Glendale City Council holds public meeting over arena deal
Jun 28, 2013, 7:44 PM | Updated: 7:48 pm
GLENDALE — Over 100 people, including dozens dressed in Phoenix Coyotes jerseys, showed up at the Glendale City Hall Friday to hear details of a proposed management deal for Jobing.com arena.
The 15-year agreement with the Renaissance Sports and Entertainment Group would keep the Coyotes in Glendale and cost the city $15 million a year.
The city could recoup the costs through ticket surcharges and parking and naming rights fees.
Those surcharges would amount to $4.50 a ticket for hockey and $6.50 a ticket for other events. Parking fees would range from $10 for Coyotes games to $15 for concerts and other attractions.
Attorney Gary Birnboum told the council that if it approves the deal, there could be another way for the city to make money off of it.
“The arena manager (Renaissance Sports and Entertainment) has at least a plan to create a second venue inside the arena’s main bowl for a theatrical event or a smaller concert,” Birnboum said. “The naming rights to that smaller venue would be sold, and the city would get 100 percent of the naming rights revenues.”
Under the plan, both parties could opt out of the agreement after five years if either of them lose $50 million dollars.
Acting City Manager Dick Bowers told the Council by phone that rejecting the deal could leave the city with an immediate financial problem. That’s because Glendale already owes the National Hockey League $25 million dollars for running the arena for two years.
“If this agreement is signed, we will pay that $25 million over the course of five years at $5-million per year,” Bowers told the Council. “If the agreement is not signed, then that $25 million payment is due immediately. ”
City attorneys told the council that the city has never made any money on the arena since it opened in 2003. But Councilman Manny Martinez said that without the Coyotes and the arena, several nearby businesses would never have opened, including the Tanger Outlet Center and Cabela’s.
Martinez thinks that approving the agreement and keeping the Coyotes would be good for business.
“I’ve been told that there’s some businesses that are waiting to see the outcome of these proceedings, and, if the Coyotes stay, there will be an announcement that other businesses are coming in,” Martinez said.
Martinez did not name which businesses might be open in the area.
The Glendale City Council will vote on the proposal at a public meeting on Tuesday night.
