The former Phoenix Coyotes -- now the Arizona Coyotes -- will stay in Glendale.
Well, for a little while longer.
In a 4-3 vote, the City Council has approved prospective Coyotes owner Renaissance Sports & Entertainment’s (RSE) 15-year, $225 million lease agreement for Jobing.com Arena. That will pave the way for RSE to buy the team with the goal of keeping them in Glendale.
At the same time, this isn’t necessarily the end of the Coyotes’ long saga.
While this deal will give the franchise another shot, RSE did retain an out-clause that can be activated if the team’s losses reach a cumulative total of $50 million or more within the first five years of this agreement.
Conversely, Glendale doesn’t have an out-clause.
That being said, RSE added a “make whole” component that would provide the city with some compensation should the team relocate, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Nick Cotsonika.
RSE will also have the backing of the Philadelphia Flyers’ owners, Global Spectrum.
“Combining Global Spectrum’s management of the stadium next door with the efforts at the arena creates unique operating efficiencies that will be financially beneficial to both venues,” Flyers president Peter Luukko said prior to the vote.
So the long-term future of the Coyotes is still very much in doubt. But at least it looks like they’ll have something that they haven’t had since 2009:
An owner.