from Peter Corbett and Sarah McLellan of azcentral,

The public backlash against Glendale — on the airwaves and social media — has been harsh, but city leaders seem to be focusing more on the city's financial bottom line than the big-city dreams of their predecessors.

"I don't know why people are shocked about this," Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers said, explaining that three new City Council members who took office in December joined him and Vice Mayor Ian Hugh in pushing for a better arena deal.

Glendale pays the Coyotes $15 million annually to manage the arena, and its combined losses for the past two years on that deal will be more than $16 million.

Now, the stakes are even higher in the ongoing legal and political showdown. Unless a settlement can be reached, the financial fallout could be devastating for Glendale, the Coyotes and the city's businesses.

Taxpayers, workers and fans would also pay a heavy price.

"The longer this goes on, the more it contaminates the fan base," said David Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California. "When there is a crisis with ownership and the local municipality ... it weighs down the fans and leads to this downward spiral."

more