The Coyotes say they’ve paid all of their bills
It looks like the Arizona Coyotes will be allowed to remain in Gila River Stadium, for now.
On Wednesday, news broke that the Coyotes were at risk of being locked out of their arena due to unpaid arena charges and delinquent tax bills. The report said that IceArizona, the company that owns the Coyotes, owed $1.3 million to the City of Glendale and the State of Arizona.
According to Craig Morgan, the Coyotes said on Thursday that they’re all up to date on their debts. The City has not yet commented.
Per Coyotes, all payments have been made. The Coyotes are current on all bills and tax liabilities.
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) December 9, 2021The Coyotes claimed in a statement on Wednesday night that not paying off these bills was the result of “human error.”
“We have already launched an investigation to determine how this could have happened and initial indications are that it appears to be the result of an unfortunate human error. Regardless, we deeply regret the inconvenience this has caused. We will make sure that by tomorrow morning, the Arizona Coyotes are current on all of our bills and owe no state or local taxes whatsoever. And we will take immediate steps to ensure that nothing like this can ever possibly happen again.”
Of course, this is just a short-term fix. The City of Glendale informed the Coyotes back in August that they would be opting out of the joint lease agreement for Gila River Arena, meaning the team is going to need to find somewhere new to play for the 2022-23 season.
Last week, word came out that the Coyotes were for sale with the intent of moving the team to Houston. The Coyotes denied that rumor.
The City of Glendale is also going to keep a close eye on IceArizona moving forward in order to avoid the possibility of the Coyotes ditching without paying off debts…
“I think it is likely that for us to move forward, we’re going to need assurances that they’re not going to just rack up a huge bill and then walk out the door in June, owing the city a lot of money,” Glendale city manager Kevin Phelps said.
This public relations nightmare certainly comes at a poor time for the Coyotes, as they’re actively working to get approval for a $1.7 billion development in Tempe that would keep the team in Arizona.