Greg Jamison, former San Jose Sharks CEO and prospective new owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, is not likely to be able to complete a deal to buy the NHL team before their lease agreement is up with the City of Glendale. Jamison can no longer produce the funds needed to purchase the team from the NHL. As a result, the January 31 deadline to maintain the lease agreement with the city will not be met. Jamison had worked out a 20-year, $324 million lease deal with the City of Glendale that had a Jan. 31 deadline and needed to be paid on.
Jamison repeatedly said he would have to money to deliver on the lease agreement before stating that he no longer does. A private group of investors is prepared to step in to produce the money, but it is unclear if city officials will accept considering it was Jamison who negotiated the lease in the first place.
This is just another page in the saga that is the Phoenix Coyotes ownership story. For the past three seasons the Coyotes have been run by the NHL after former owner Jerry Moyes brought the team into bankruptcy back in 2009. Several people have attempted to step in as potential owners, including a Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer, but the deal fell through when a conservative watchdog group killed it by warning potential bond buyers to stay away. The NHL is prepared to turn the team over to new owners as long as the new lease deal follows through.
Despite the long financial drama of the Phoenix Coyotes, the team has managed to still perform well on the ice. The Coyotes have reached the playoffs in the last three seasons while owned by the NHL. During the 2011-12 season, they earned the franchise's first trip to the Western Conference Finals, but were beat out by the future Stanley Cup Champions, the L.A. Kings.
No word if the NHL lockout hurt Jamison's ability to buy the Coyotes. A reworked deal with the city back in November appeared to clear the path for Jamison to complete his purchase of the team. If he is unable to produce the funds for the lease by midnight and city officials do not accept the investor group's money, it seems inevitable the Coyotes will be forced to relocate.