More On Bettman's Visit To Seattle, Phoenix Already On The Clock...??? (UPDATED W/Prospective Owners)

((HT: KING-TV))

Chris Daniels broke the news about the Gary Bettman-Bill Daly visit to Seattle last week and now there's a bit of an update...

Here's Daniels original salvo


Now, in a series of Tweets, Daniels has a little more info...

NEW: Seattle Mayor Ed Murray tells me #NHL initiated last wk’s meeting, & asked city to alter #SeattleArena MOU. Murray says he told them No 

MORE: Mayor Murray says he believes the Seattle City Council has no interest in changing MOU, said he brought up Key Arena. 

Seattle Council President Tim Burgess reiterated that he believes #SeattleArena won’t work with an #NHL first scenario.

The HQ's feelings here are that they're trying to find a quick home for somebody if something falls down. Phoenix makes the most sense with the attendance out that the LeBlanc group has. But keep an eye on the Florida Panthers and their wont to have the city pony up to $60-million for improvements to their arena in the town of Sunrise.

What makes the most sense over time is Phoenix slides up to Seattle and Florida will go to Quebec City- but that's just us thinking out loud now...

PM UPDATE: The Score, reporting Daniels again, has the proposed ownership group all figured out.

Victor Coleman and Jonathan Glaser are thought to be the driving force behind the bid. Coleman is CEO of Hudson Pacific Properties, which owns a long list of properties in and around Seattle.

Coleman and Glaser, along with Jeff Marks, met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly.

So, there you go... now we know... and we also know they're very serious in Seattle...

Seattle Mayor Acknowledges NHL Talks As Coyotes Plan B

((HT: KING-TV))

Chris Daniels is on top of it again...

All of the HQ's talk about Seattle being an under-seated Plan B for the Phoenix Coyotes is now out there again...

Daniels caught up with the mayor of Seattle, Mike McGinn, whose response was understandably wary and tempered...
Welcome to your Monday, Phoenix... Mark Brown of Bleacher Report has the lowdown on the last public version of the deal that Renaissance has with the city: The latest deal on the table was outlined in the May 30, 2013 edition of Forbes Magazine. The transaction calls for Renaissance to put up $45 million in equity. Fortress Investment Group, with assets of $55.6 billion as of March 31, 2013, would provide $120 million, and the NHL would make $85 million available through a loan. The Fortress dollars would be repaid by a fee the citizens of Glendale incur to operate the arena. Currently, that would be the $6.5 million allocated in the preliminary budget. At this point, the proposed $120 million from Fortress and a combined $32.5 million over the next five years from the Council appear wide apart. The proposed package of $250 million far exceeds the Forbes value of $170 million placed on the franchise alone.
No word on just how much the Bartoszek-Lanza deal would be straight up cash, no NHL loan, and sans leverage from a hedge fund.

Coyotes Plan B: Seattle...???

((HT: Yahoo!Sports/Leahy))

In the Puck Daddy section, Sean Leahy now seemingly has more details on the Phoenix Coyotes situation...
Let's back track a few days here to Mike Sunnucks work in the Phoenix Business Journal...

Thursday's article had Glendale's concerns over the deal with Renaissance:

• The lack of equity and personal investments from Renaissance principals in their bid.

• The bid’s reliance on financing and loans from the National Hockey League and private equity investment firm Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG).

• Renaissance using funds from an arena deal with Glendale to pay debt service on their financing.

• A possible relocation of the team to Seattle or another market after a few more years in the West Valley.

We may not even get to point four...

On the "Satellite Hotstove" segment last night on CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada," FOSG Elliotte Friedman and Glenn Healy explained how we're getting to the idea of Phoenix to Seattle...

The Vancouver Canucks were looking for a home for their AHL franchise after they bought the Peoria Rivermen, and understandably, they wanted to put the team in Seattle. Strangely, it ended up in Utica, New York because the Key Arena folks said that the arena wasn't available for hockey.

Introducing your Utica Comets... complete with $5-million in state aid to renovate the arena in town that only seats 4,000 people...
((HT: WKTV-TV))


Even as KING-TV's Chris Daniels reported last week that the Key Arena has its ice-making equipment still in place and was functional:

Deborah Daoust spokesperson for Seattle Center, says ice making equipment and chilling system at #KeyArena is still operational

Reason being, according to Friedge and Glenn Healy, through Leahy:

Plan B for the NHL and Coyotes, if the latest candidate doesn't go through with the purchase, is to sell the team to investors Ray Bartoszek and Anthony Lanza, who previously engaged in discussions to purchase a 49-percent stake in the New York Mets in 2011, for $220 million. According to Glenn Healy, if those two do not get what they want by July 2 from the city of Glendale, then they would move the team to The Emerald City. Part of the new ownership group would be former NHLer and current NBC analyst Jeremy Roenick, who would help run the hockey operations department.

Whither Chris Hansen in all of this...???
Daniels sat down with him after the SacKings quest stopped...
((HT: KING-TV))

Let's see how Tuesday winds itself up...
Quoting Ol' JR: "Business is about to pick up..."

NHL Kinda Admits Glendale May Have Problems (UPDATED With Seattle POV And Bettman On Seattle)

((HT: TSN))

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and Commissioner Gary Bettman had their press conference of the "State of the State" in Chicago before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. And they're now admitting that there might be a problem in Phoenix with the Coyotes and their lack of an owner.

Maybe...

Maybe big enough to do something about it...

Like move them... or something... if a new ownership group (aka- Renaissance) can't reach a deal to keep the team in Glendale at jobing.com Arena.

Commissioner Bettman said at the press conference that "time is getting short" finding a solution to keep the team in Arizona. And Daly admits that the new schedule release will be pushed back because of the Coyotes' situation- and there might not even be a team to call Phoenix's next season...

"It certainly means that it's possible that the team won't play there next year," Daly said.

But the place where the Coyotes could land- if at all- is an unknown...

Asked if there must be some kind of an answer by the June 27 NHL Board of Governors meeting, Bettman told the assembled media "maybe."

You'll recall that Daly and Bettman held meetings with the Glendale City Council late last month- separately, not as a group of seven. Some say that the reason was to avoid the Open Meetings Law in the state of Arizona. Others say it was because the scheduling just... didn't... work... out...

Choose your version...

The city of Glendale is budgeting only $6-million where the Anthony LeBlanc-led group Renaissance Group is looking for a figure closer to $15-million. The city is looking to award the contract for managing jobing.com by June 25th. Four companies have bid, but none of the names have been made public.

Which is another problem in Glendale...

All this could go down...
Two days before the BOG Meeting...

Here's Dan Bickley talking about the shenanigans from a while back...
((HT: azcentral.com))
“The puck is in the City of Glendale’s end,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. Indeed... PM UPDATE: Chris Daniels from KING-TV in Seattle, who monitored the whole SacKings to Seattle idea, has checked with the folks that run Key Arena... through his Twitter... Deborah Daoust spokesperson for Seattle Center, says ice making equipment and chilling system at #KeyArena is still operational Key Arena hosted a 'Stars on Ice' show back in 2012. Obviously, not hockey. Daoust also says the Key Arena dates, that were being held for an NBA team, have been freed up. Not being held for any other reason So, the short version is that Seattle looks like they're clearing the runway just in case... And, so is Quebec City... Here's an interview that Bettman did with KING-TV when discussing Seattle...

Seattle Approves Arena Deal, Daryl Katz Is Kicking Tires...

((HT: KING-TV Seattle))

It appears that Seattle is one step closer to getting a new arena in the thought that it could attract one, if not two, professional sports franchises...

NHL and/or NBA...

The City Council voted 6-2 to pass the South Downtown plan. Hedge fund billionaire Chris Hansen's plan to build a $490-million calls for $200 million in public funds. But construction won't start until the plan passes environmental reviews and the actual franchise showing up on the doorstep.

Hansen has also said that he would guarantee to cover any debt if the arena financing doesn't happen.

Seattle sources also say that the Katz Group, the owners of the Edmonton Oilers, visited the town to check on the viability of a possible move.

Here's how the story broke this afternoon...


The Katz Group confirmed to the Edmonton Sun that they visited Key Arena: "I can confirm that Daryl Katz, Patrick LaForge, Kevin Lowe and others from the Oilers leadership group are in Seattle for meetings and to attend the Seahawks game," Bob Black, executive vice president of the Katz Group, said in a statement.  

"We remain committed to working with City Administration to achieve a deal commensurate with what Winnipeg and Pittsburgh have done to sustain the NHL in those small markets. If we can achieve such a deal, the Oilers will remain in Edmonton and we can get on with the important work of developing the new arena and investing in the continued revitalization of Edmonton's downtown core.  

"Nonetheless, and as the City of Edmonton is aware, the Katz Group has been listening to proposals from a number of potential NHL markets for some time. After more than four years of trying to secure an arena deal and with less than 24 months remaining on the Oilers' lease at Rexall Place, this is only prudent and should come as no surprise.  

"We are extremely grateful to Oilers' fans for their patience and loyalty as we work through this process towards what we sincerely hope will be a long and successful future for the Oilers in Edmonton. We have no further comment on the status of our discussions with other markets at this time."

Which, really, only means that Katz, Patrick LaForge, and Kevin Lowe are using Seattle as leverage to get their arena deal done in the next little bit.

There's no way...

That Edmonton will never...

Lose that hockey team to any city, government, or municipality not named "Edmonton" unless the province of Alberta wants a riot on its hands...

Which it won't get...

Katz is Katz... and it's a lockout...

More when we know more...