Looks like some good news is finally coming the way of the Phoenix Coyotes. Last night during the Fox Sports Arizona broadcast of the Chicago Blackhawks/Phoenix Coyotes game, new owner Matt Hulsizer was interviewed during the first intermission. He had this to say:
"I’m signing up to take on losses that would otherwise be born by the Glendale and Arizona taxpayers. However, the deal needs to move forward. And when you look out 25, 30 years you know we want to do what’s in the best interest of Arizona and the best interest of Hockey fans and so… (pauses) We, on Friday, sent a letter to Goldwater to make it brain dead simple. We said ‘Look, we’re going to take the $100 million you get $25 million back. $75 million will guarantee it."
That circumvents the "gift clause" in the Arizona state constitution that the Goldwater Institute was fussing about being broken. The parking bonds are being sold at fair value, and the city isn't under or overpaying for them. The bond payback should get the city around $80 million.
During the second intermission, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) and former state attorney general Grant Woods spoke about the importance of keeping the Coyotes in Arizona.
McCain: Well, I rely on Grant Woods that we’ll talk to in just a minute. The former Attorney General of the State of Arizona said this satisfies the gift clause concerns. I take his word for it and I hope now the Goldwater Institutes concerns will be satisfied and they will sit down an negotiate and make sure that we can then have an assured presence of the Coyotes for the next….forever. Long after I’m gone. (laughs)
SB Nation Arizona brings up a very good point:
From the beginning, GWI has treated this like a political campaign. They've spread false information, used tactics such as robo-calling voters to generate awareness, and have gone far beyond the bounds of a strict legal concern to sink this deal.
Whether they've been shilling for outside forces who stand to benefit from the Coyotes' departure or they've simply taken advantage of the situation to raise their profile and generate more donations to their coffers, they've acted as anything but a responsible civic watchdog.
Oddly enough, upon looking at TSN's Jets Meter this morning, they didn't bother to update it on this news. They still have the story regarding a possible pursuit of a minor league team to play in Jobing.com as a backup in case the 'Yotes leave as the main story giving the Meter a push.
While there's plenty of room for speculation and conjecture as far as the Thrashers are concerned, it's looking less and less likely that the franchise that was once the Jets will be returning the Winnipeg any time soon.
(EDIT: I refreshed, and they updated with the bond story. Oddly enough, the position of the Meter didn't even change. Denial? Haven't done a new one up in Photoshop? Come on, TSN. This isn't nearly sensational enough. Maybe you need to deploy members of your crack reporting team to Atlanta to actually research some of the goings on here. Oh, wait. You didn't bother to do that with Phoenix, so why bother here?)