The City of Glendale City Council has voted 4-3 in favor of a 15-year, $225M lease agreement with Renaissance Sports & Entertainment to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in Glendale, AZ. For the past four years, the NHL-run Coyotes have been flip-flopping potential owners and the fate of the team was in jeopardy. Now the RSE seems to have control, however paperwork must be signed and completed by July 8th and the deal must be closed by August 5th.
The team is to be renamed the Arizona Coyotes. That just sounds awful.
Courtesy: Getty Images
Hundreds of fans and supporters showed up to the meeting, as well as many Glendale residents who don’t want the NHL team in their town. The meeting was met with cheers and boo’s as both sides showed their support and displeasure.
The NHL was represented by Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly who received a very rare standing ovation as they entered the room. The Coyotes were represented by GM Dave Maloney and player Derek Morris.
The RSE is led by Canadian businessmen George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc, which may have won the swing vote by partnering up with Global Spectrum, who owns the Philadelphia Flyers. Global Spectrum, who manages 113 facilities around the world including the University of Phoenix Stadium which houses the Arizona Cardinals, would help the RSE manage the Jobing.com Arena.
The Coyotes future has been in limbo the past few months and speculation of them relocating was becoming very real. Seattle and Quebec City were the two front-runners with Markham, ONT, right ouside Toronto, as a close third. WIth the Coyotes now on the verge of staying in Arizona with an unfortunate new moniker, the idea of expansion is very real. The NHL wants to go to 32 teams within the next few years, maybe sooner than that. Seattle is already trying to coax an NBA team back to the city and a new arena is planned. The NHL will probably follow suit.
So, for now, the Arizona Coyotes are safe. As for their name, it sounds more like an AHL team now.
The Coyotes have also re-signed goaltender Mike Smith and head coach Dave Tippett. They can now hit the free agent market with some confidence.
More to come…
