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Report: Glendale to guarantee $306 million in management fees for Jobing.com Arena

Jamison, Bettman

If you haven’t had your fill of Canadian sportswriters ripping the NHL for fighting to keep the Coyotes in Glendale, here’s another article, this one courtesy Sportsnet’s Michael Grange.

Mostly we’re linking to it for Grange’s reporting on the specifics of the deal to sell the franchise to Greg Jamison that’s expected to be presented (and approved) by city council shortly.

According to long-time Glendale city councilor Phil Lieberman, the terms of the deal being given to Jamison -- who has partners, apparently, but wouldn’t name them -- basically see him guaranteed $306 million in management fees for Jobing.com Arena over the next 21 years, or an average of $14.6 million a year. A large chunk of that money is front-end loaded, with Glendale on the hook for $92 million over the next five years.

Suffice to say that’s a lot of money for a city with a significant budget shortfall to guarantee.

It’s hard for me to say if it’s a good deal for the people of Glendale -- I’m not the treasurer -- but Lieberman’s appraisal is clear: “If I had to choose between the Coyotes staying and them leaving, I wish they were leaving.”