Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Things may get litigious between the Coyotes and Glendale, AZ

06/09/2015 at 11:23pm EDT

Oh, dear. This comes from the Phoenix Coyotes:

Coyotes Statement Regarding City of Glendale Meeting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, June 9, 2015

GLENDALE, ARIZONA --- In response to the posting issued this evening by the City of Glendale of a special meeting of council tomorrow to explore the possibility of canceling the professional management services and arena lease agreement between the City of Glendale and IceArizona, Nick Wood, of the Law Firm Snell & Wilmer, outside counsel for the Arizona Coyotes issued the following statement:

“This is a blatant attempt to renege on a valid contract that was negotiated fairly and in good faith and in compliance with all laws and procedures. In the event the City Council initiates any action to revoke, repeal or otherwise rescind the agreement, the Coyotes will immediately take all actions available to them under the law against the City of Glendale.”

Coyotes Co-owner, President and CEO Anthony LeBlanc added, “This action by the City of Glendale is completely ludicrous, especially in light of the fact that myself and Andrew Barroway visited with the City yesterday and the particulars of this were never raised. In fact, we to this moment have not been advised of this other than the notification on the City website. The City of Glendale is displaying a complete lack of good faith, business acumen or an understanding of a business partnership. We want to reassure our great fans that the Arizona Coyotes are committed to Glendale and playing at Gila River Arena.”

added 7:58am 6/10/15, from Elliottel Friedman of Sportnet,

Hours after the Arizona Coyotes held a positive town hall where CEO Anthony LeBlanc said ownership had a “good meeting” with Glendale City Council, the organization was blindsided by news the council called a special meeting to vote on prematurely ending a 15-year agreement with the club.

The agreement pays team ownership $15 million per year to run Gila River Arena, which is leased from the city.

“Unbelievable,” one Coyote said. “It never ends.”

Scheduled for Wednesday night (as the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning compete in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final), the vote tosses a stunning wild card into the team’s future.

According to several reports, council is trying to void the deal on an Arizona statute indicating it “may, within three years after its execution, cancel any contract, without penalty or further obligation … if any person significantly involved in initiating, negotiating, securing, drafting or creating the contract … 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 … with respect to the subject matter of the contract.”

continued

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