Watchdog group vows to press ahead in suit against Glendale
The Goldwater Institute still plans to take the city of Glendale to court, in an attempt to block its plan to commit as much as $25-million (all currency U.S.) to cover the Phoenix Coyotes' losses next season, but it is holding off for now. Le Templar, communications director for Goldwater, said Friday that until there is a deal in writing that can be presented to an Arizona court, the institute will wait. "We don't want to proceed and take a chance our [lawsuit]will be thrown out on technical grounds and we will not get a chance to make our arguments," he said.
The institute believes it is illegal under Arizona law for city council to hand full authority over to city manager Ed Beasley to make a binding deal with the NHL.
The NHL demanded and got a commitment from Glendale to cover up to $25-million of the Coyotes' losses if it is unable to sell the team by the start of the 2010-11 season. The league called this an "insurance policy" and said it should not be necessary because it expects to complete a sale by the summer to either Jerry Reinsdorf or the group of investors known as Ice Edge Holdings LLC.