Coyotes Sale OK’d

The Phoenix Coyotes are a step closer to being sold, provided San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison can close a deal with  the National Hockey League, which currently owns the team, by Jan. 21.

Despite protests from the city’s interim manager that Glendale, Ariz., simply couldn’t afford to have the team continue to call Jobing.com Arena home, a renegotiated lease agreement was OK’d by the city council Nov. 27.

A 20-year, $324 million lease was approved by the Glendale City Council in June, but growing financial constraints pushed it to seek a renegotiation. The new deal cuts back Glendale’s payments in the first five years, gives Jamison incentives to bring in more non-hockey events and issues penalties if there is an NHL lockout.

How that last detail squares with the fact that the NHL is in the 11th week of a lockout that has already wiped out more than 400 games isn’t immediately clear.

Despite the NHL’s current problems, Jamison is confident he’ll have the purchase closed by the deadline. The NHL took over the Coyotes when previous owner Jerry Moyes took the team into bankruptcy in 2009.

“The affirmative vote by the Glendale City Council is an important step toward the realization of a positive ownership resolution for the Coyotes and their fans,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Nov. 28. “The National Hockey League looks forward to working with Greg Jamison to complete the sale process as expeditiously as possible.”

The new arena deal requires Jamison to complete his purchase of the team from the NHL by Jan. 21, 2013, a deadline he was confident would be met.

“I know (city leaders) want closure very badly and so do I and the rest of the group,” Jamison said after the meeting Tuesday night. “We’re confident we can get there.”