Ice Edge Granted Exclusive Rights To Negotiate Coyotes Lease

Ice Edge Granted Exclusive Rights To Negotiate Coyotes Lease

Published June 9, 2010

Agreement Gives Ice Edge Rights To Negotiate New Arena Lease With Glendale For 60 Days

The city of Glendale "wasted little time Tuesday night in unanimously approving a memorandum of understanding with Ice Edge Holdings in a bid to keep" the Coyotes in Arizona, according to James Mirtle of the GLOBE & MAIL. The agreement gives Ice Edge "exclusive rights to negotiate a new arena lease with the city for 60 days" and calls for the investment group to "provide a bank term sheet within the next 10 days showing it may be able to find appropriate financing to purchase the team." Getting that financing, "along with negotiating a new lease for Jobing.com Arena, is believed to be one of the group’s major remaining hurdles leading up to being vetted as potential owners by the NHL." Ice Edge's agreement with the city also includes a "commitment to keep the Coyotes in Glendale for the next 25 years and to change the team's name to the Arizona Coyotes." Ice Edge's "step forward on Tuesday came one day after the only other bidder," Bulls and White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf, dropped out of the bidding (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/9). The AP noted Ice Edge "plans to buy the team with their own money and bank financing." The MOU "outlines terms of the proposed lease, with the hockey team owners getting revenue from parking and from a special taxing district to be formed in the immediate vicinity of Jobing.com Arena." Ice Edge CEO Anthony LeBlanc said he expects a lease agreement to be reached "remarkably quick compared to the process thus far." Once a new lease is in place, the NHL will "determine if Ice Edge should be allowed to complete the purchase" (AP, 6/8).