Phoenix Coyotes ownership saga lumbers on for another 30 days, says report
Say, did you know the 30-day extension between Glendale and the National Hockey League to have the NHL run Jobing.com arena had expired at the end of September?
Didn't know? Didn't care? Well, brace yourself: The Phoenix Business Journal reports that the city and the League are planning yet another extension for 30 days.
From Mike Sunnucks:
The planned extension is the latest in a series of such actions by the city and NHL as prospective Phoenix Coyotes buyer Greg Jamison tries to buy the beleaguered franchise. Jamison has been trying to buy the Coyotes since last year and keep the team in the Phoenix market.
… The NHL has owned the Coyotes since 2009, and Glendale has paid the league $25 million for each of the past two seasons to run the arena. The city has $17 million allocated in its budget for arena management this fiscal year.
City Manager Horatio Skeete is trying to work out a new arena deal with Jamison that works better financially for Glendale than the $300 million accord penned by former City Manager Ed Beasley.
(Horatio Skeete might be our favorite name in this saga since Redfield T. Baum.)
Five For Howling had the details of the most recent Glendale proposal to Jamison, who has been trying to buy the franchise since roughly the Mesozoic Era (or so it would seem).
So it appears Glendale will kick the can down the road on the arena deal, as the NHL lockout kicks the can down the road on the Coyotes.
