Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy and sale

In a statement, Moyes announced that he had agreed in principle to sell the team to PSE Sports and Entertainment, headed by Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie, for $212.5 million.

[12] Balsillie had previously made unsuccessful approaches to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators, with the intent of relocating either team to Hamilton.

[18] Bettman said that Moyes may not have had the authority to file the bankruptcy petition, and may not have even been in full control of the team by virtue of the massive financial assistance he'd received.

[17] Although it has been widely speculated that southern Ontario is big enough to support a third NHL team alongside the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators (despite the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings being right on the doorstep of the region as well), Bettman suggested that it was not likely the league would approve any plan to move the Coyotes to Canada, and accused Moyes and Balsillie of attempting to "circumvent" league rules.

[28] New York's two senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, also wrote Baum to oppose the move on the grounds that a Hamilton-based team would do severe economic harm to the Sabres.

These included Jerry Reinsdorf, Toronto Argonauts' co-owners Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon; and John Breslow of Las Vegas, who was already an owner of 3% of the Coyotes.

Baum also rejected the proposal in part due to the fact that Balsillie's offer did not include any relocation fee to the NHL, to which they would be entitled since southern Ontario is potentially a more lucrative market than Phoenix.

In the ruling, the judge also dismissed claims made by Moyes and Balsillie's lawyers that the NHL was violating antitrust laws in not allowing the move.

Balsillie's lawyers filed the documents, claiming that sections of the Constitution violate anti-trust law and asked that the judge ignore the rules of the NHL on that basis.

[14] On September 9, 2009, it was reported that both Reinsdorf and Ice Edge Holdings had withdrawn from the bidding for the Coyotes, leaving only Balsillie and the NHL as prospective purchasers.

The agreement included a special tax district surrounding the arena, expected to generate $47 million annually from businesses in support of the team.

[54] The Arizona Republic reported that negotiations had resumed with Ice Edge, with Glendale removing its objection to guaranteeing $5 million in revenues from parking for the team.

[55] Scott Burnside of ESPN characterized the Reinsdorf deal as "dead", and that Glendale must agree to some conditions of the NHL's such as guaranteeing operating losses before any sale to Ice Edge.

To retain negotiating rights with Glendale, Ice Edge was given ten days to provide legal assurances from its bankers showing it can borrow the money it needs and the $25 million fund for the NHL.

[64] Although the team had a successful season, reaching 100 points for the first time to finish fourth in their conference, and earning their first playoff berth since 2001–2002, attendance remained poor.

[65] In September 2010, it was reported that Matthew Hulsizer, the Chicago chief executive of options-trading firm PEAK6 had reached a preliminary lease arrangement with the City of Glendale.

"[68] The statement was later clarified that Hulsizer put $25 million into escrow as a sign of good faith and that his funds were not to be used to pay the NHL's bills running the Coyotes.

[71] That same day, Glendale released a statement on its web site announcing that the city had reached an agreement in principle on a lease with the Hulsizer group.

"[73] Hulsizer attended the October 16, 2010 Coyotes' home game versus the Detroit Red Wings and discussed the team with general manager Don Maloney and coach Dave Tippett.

[84] The possibility of a lawsuit was raised by the Goldwater Institute, over concerns that the deal is an unconstitutional subsidy and the $97 million for management fees is "grossly disproportionate to the fair market value" and potentially violates a "gift clause" in state law.

[87] On January 20, 2011, the Arizona Republic reported in an editorial, that Glendale was modifying the lease agreement to appease concerns of the Goldwater Institute, which had threatened to oppose the sale in court.

[92] The media speculated that Hulsizer had abandoned his effort to purchase the Coyotes and pursue the St. Louis Blues, a claim denied by his investment group.

[94] In June 2009, the Goldwater Institute made a public records request to the City of Glendale for any documents pertaining to negotiations with potential new owners of the Coyotes.

[95] When the proposed sale to Hulsizer and its lease agreement became public, Glendale filed studies to justify the purchase of parking rights at the Arena property and shared those with Goldwater.

Bettman held a press conference, making it clear that the NHL was still committed to the sale, but that "I will not say today when the end is and I will not set a deadline, but at some point, we may have no choice but to begin pursuing our other alternatives.

[115] In August 2011, the Phoenix Business Journal reported that former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison was leading a group to purchase the Coyotes and keep the team in Arizona.

[122] On April 3, 2012, Elaine Scruggs, the mayor of Glendale, stated she would no longer approve of any further subsidy to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix and she who also seek the return of the $20 million paid to the NHL in the previous season, which is being held in escrow by the league.

According to The Globe and Mail, the Jamison group sought a continuation of the "facility management fee" paid by the City of Glendale at a rate of $16 million annually to operate the Arena over a 30-year lease.

[1] According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal proposed continuing the facility management fee paid by Glendale, at an average rate of $14.5 million per year.

[2] On May 25, 2013, the NHL approved the sale of the Coyotes to Renaissance Sports & Entertainment (RS&E), a group of Canadian investors headed by banker George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc, who had previously tried to purchase the team in 2009 as part of Ice Edge Holdings.