contract, then the puck will definitely be in IA's net ( well, actually Bettman's and the NHL's net ) and we will see what they do with it. If the NHL truly wants to stay in this market then they will re-negotiate. If it's all been a farce to buy time to move the team to another market... fire up the moving vans.

- If the team does move though, you can take it to the bank that the NHL will put ALL the blame on the CoG. "We had a contract, they reneged on it".... I can hear Bettman now. A city that took it on the chin twice and cut $25MM cheques to the NHL. A city that built a new arena for a team. A city that maybe never should have gotten into bed with Bettman in the first place, but did.

Is this the end of the....

 

[CGG]

AZ Central article when Tindall took the job with the Coyotes, dated Aug 23, 2013:

http://archive.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/20130823former-glendale-attorney-hired-by-coyotes.html

Tindall resigned from Glendale nearly two months before the city’s negotiations with IceArizona principals began after May 28.

In July, the council approved a 15-year deal in which the city will pay the Coyotes’ owners $225 million to manage Jobing.com Arena.

Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers said Friday that he was unaware that Tindall had taken a position with the hockey team.

“Is it going to create problems? I hope not,” Weiers said.

“He certainly probably has enough background information on the arena and everything else going on that he doesn’t have to start from scratch,” he said. “I don’t know how the public will take that.”

 

[IceAce]

I'm ready to bet 2 pounds of blueberries tonight's session will be postponed sine die.

And even better, Leblanc and co won't have to be there. Mayor will take the decision himself after taking advice from his legal counsel.

Farther, Coyotes will stay put for the next 3 years.

Remember: the Coyotes never dies, despite all the TNT it will take in the head. You think something big will happen to see everything settled later.

No stress, they are well and are in control, no matter the BS thrown at them by COG.

PS I am surprised Elliot Friedman and other media people all get excited. They dont learn.

 

[Mike Jones]

To (mis)quote Jurassic Park:

- "Mr. Bettman, Are you saying an hockey team can play in the desert without an arena after the City kicked them out?"

- "No..hum.... I'm just saying that..... hum.... The Coyotes.... hum.... always find a way!"

Or to borrow another iconic line: "You bred Bettmans??"

 

[Brodie]

Does Portland have a suitable arena ready?

Yes, bit I imagine dates would be a problem and the team would have to go for a song. Otherwise, Quebec.

But I'm sure the city would let the Coyotes stay without a lease, they would be bled dry by the losses and would have to likely move if they hadn't won the court case, but it would be a play for time.

 

[cbcwpg]

Just a little sidebar....

In November of 2013, then-Councilman Phil Lieberman filed an ethics complaint with the State Bar of Arizona concerning Tindall. Lieberman alleged that Tindall went to work for the Coyotes in 2013 while still being paid a severance by Glendale. The State Bar dismissed that claim.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...ismisses-complaint-coyotes-attorney/13199545/

An eight-month Bar investigation failed to produce "clear and convincing" evidence of ethical violations, according to a letter sent Wednesday to Tindall's personal attorney by Bar counsel Hunter Perlmeter.

"The state Bar conducted a very thorough investigation. And after that investigation, they dismissed Mr. Lieberman's charge. I think the dismissal speaks for itself," Tindall's attorney, Andrew Halaby, said Friday.

"After our investigation of this matter we have decided to dismiss the allegations because this is not clear and convincing evidence of an ethical violation," Perlmeter wrote in the letter to Halaby, which was obtained by The Arizona Republic.

 

[Llama19]

 

[MaskedSonja]

I'm guessing that if they vote to cancel it, it's "Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to court we go" for all parties involved?

And as another poster suggested, I'm thinking the NHL isn't really happy that this is taking coverage from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

 

[Wheathead]

I'm guessing that if they vote to cancel it, it's "Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to court we go" for all parties involved?

And as another poster suggested, I'm thinking the NHL isn't really happy that this is taking coverage from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Highly likely.

Bettman won't give up on the Glendale gravy train yet. The city still has fire stations and libraries for him to bankrupt.

 

[CBJ goalie]

From that article:

Gary Sherwood, a member who helped approve the deal in 2013, has allegedly informed other city councilors he does not plan to attend the meeting or phone in to participate.

So what does that mean for his vote in absentia? Does it now have to be 4 of 6 votes to veto the deal?

 

[Brodie]

Some on the Yotes board have suggested the NHL will fight this tooth and nail, but I really disagree. Firstly, it's such a specific case that it would be hard to argue it establishes any kind of precedent, and secondly, I'm sure they're tired of propping up this whole farce. I can see them forgiving IA's debts and then washing their proverbial hands.

 

[Llama19]

I'm guessing that if they vote to cancel it, it's "Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to court we go" for all parties involved?

And as another poster suggested, I'm thinking the NHL isn't really happy that this is taking coverage from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

More like, dun, dun, duuun...

 

[Mightygoose]

Edit: Question already asked in post 944

But to add - My memory is foggy from the megathread days, but I recall reading a non-participant/abstain (re: Sherwood) is considered a 'yes' vote. Could be mistaken here though it may not matter.

 

[Llama19]

From that article:

Gary Sherwood, a member who helped approve the deal in 2013, has allegedly informed other city councilors he does not plan to attend the meeting or phone in to participate.

So what does that mean for his vote in absentia? Does it now have to be 4 of 6 votes to veto the deal?

Yep...but there are already four votes even before tonight's meeting...

Otherwise, it won't have been called at all...

 

[hatterson]

Some on the Yotes board have suggested the NHL will fight this tooth and nail, but I really disagree. Firstly, it's such a specific case that it would be hard to argue it establishes any kind of precedent, and secondly, I'm sure they're tired of propping up this whole farce. I can see them forgiving IA's debts and then washing their proverbial hands.

As Foogs mentioned a bit ago, it's also hard to fight from a PR standpoint. All along the league has said they want to keep the Yotes in Arizona for the city, and they want to be a valuable partner. It's a lot tougher to say that if you're actively suing the city because they thought the deal was so bad they outright cancelled it.

It may end up being much easier, and much better on the PR side, to simply throw your hands up and say "Hey we tried to be a good partner, we even let the team lose $X million in order to try and build the market, but the city screwed us and cancelled our deal"

 

[Mightygoose]

Yep...but there are already four votes even before tonight's meeting...

Otherwise, it won't have been called at all...

Makes sense

I guess Mr. Sherwood sees the writing on the wall so he may as well try and play Switzerland here.

I'll throw my hat in the ring for the next thread sub-title.

Phoenix (or Arizona) C: The Farce Awakens

The Saga Continues.....