Coyotes lease vote awaits as judge denies restraining order
The Phoenix Coyotes appear to be staying in Glendale, Ariz., after a Maricopa County judge denied a restraining order Friday on a vote for a proposed lease with the team.
The Goldwater Institute, an Arizona watchdog group, had tried to stop a vote on the lease at Jobing.com Arena, which is owned by the city of Glendale. The group argued Glendale had yet to release key lease documents to the public.
However, Superior Court Judge Katherine denied the request, saying the documents had been available beginning Monday.
The decision paves the way for a group led by former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison to buy the team from the NHL. A lease vote was expected by Glendale later Friday.
Previous attempts to purchase the team have been blocked by the Goldwater group. Each time, it threatened legal action to prevent a lease which it claimed would be disastrous for the City of Glendale.
The Coyotes are coming off their best season in 15 years in Arizona, making the Western Conference finals.
The NHL took ownership of the team in 2009 and reportedly considered potential moves to Seattle or a larger Canadian market. But Jamison's investment group assured Bettman the team would not relocate.
Per reports, the league wanted to keep the sale price at $170 million. The Coyotes were sold out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for $140 million in 2009, when the NHL began shepherding the franchise.
The deal with Jamison is likely to include rebates and a fund to help cover the team's financial losses of $20 million to $25 million annually.
