City of Glendale Ends Coyotes Lease Agreement, Coyotes Threaten Lawsuit

[RGM81]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/a...ssive-lawsuit/

It just never ends eh?

Gary Bettman was on CBC during the 2nd intermission of the game tonight and called out the city of Glendale for its poor government.

Well they showed him by voting 5-2 to end the lease agreement.

The Coyotes have threatened a $200M lawsuit.

Discuss.

[mikecole141]

I think the Coyotes shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, and bail on Arizona to head for La Belle Province and get into making some real money. None of the other potential markets are ready to go, and let's face it, real hockey fans want a new battle of Quebec. Portland has a building but the owner is not really crazy about hockey, however Portland has a ton of restaurants that serve Poutine so if it can't be Quebec... Portland could do in a pinch, could it sell there?

[aspencer528]

Why is there still a hockey team in Arizona? Like really? It isn't working. Nothing but lose money,lacklustre crowds, owner ship fiascos and now this. It's time for them to go somewhere the team will be embraced and made profitably. Being Canadian I too would prefer Quebec, but Seattle and Las Vegas ain't bad second and third options as well as Portland as suggested. The city of Pheonix don't deserve an NHL team and the people their haven't been the most supportive.

[oogabooga99]

Yep, this is a broken record. Must be nice to lose millions and millions of dollars, just to want to do it and fight to do it, year after year. Get that team out of there. And as for Bettman.... yeah... sue the government. Brilliant idea.... even if they win.... where's that 200million coming out of? and Legal fees?? The peoples pockets.... I'm sure the city of Glendale will just scream with excitement to support this team further.

[Leafsman]

Hockey + Arizona = FAILURE.

Apparently, the current city council is not the same one that approved the agreement. Current council does not like the agreement and struck it down based on the fact that two former city employees (who were receiving some sort of severance from the city at the time) joined the Coyotes.

According to Arizona law, this constitutes a violation. Someone who is currently employed, or are in receipt of money from a council, cannot leave the city and work for an entity that has been granted a lease or other contract for the duration of said lease or contract.

I don't think the lawsuit will be as cut and dry as the Coyotes believe. I think both parties will spend what they have trying to prove their point and in the end, everybody loses. I think the city of Glendale (which has not been financially stable for a while itself) will end up spending millions, if not billions, of taxpayers money trying to prove the validity of their claim and the Coyotes owners will spend the same trying to get the lease reinstated.

In the end, I see this happening:

Glendale goes bankrupt and the Coyotes win the lawsuit. Since the city is bankrupt, they cannot afford the $15 million a year anyway. The team is forced to re-locate to Portland, Seattle, Quebec or who knows where, Bettman has egg on his face but he'll swear he doesn't and he finally gets ousted for his idiocy.

The owners hired Bettman with the mandate of selling the game in the U.S. market (FAIL), ending labor unrest (apocalyptic FAIL), completing expansion plans (did this, but the locations he chose - FAIL), and modernizing the views of the "old guard" within the ownership ranks (FAIL).