Coyotes file lawsuit against City of Glendale over terminated arena deal
The Arizona Coyotes have officially filed a lawsuit against the City of Glendale, its city council and other city officials over the cancellation of their arena lease agreement.
By
Chris Peters
•
1 min read
The Arizona Coyotes have begun fighting back against the recent decision from the Glendale city council to terminate the agreement between the team and city. The team announced Friday that it had filed a lawsuit against the city and government officials.
The team released the following statement:
The Arizona Coyotes have acted to defend their rights and reaffirm their continuing commitment to their great fans by seeking a restraining order to stop the City of Glendale's baseless attack on, and improper attempt to void, the Coyotes' lawful and proper lease to play at Gila River Arena. The suit was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court against the City of Glendale, the Glendale City Council and other City officials.
According to the Arizona Republic, the Coyotes’ outside counsel said the team planned to file a $200 million lawsuit against the city.
The City Council voted 5-2 Wednesday to terminate the agreement. Glendale city officials then expressed a desire to keep the team, albeit under a renegotiated agreement. The team is unlikely to renegotiate, and even if they wanted to, it’s hard to believe the NHL would allow it to happen.
The lawsuit is the best shot the team has at remaining in Glendale. The mayor of Phoenix has already expressed interest in bringing the team back downtown to the US Airways Center. Other cities with relocation potential will also be keeping a close eye on these developments as well.
We're in for another ugly summer in the ongoing drama in the desert.
