NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly noted last week that no group enjoys exclusivity in its bid to purchase the Coyotes. Apparently, that wasn’t just lip service.
Sources familiar with the situation confirmed Friday that Darin Pastor’s group delivered its bid to purchase the Coyotes to the NHL offices in New York early Friday morning.
Among the highlights:
-- According to sources, the bid is believed to include the highest purchase price currently offered for the team, though exact figures were unknown.
-- The bid requires less annual commitment from the City of Glendale to manage Jobing.com Arena than numerous studies suggest the city must pay. That amount has long been a major hurdle to closing any deal.
-- The bid includes an option to purchase Jobing.com Arena over a period of time.
-- The bid includes an out-clause that ranges from 3-7 years, depending on the club's financial performance, which likely is similar to any other group’s bid.
-- The Pastor group wants to forge a much deeper relationship with all of the Valley’s youth hockey programs both to promote and grow the game.
Pastor was in Scottsdale on Friday meeting with representatives of Kutak Rock LLP, the firm his group just retained that specializes in the municipal bond market and is expected to play a major role in brokering a deal with Glendale.
Pastor could not be reached for comment, but it is believed that the group would like to have a deal closed as soon as possible – probably in no more than a month’s time – in order to manage myriad other issues, including the expiring contracts of general manager Don Maloney, coach Dave Tippett and goalie Mike Smith.
It is unknown how far along Pastor’s group might be in negotiations with the City of Glendale, whose council members and mayor appear to be in great disagreement over the annual operating costs of Jobing.com Arena. But Pastor’s group did meet with Glendale officials prior to meeting with the league, when he first threw his name in the hat to buy the team on March 29.
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