Lisa Halverstadt of The Arizona Republic reports the City of Glendale is crafting a plan to find a way to help Jamison to finalize a deal to purchase the Coyotes from the NHL.
Glendale’s chief negotiator told the council last week that any deal with a new Coyotes owner will require millions of taxpayer dollars each year. Keeping the team in Glendale means shouldering the cost of managing Jobing.com Arena, where the team plays, City Manager Ed Beasley said.
To sum up the details for you, here goes nothing:
- The fee to operate the arena will be $17 million next year. The City of Glendale currently owes the NHL $25 million to cover for losses incurred by the team staying in town without an owner and operating the arena this season.
- That $17 million will go to Jamison so his group can operate Jobing.com Arena.
Should this part of a potential deal be true, the ever-watchful eye of the Goldwater Institute may have something to say about seeing that much money being used to help land the team. The City of Glendale has a $35 million budget shortfall this year much in part thanks to the money they owe the NHL already.
As far as how serious Jamison is about this, he’s reportedly still searching for investors to help purchase the team but the City of Glendale has put all their support behind Jamison to get a deal done. There’s no deadline for the NHL to have a deal worked out, but the sooner the better to keep the wolves from Seattle and Quebec City at bay that would be interested in buying the team.