By Craig Morgan and Tyler Lockman
FOXSportsArizona.com
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If you were expecting a resolution to the Coyotes’ three-year-old ownership saga, you came away from Gary Bettman’s press conference disappointed. If you were looking for renewed hope that this franchise will remain in the Valley for the near future, you got your wish.
Despite a glut of media hype Monday morning, Bettman didn’t announce the sale of the club to a group headed by former San Jose Sharks executive Greg Jamison at a press conference at Jobing.com Arena. He made a point of terming his appearance “an update.” But his mere presence with Jamison at the podium made it clear the league is moving forward with the sale.
“If both things track as we hope they will in the not-too-distant future -- I won't put a time frame on it -- we will be in a position, subject to board approval and council approval, to have the sale of the Coyotes finalized and effectuated," Bettman said. “We think things are on track, and we see light at the end of the tunnel."
Both Bettman and Jamison said they hope to work out a deal within "weeks, rather than months," but Jamison made it plain that there is a lot of work to do.
“These things have a tendency to go a lot of different directions,” Jamison told FOXSportsArizona.com after the press conference. “I know there have been a lot of reports of this coming to a close quickly, but you heard what lies before us. There are documents that have to be completed. It’s just one of those situations where you have to take it one thing at a time, but the goal is to keep moving forward.”
One thing that can now be written in cement: The Coyotes will be in Glendale next season. With a week already gone in the month of May and negotiations ongoing, the Coyotes simply do not have the time to move to another city.
Bettman acknowledged as much when he addressed a question from a Quebec reporter.
“We're not focused on any other place for the Coyotes than Glendale, where the franchise is,” he said. “As I've repeatedly said, we don't look at alternatives or make comparisons on markets. We try to work with the franchise where it is when there is a problem, and we'll continue to do it that way."
In addition to a deal with the NHL, Jamison must still hammer out a new lease agreement with the city of Glendale for Jobing.com Arena. Multiple reports have four members of the city council agreeing to the general framework of a deal with Jamison. The Arizona Republic reported an agreed-upon amount of $20 million annually in arena management fees paid to the team.
Other provisions could also be included to help the NHL reach or come close to its asking price while allowing Jamison to increase revenue streams from the arena.
When asked why the Valley should embrace this particular ownership and believe it can make the club profitable where others could not, Bettman smiled.
"I'm confident that having a full-time owner focused on the business of the club can do much better than we've been able to do,” he said of the league. “We've been terribly hampered by the uncertainty of sponsors, season-ticket holders, broadcasters. There's only so much we've been prepared to do in the face of uncertainty."
Clearly, the Coyotes' on-ice success this season will help in that regard. But the elephant in the room is still the Goldwater Institute, which helped kill the previous deal with prospective buyer Matthew Hulsizer when it challenged provisions of the deal as a violation of the state’s gift clause.
Bettman said he believes the current deal is structured to avoid such issues but added that he could not predict what “third parties” might do, never naming Goldwater.
In a statement released on the institute’s web site, Goldwater CEO Darcy Olsen said: "We are looking forward to reviewing the details of the deal when they are made public. We hope the new deal complies with the law and protects taxpayers by requiring the private parties involved to bear any related costs.”
Interviewed after the press conference, Jamison insisted that his group would remain in the fight if a Goldwater challenge arose.
“We have had numerous discussions on that, and the assumption is that we will get to the finish line,” he said. “Hopefully there will not be obstacles, but I think you have to plan for a lot of contingencies.”
