Bettman on Arizona Coyotes issues: Nothing to see here
MANALAPAN, Fla. — Two days after one of the NHL’s 32 franchises was threatened to be locked out of its arena midseason for unpaid tax liens, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman essentially replied about the Arizona Coyotes: Nothing to see here, move along.
One of Bettman’s actual quotes, when asked about the Coyotes’ reported penchant for also being behind in other bills to vendors and paying player signing bonuses late: “Let’s not make a problem where there isn’t one.”
The Coyotes paid $1.3 million in back taxes to the State of Arizona and the City of Glendale on Thursday after what the team described as “human error.”
“There’s no issue with the Arizona Coyotes,” Bettman said. “It’s clear that the City of Glendale has either an agenda or an edge in the way they’re dealing with the Coyotes. I think there was miscommunication. All of the outstanding obligations have been brought current.”
Bettman chalked up the dispute spilling into the public sphere as Glendale acting on a vendetta against the Coyotes for pursuing multiple new arena plans in other municipalities in the Phoenix area.
However, an Arizona tax lien filed against the team revealed that they owed taxes dating back to June 2020. Last time we checked, tax obligations are not “agendas.”
“How that happened was a long story and a miscommunication, but it’s been taken care of,” Bettman said. “I know that [owner] Alex Meruelo is committed to Arizona and is working on a plan for a new arena, which is probably what is agitating the City of Glendale. A new arena would be in a place that I think everybody would find it much more accessible and would improve the short-term and long-term fortunes of the club.
”Again, it’ll take a couple years to build. And the fact that the City of Glendale wouldn’t want the club to remain in their building on an interim basis speaks volumes about the way they’re approaching this. But we can deal with all of that.”
And now it's back to me tweeting about sports! I couldn't help myself so, after @KatieJStrang's excellent report about the NHL's Coyotes not paying their taxes, I downloaded their tax lien.
How does a hockey team end up owing $1.3 million in taxes? Here's what the state says: pic.twitter.com/BYFE2lgAjf
Glendale notified the Coyotes last summer that they were unilaterally terminating the team’s lease at Gila River Arena effective June 30, 2020.
The Coyotes therefore do not have a place to hang their hat for next season, fueling speculation that the team could be sold and relocate to Houston, a report which the club flatly denied.
”Alex is committed, Alex has the resources and the Coyotes aren’t going anywhere,” Bettman said. “Well, they’re going somewhere else other than Glendale, but it’s in the Greater Phoenix area.”
Team and league sources say the Coyotes have explored other temporary arena options for next season, including a stopgap stay in Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Coliseum is a nearly 60-year-old, 14,000-seat facility (opened in 1965) that would likely need significant upgrades in order to be NHL ready even on a short-term basis.
The NHL is certainly willing to make due with a temporary home for the Coyotes in the desert – but they’ve already run into an issue in Tempe relating to takeoff and landing procedures at the nearby Phoenix airport and this is already the second or third site that’s been considered for a new home under this ownership group.
”My advice has been let’s focus on the plan for the building that’s going to come and there are plenty of options on an interim basis,” Bettman said. “I don’t want to get into them now. We’ll deal with it. There are options that will work.”
One option, of course, would be to just play nice in the sandbox with Glendale, pay your bills on-time and negotiate a new (even if more expensive) temporary deal to stay and play at Gila River Arena until you can put a stake in the ground elsewhere.
Gila River Arena’s manager, ASM Global, sent the Coyotes a letter on Thursday requesting pre-payment for nearly $4 million in anticipated contractual obligations through June 30, so they aren’t stuck holding the bag.
Here is the 3-page letter that ASM Global sent the Coyotes today, detailing:
— Confirmation that 2020-21 expenses are paid
— Debts still owed
— A payment structure for the remainder of the 2021-22 season pic.twitter.com/gbUpzQtYtF
Glendale city manager Kevin Phelps responded to The Athletic’s Katie Strang on Friday when asked about Bettman’s assertion that Glendale had an “edge or agenda.”
”If Mr. Bettman and others want to believe that not filing 17 monthly tax returns was due to human error, then so be it,” Phelps wrote. “As a reminder, this was the same excuse the team used when they failed to pay some of their employees in a timely manner. Glendale does not have an agenda. We just want assurances that the team will pay all of their obligations to the city in a timely manner. Our approach is based on actual experiences with the team. Perhaps the league will be willing to guarantee that the city is fully paid by June 30, 2022.”
After quelling speculation about a potential Quebec City landing spot by saying the league is has no plans to expand, Bettman reiterated his support for the Coyotes.
”They’re fine. And they will be fine,” Bettman said. “You know, sometimes when you take over a franchise that needs work, you uncover things you didn’t know about. And as you uncover them, you start questioning what things were legitimate, what things need to be addressed. Alex Meruelo is working his way through all of those. Let’s not make a problem where there isn’t one.”