The latest wrinkle in the arena lease crisis between the Arizona Coyotes and the City of Glendale comes down to a $3.75 million payment that may just end up in limbo.
As Fox Sports Arizona’s Craig Morgan reports, Glendale filed a motion in court to withhold a $3.75 million fourth-quarter payment to the franchise. (KTAR News phrases it as delaying rather than withholding the payment, if that makes any difference.)
KTAR News points out that the payment is supposed to be due on July 1.
The Coyotes decided not to comment on this latest issue, according to Morgan.
Here are Morgan’s tweets, in case it seems clearer to see them in full:
Glendale has filed a motion filed asking the court to allow it to withhold a $3.75 million 4th-quarter payment (per agreement) to Coyotes.
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) June 18, 2015
The Coyotes declined comment on the motion Glendale filed today. I hope to catch up with a couple legal analysts today & get their thoughts.
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) June 18, 2015
(The Arizona Republic has an in-depth article on this.)
This situation makes sense considering the span of events that have happened in about the last week or so.
To review the most recent events, Glendale decided to move forward with its plan to end its 15-year, $225 million lease agreement with the Coyotes. This came after a judge provided a temporary restraining order to keep Glendale from voiding the deal. Glendale going forward with its plan prompted some harsh words from Coyotes president, CEO & co-owner Anthony LeBlanc.
It’s unclear when this nightmare situation might end for Coyotes fans, who’ve been through processes like these for years now.