GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Glendale City Council has voted to pay the NHL $25 million in arena operating costs to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona for another season while the prolonged attempt to sell the troubled franchise goes on.
The 5-2 vote on Tuesday night came a week after the league exercised its option to cash in $25 million pledged by the city a year ago.
Before the vote, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the council that the league remains committed to keeping the team in Arizona. He said he hadn’t anticipated being back for another $25 million, that the league thought it had a buyer in Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer, but he indicated the league could seek another buyer.
Hulsizer’s purchase has been stalled, perhaps permanently blocked, by a threatened lawsuit by the conservative Goldwater Institute watchdog group over terms of the lease worked out between the city and the potential owner.
