((HT: Sports Exchange))
Glendale (Arizona) Mayor Jerry Weiers is asking the state attorney general to investigate the closed door meetings that the City Council had with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and League Number Two Bill Daly last year.
After days of meetings in 2013, the Council voted by a slim margin to approve the $225-million agreement that keeps the Coyotes in Glendale and the Jobing.com Arena. Weiers voted against the deal and is concerned that the City Council and the NHL violated Sunshine Laws.
If an investigation is opened and a violation is found, the deal could be voided- an issue the HQ raised when all of this went down in the first place. If the deal is torched, the city council would have 30 days to do everything all over again- in an open meeting this time around.
"I think it's a clear violation," Weiers told The Arizona Republic in a Tuesday article. "That meeting is wrong on so many levels. It's like playing poker and showing your opponents all your cards."
Here's the short version from News 12
And the HQ wonders again if the folks in Seattle are watching the activity in town...
The full article from the Republic is hyah and is an nice, in-depth look what may be a bad situation for all parties involved.
As we have maintained from the beginning...
Showing posts with label Jerry Weiers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jerry Weiers. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Saturday, July 20, 2013
So, Did Glendale Violate Open Meeting Laws...???
((HT: AZCentral.com/Giblin))
It was a question the HQ had in all of its coverage leading up to the city of Glendale prostituting itself to the National Hockey League to the tune of keeping the (now) Arizona Coyotes at jobing.com arena a few weeks ago...
As the league set its ideas in motion, Commissioner Gary Bettman and Number Two Bill Daly met with city council members in groups of two or three (or individually) as a way to get around the Open Meetings Law, having any minutes available for future reference, or having (frankly) any kind of record on paper to see just what back door dealings were cut to keep Glendale with a hockey team, keep the league from having to move a hockey team at the last minute, and keep Renaissance Sports and Entertainment from getting a hockey team.
Meetings held in secret and out of the public eye are always on the up-and-up, aren't they...???
A complaint has been filed by a Glendale resident with the state Attorney General's Office on just that very idea.
A July 2 letter by Assistant Attorney General Christopher Munns was sent to interim City Manager Dick Bowers.
It said, according to Giblin:
“The complaints allege that the council violated the Open Meetings Law by conducting sequential meetings of council members in a number less than a quorum in order to discuss official town business without needing to comply with the requirements of the law,” Munns states in the letter.
Munns asked Bowers to provide additional information about the serial meetings by July 26.
If Glendale violated the Open Meetings Law, penalties range from fines of as much as $500 per person, repaying the state for their attorney fees during their investigation, and removal from public office...
How that would affect the deal with RSE is anyone's guess...
While the interim city attorney for the city of Glendale only describes the meetings as meet-and-greet, resident Ken Sturgis, who said he filed a complaint, thinks otherwise...
“It’s hard to believe that this kind of contract that was put together and presented later wasn’t talked about. I find that very hard to believe,” he told Giblin.
As does the HQ... but what will happen probably won't have much impact on what has already gone down...
Here were the questions Glendale mayor Jerry Weiers had a few months ago- and, probably, still does...
((HT: AZPBS))
It was a question the HQ had in all of its coverage leading up to the city of Glendale prostituting itself to the National Hockey League to the tune of keeping the (now) Arizona Coyotes at jobing.com arena a few weeks ago...
As the league set its ideas in motion, Commissioner Gary Bettman and Number Two Bill Daly met with city council members in groups of two or three (or individually) as a way to get around the Open Meetings Law, having any minutes available for future reference, or having (frankly) any kind of record on paper to see just what back door dealings were cut to keep Glendale with a hockey team, keep the league from having to move a hockey team at the last minute, and keep Renaissance Sports and Entertainment from getting a hockey team.
Meetings held in secret and out of the public eye are always on the up-and-up, aren't they...???
A complaint has been filed by a Glendale resident with the state Attorney General's Office on just that very idea.
A July 2 letter by Assistant Attorney General Christopher Munns was sent to interim City Manager Dick Bowers.
It said, according to Giblin:
“The complaints allege that the council violated the Open Meetings Law by conducting sequential meetings of council members in a number less than a quorum in order to discuss official town business without needing to comply with the requirements of the law,” Munns states in the letter.
Munns asked Bowers to provide additional information about the serial meetings by July 26.
If Glendale violated the Open Meetings Law, penalties range from fines of as much as $500 per person, repaying the state for their attorney fees during their investigation, and removal from public office...
How that would affect the deal with RSE is anyone's guess...
While the interim city attorney for the city of Glendale only describes the meetings as meet-and-greet, resident Ken Sturgis, who said he filed a complaint, thinks otherwise...
“It’s hard to believe that this kind of contract that was put together and presented later wasn’t talked about. I find that very hard to believe,” he told Giblin.
As does the HQ... but what will happen probably won't have much impact on what has already gone down...
Here were the questions Glendale mayor Jerry Weiers had a few months ago- and, probably, still does...
((HT: AZPBS))
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Glendale Signs Lease Deal With Renaissance, Will Goldwater Respond To Bad Bonds...? (UPDATED: Goldwater Speaks)
((HT: Sportsnet.ca))
The wanna-be/almost/soon-to-be owners of the Phoenix-slash-Arizona Coyotes have signed their lease agreement for Jobing.com Arena and the city of Glendale, Arizona.
Daryl Jones, one of the partners with Renaissance Sports & Entertainment, tweeted on Monday that the lease agreement with the City of Glendale has been executed.
We have executed the lease for http://Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The long term home of the Coyotes ! Howlllll!
The Glendale City Council approved a 15-year, $225 million arena lease deal with RSE during a special session last week, RSE still has to complete its purchase of the team and get approval from the NHL’s Board of Governors.
Sportsnet's Roger Millions caught up with Renaissance's George Gosbee who thinks the Coyotes can be profitable- even as his own home got wiped out by the floods in Calgary...
The interesting play in the Millions piece is the possible response from the Goldwater Institute... Here's Carrie Ann Sitren, Goldwater's lead attorney in their original case, from a little over a year ago... Let's just see if some of these same points come up in the near future... ((HT: Goldwater Institute their own selves)) Mike Ozanian, over at Forbes, is also writing that bond holders don't like the deal, either... evidenced by the yield jumping a full percentage point since the restructuring came into play- at the beginning of the calendar year... The middle paragraph: ...the upside of the deal tilts heavily towards the team’s potential buyers, and the risk towards the city’s taxpayers. Not only does the agreement requires the city to pay $15 million a year to Anthony LeBlanc’s group to manage the city-owned Jobing.com Arena, but RSE is not guaranteeing it will pay the city money it says it will generate from non-NHL events that will reduce the burden on taxpayers, and RSE can bolt Glendale should its losses reach $50 million in five years. Oops... THURSDAY UPDATE: Goldwater spoke... and they okayed it for now... Based on the information available to us at this time, we do not believe that the Glendale arena management deal would be held unconstitutional. Changes made to the agreement during the course of negotiations partially bridged the gap between the market cost of arena management and the amount of the payment to the team owner, thus bringing the deal into conformity with cases interpreting the Gift Clause of the Arizona Constitution. The initial deal proposed several years ago would have included not only a substantial annual arena management fee, but a $100 million up-front payment to subsidize the purchase of the team. We are proud to have played a constructive role in protecting the taxpayers and taking an illegal deal off the table. Glendale’s long and painful experience illustrates why local governments should focus on providing basic and essential public services and avoid the temptation to subsidize private enterprises such as sports teams.
The wanna-be/almost/soon-to-be owners of the Phoenix-slash-Arizona Coyotes have signed their lease agreement for Jobing.com Arena and the city of Glendale, Arizona.
Daryl Jones, one of the partners with Renaissance Sports & Entertainment, tweeted on Monday that the lease agreement with the City of Glendale has been executed.
We have executed the lease for http://Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The long term home of the Coyotes ! Howlllll!
The Glendale City Council approved a 15-year, $225 million arena lease deal with RSE during a special session last week, RSE still has to complete its purchase of the team and get approval from the NHL’s Board of Governors.
Sportsnet's Roger Millions caught up with Renaissance's George Gosbee who thinks the Coyotes can be profitable- even as his own home got wiped out by the floods in Calgary...
The interesting play in the Millions piece is the possible response from the Goldwater Institute... Here's Carrie Ann Sitren, Goldwater's lead attorney in their original case, from a little over a year ago... Let's just see if some of these same points come up in the near future... ((HT: Goldwater Institute their own selves)) Mike Ozanian, over at Forbes, is also writing that bond holders don't like the deal, either... evidenced by the yield jumping a full percentage point since the restructuring came into play- at the beginning of the calendar year... The middle paragraph: ...the upside of the deal tilts heavily towards the team’s potential buyers, and the risk towards the city’s taxpayers. Not only does the agreement requires the city to pay $15 million a year to Anthony LeBlanc’s group to manage the city-owned Jobing.com Arena, but RSE is not guaranteeing it will pay the city money it says it will generate from non-NHL events that will reduce the burden on taxpayers, and RSE can bolt Glendale should its losses reach $50 million in five years. Oops... THURSDAY UPDATE: Goldwater spoke... and they okayed it for now... Based on the information available to us at this time, we do not believe that the Glendale arena management deal would be held unconstitutional. Changes made to the agreement during the course of negotiations partially bridged the gap between the market cost of arena management and the amount of the payment to the team owner, thus bringing the deal into conformity with cases interpreting the Gift Clause of the Arizona Constitution. The initial deal proposed several years ago would have included not only a substantial annual arena management fee, but a $100 million up-front payment to subsidize the purchase of the team. We are proud to have played a constructive role in protecting the taxpayers and taking an illegal deal off the table. Glendale’s long and painful experience illustrates why local governments should focus on providing basic and essential public services and avoid the temptation to subsidize private enterprises such as sports teams.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Let's Be Negative For A Minute: Coyotes In Glendale
Let's get the positive part of this out of the way...
Here was the post mortem on the vote to keep the "Arizona" Coyotes in Glendale led by FOSG Bruce Cooper...
((HT: AZCentral.com))
The larger question: The Coyotes are safe in jobing.com arena for another five years and until the point where losses accumulate to US$50-million- which, in reality, could happen in half that time... it has in the past as teams have lost as much as US$30-million in a season... And the idea that Global-Spectrum was brought in as a partner for Renaissance seems to have swayed at least one voter in this whole thing to make it a 4-3 on the positive side for Glendale...
It's a 15-year lease, sure... and if the Renaissance owners and, presumably, the NHL want to be greedy about the whole thing, the owners can keep getting checks from the city of Glendale (which may or may not bounce considering just how much debt they themselves are in) past that five-year mark and get fat off the city for another decade without having to say they're sorry.
Well done, Glendale... even as newly-minted mayor Jerry Weiers voted against the idea- as he well should have... It was admitted by city officials that services may have to be cut this year to make ends meet- including cutting a check to Anthony LeBlanc and his partners. That's things like police, fire, libraries, sanitation... you know, things that make a city function. But it's clear that everything in and around Westgate City Center revolves around an arena that is only used a handful of times in a calendar year. A bad idea usually begat more bad ideas... and this is no different...
That's where Global-Spectrum comes into play... Allegedly... They manage over 100 arenas around the country and own the Philadelphia Flyers- in a building they manage. The Hockey News Ken Campbell raises an interesting theory: But it is interesting to note that last September, Global Spectrum signed on to manage and operate the GTA Centre in Markham, Ont., once it opens. The GTA Centre is a 20,000-seat arena that is in its infancy and would provide a ready-made building if the NHL ever decided to relocate or expand to the largest and most under-serviced hockey market in the world. Is it a stretch to suggest that if the Coyotes fail, Global Spectrum and its owner might want to see them move to an NHL-sized building that it already manages?
So, when time and patience runs out in Glendale- which it will...
Guess who jumps to the front of the line over Seattle and Quebec City...???
And when the league expands to 32 teams- which it will...
Look for those other two markets and wanna-be owners to have to cut big checks to play in the NHL sandbox instead of getting a cheap tenant on a move-in like Global and the Coyotes Canadian owners...
Here was the post mortem on the vote to keep the "Arizona" Coyotes in Glendale led by FOSG Bruce Cooper...
((HT: AZCentral.com))
The larger question: The Coyotes are safe in jobing.com arena for another five years and until the point where losses accumulate to US$50-million- which, in reality, could happen in half that time... it has in the past as teams have lost as much as US$30-million in a season... And the idea that Global-Spectrum was brought in as a partner for Renaissance seems to have swayed at least one voter in this whole thing to make it a 4-3 on the positive side for Glendale...
It's a 15-year lease, sure... and if the Renaissance owners and, presumably, the NHL want to be greedy about the whole thing, the owners can keep getting checks from the city of Glendale (which may or may not bounce considering just how much debt they themselves are in) past that five-year mark and get fat off the city for another decade without having to say they're sorry.
Well done, Glendale... even as newly-minted mayor Jerry Weiers voted against the idea- as he well should have... It was admitted by city officials that services may have to be cut this year to make ends meet- including cutting a check to Anthony LeBlanc and his partners. That's things like police, fire, libraries, sanitation... you know, things that make a city function. But it's clear that everything in and around Westgate City Center revolves around an arena that is only used a handful of times in a calendar year. A bad idea usually begat more bad ideas... and this is no different...
That's where Global-Spectrum comes into play... Allegedly... They manage over 100 arenas around the country and own the Philadelphia Flyers- in a building they manage. The Hockey News Ken Campbell raises an interesting theory: But it is interesting to note that last September, Global Spectrum signed on to manage and operate the GTA Centre in Markham, Ont., once it opens. The GTA Centre is a 20,000-seat arena that is in its infancy and would provide a ready-made building if the NHL ever decided to relocate or expand to the largest and most under-serviced hockey market in the world. Is it a stretch to suggest that if the Coyotes fail, Global Spectrum and its owner might want to see them move to an NHL-sized building that it already manages?
So, when time and patience runs out in Glendale- which it will...
Guess who jumps to the front of the line over Seattle and Quebec City...???
And when the league expands to 32 teams- which it will...
Look for those other two markets and wanna-be owners to have to cut big checks to play in the NHL sandbox instead of getting a cheap tenant on a move-in like Global and the Coyotes Canadian owners...
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
And The Future Of The Coyotes Is...???
There was an evening of discussion for the Glendale City Council to determine whether or not Renaissance Sports and Entertainment would come to some kind of agreement with the city on a lease agreement on jobing.com arena in Westgate City Center.
The City Council put in a last-minute provision on having their own back out if the deal soured in five years time- the same provision RSE made in front of the City Council. Knowing that RSE would turn the two-sided out clause deal down, RSE came back with a "make whole" idea where, if team leaves after 5 yrs, RSE would reimburse the city up to US$6-million a season for the five years the team would have been active.
Wait... weren't we in this situation before...? The point surrendered in the meeting has been a big selling point for some of the council members about having an NHL franchise around.
Glendale city staffers, the City Manager, and City Attorney are all warning against the Coyotes deal. But all it was going to take was a simple 4-3 vote by the looks of things to lock in the Phoenix Coyotes current location for the near future.
From the appearance of things, the yes votes would be Sherwood, Knaack, Martinez and Chavira. The no votes will be Alvarez, Weiers and Hugh...
Hugh is concerned about budget cuts if the deal is approved and a staff member says it's possible.
Global Spectrum as a partner for RSE late in the game might be a bit of a game-changer... and any kind of transaction around the team and arena has to go through NHL vetting. But Global Spectrum could assist in bringing in more dates to be filled more than the 41 regular season dates the Coyotes are bringing to the table.
All this with the looming spectre of city workers not getting paid (or laid off) or any other first responder getting treated for his home visit before transporting people to local hospitals. There are talks about combining or eliminating resources should his perennial-loser of a deal goes through.
Services could be cut as a result...and the HQ knows how well that will go for a city hemorrhaging trying to pay for public services instead of allocating US$25-million to the league every year.
But voting happened in the 1:00 AM hour eastern time. It appears that the provision the city wanted in the deal having their own out clause equal to RSE's was pulled off the table- the deal breaker coming into tonight...
What this appears to be is another five-year holding pattern for the franchise... and when the Coyotes discussion occurs again in five years (or less if losses accumulate faster than US$10-million which the team traditionally has), the two cities who will be ready for the NHL (Seattle and Quebec City) will be ready for pro hockey - in whatever form available.
Unless expansion has taken those two places, Kansas City would be in play.
Hugh is evolving as a "no," Sherwood a "yes," Alvarez a "no," Martinez a "yes," Chavira (a fireman, by the way, as the swing vote) an evolving "yes," Knaack is an evolving "yes," and Weiers is a "no..."
Even as Weiers says: "I know how this vote's gonna go. I'm still very uncomfortable we're going to take all of the risk."
Chavira to LeBlanc: "If you fail, we fail, correct? I know you wouldn't get involved in this if you plan to fail."
The vote was 4-3 "yes" on resolution on roll call vote...
"Ayes" carry the resolution without roll call...
And there you go...
Mayor Weiers sat down a few months ago to discuss the on-again, off-again stuff in Glendale...
((HT: AZPBS))
More when we know more after sunrise...
The City Council put in a last-minute provision on having their own back out if the deal soured in five years time- the same provision RSE made in front of the City Council. Knowing that RSE would turn the two-sided out clause deal down, RSE came back with a "make whole" idea where, if team leaves after 5 yrs, RSE would reimburse the city up to US$6-million a season for the five years the team would have been active.
Wait... weren't we in this situation before...? The point surrendered in the meeting has been a big selling point for some of the council members about having an NHL franchise around.
Glendale city staffers, the City Manager, and City Attorney are all warning against the Coyotes deal. But all it was going to take was a simple 4-3 vote by the looks of things to lock in the Phoenix Coyotes current location for the near future.
From the appearance of things, the yes votes would be Sherwood, Knaack, Martinez and Chavira. The no votes will be Alvarez, Weiers and Hugh...
Hugh is concerned about budget cuts if the deal is approved and a staff member says it's possible.
Global Spectrum as a partner for RSE late in the game might be a bit of a game-changer... and any kind of transaction around the team and arena has to go through NHL vetting. But Global Spectrum could assist in bringing in more dates to be filled more than the 41 regular season dates the Coyotes are bringing to the table.
All this with the looming spectre of city workers not getting paid (or laid off) or any other first responder getting treated for his home visit before transporting people to local hospitals. There are talks about combining or eliminating resources should his perennial-loser of a deal goes through.
Services could be cut as a result...and the HQ knows how well that will go for a city hemorrhaging trying to pay for public services instead of allocating US$25-million to the league every year.
But voting happened in the 1:00 AM hour eastern time. It appears that the provision the city wanted in the deal having their own out clause equal to RSE's was pulled off the table- the deal breaker coming into tonight...
What this appears to be is another five-year holding pattern for the franchise... and when the Coyotes discussion occurs again in five years (or less if losses accumulate faster than US$10-million which the team traditionally has), the two cities who will be ready for the NHL (Seattle and Quebec City) will be ready for pro hockey - in whatever form available.
Unless expansion has taken those two places, Kansas City would be in play.
Hugh is evolving as a "no," Sherwood a "yes," Alvarez a "no," Martinez a "yes," Chavira (a fireman, by the way, as the swing vote) an evolving "yes," Knaack is an evolving "yes," and Weiers is a "no..."
Even as Weiers says: "I know how this vote's gonna go. I'm still very uncomfortable we're going to take all of the risk."
Chavira to LeBlanc: "If you fail, we fail, correct? I know you wouldn't get involved in this if you plan to fail."
The vote was 4-3 "yes" on resolution on roll call vote...
"Ayes" carry the resolution without roll call...
And there you go...
Mayor Weiers sat down a few months ago to discuss the on-again, off-again stuff in Glendale...
((HT: AZPBS))
More when we know more after sunrise...
Friday, June 28, 2013
Glendale Issues Counter Proposal To RSE, Makes It Public
And the first thing they did was make it public...
Craig Morgan from Fox Sports Arizona and his Twitter will get the credit for this series of details...
RSE spokesperson David Leibowitz was hot since it went public before it went to RSE:
"If you want to talk about transparency then perhaps the people you’re negotiating with should enjoy such transparency.”
Mayor Jerry Weiers, who claims that the City Council is unified in their presentation of the counter to RSE came back with:
“What we worked on this morning extensively and what we’re proposing to them is some red lines that they took out that we put back in; some things that they put in that we took back out. (We’re) trying to make certain that the city is left as whole as possible because right now the city is carrying all the burdens; has all the liabilities and that’s not a good place for the city to be.”
The full counter proposal is hyah, thanks to the transparency of the City of Glendale...
Weiers continues with Morgan: "This is the way it should have been. We should had an agreement with the council, we should have had an agreement with (RSE) and everybody is in lockstep and understands, then we take it to the public.
"We were pushed into a situation that wasn’t right. It was very unprofessional -- should have never happened, but it is what it is and here we are.”
Weiers also says that the counter is what the City Council has to vote on. It can't be anything else... even if Renaissance doesn't agree with the counter put forth by the city that they are voting on...
Got all that...???
Most parties involved in this: Glendale, RSE, and the NHL have somewhat circled July 2nd since that's the date of the Glendale meeting. But, according to Morgan once again, Weiers called that an "artificial deadline" in his point-of-view.
The HQ doesn't know how wise that is to call it "artificial" since the NHL has a lot of work to do in the upcoming off-season (like "scheduling" so the teams know who they're playing and stuff like that...). Realignment was supposed to happen. What now...???
Just more questions- since questions always begat more questions...
Here's coverage from ABC15 in Phoenix
And also from AZCentral and News 12
TSN's Darren Dreger, in New Jersey for the 2013 NHL Draft, maintains that the July 2 deadline is solid- he doesn't expect the league to budge far from it and that Seattle is far from a done deal...
Craig Morgan from Fox Sports Arizona and his Twitter will get the credit for this series of details...
RSE spokesperson David Leibowitz was hot since it went public before it went to RSE:
"If you want to talk about transparency then perhaps the people you’re negotiating with should enjoy such transparency.”
Mayor Jerry Weiers, who claims that the City Council is unified in their presentation of the counter to RSE came back with:
“What we worked on this morning extensively and what we’re proposing to them is some red lines that they took out that we put back in; some things that they put in that we took back out. (We’re) trying to make certain that the city is left as whole as possible because right now the city is carrying all the burdens; has all the liabilities and that’s not a good place for the city to be.”
The full counter proposal is hyah, thanks to the transparency of the City of Glendale...
Weiers continues with Morgan: "This is the way it should have been. We should had an agreement with the council, we should have had an agreement with (RSE) and everybody is in lockstep and understands, then we take it to the public.
"We were pushed into a situation that wasn’t right. It was very unprofessional -- should have never happened, but it is what it is and here we are.”
Weiers also says that the counter is what the City Council has to vote on. It can't be anything else... even if Renaissance doesn't agree with the counter put forth by the city that they are voting on...
Got all that...???
Most parties involved in this: Glendale, RSE, and the NHL have somewhat circled July 2nd since that's the date of the Glendale meeting. But, according to Morgan once again, Weiers called that an "artificial deadline" in his point-of-view.
The HQ doesn't know how wise that is to call it "artificial" since the NHL has a lot of work to do in the upcoming off-season (like "scheduling" so the teams know who they're playing and stuff like that...). Realignment was supposed to happen. What now...???
Just more questions- since questions always begat more questions...
Here's coverage from ABC15 in Phoenix
And also from AZCentral and News 12
TSN's Darren Dreger, in New Jersey for the 2013 NHL Draft, maintains that the July 2 deadline is solid- he doesn't expect the league to budge far from it and that Seattle is far from a done deal...
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