"By changing the structure of the sale, Matt Hulsizer has improved his chances of closing the deal to buy the Phoenix Coyotes. Hulsizer confirmed in an interview during the Blackhawks-Coyotes game on Sunday night that he is willing to guarantee $75 million of the $100 million payment from the city of Glendale to all but eliminate future risk tax payers in Glendale may face.
The NHL had hoped to have the sale complete long before now, and sources say commissioner Gary Bettman expected a resolution last week, meaning the bonds which represent the backbone of this agreement would either sell, or the deal would fall apart.
However, the league, Hulsizer and Glendale have kept negotiations alive and according to source, Hulsizer's guarantee is just one of several efforts being made to get a deal done. "The lesson here is never, ever, ever, never, ever count Gary Bettman out. If there is a way to save the Coyotes, he will.
6 comments:
Rather the Jets may not come from Phoenix but from Atlanta. If one franchise has to move, the league would prefer it be Atlanta thereby allowing Detroit to move to the East.
How would the Divisions set up under such a arrangment?
I have been reading the thread on hfboards including the letter itself and i dont think it really changes anything.
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=891079&page=19
Oh and am i the only one that believes the NHL has no intention of putting a team in Winnipeg and is just using them as leverage?
This may be an instance where the League (re Bettman) and the League (re The Owners who don't like constantly propping up a sink-hole) may ultimately part ways. If the bonds don't sell, because of the threat of the Goldwater Institute or simply because the interest rate is too low, then there is no money and the deal is sunk.
By the end of the playoffs if the sale hasn't gone through I can't see the NHL continuing in Phoenix for another year - even with Glendale essentially footing the losses.
Would Bettman prefer to keep his US footprint, at least until the new US TV deal is done - probably - but there are a lot of fires to put out and at certain point it becomes hard to resist going somewhere that will fill the arena night after night.
Apparently they have buyers for the bonds but they had to raise the rate from 6 to 9 % adding 100m to the costs. I just can't see how cog can afford this plus the 100m in arena maintenance the promised to pay to cover the teams loses for next 5 years. Hulsizer isn't even putting up any of his own money to buy this team.
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