Audio By Carbonatix
Glendale City Council approved in a 5-2 vote a deal to pay $197 million to Matthew Hulsizer, a Chicago businessman poised to buy the Phoenix Coyotes from the National Hockey League.
Of that money, $100 million is expected to offset for Hulsizer the $170 million price tag that the National Hockey League placed on the Phoenix Coyotes. The remaining $97 million, which will be paid over the next 5 1/2 years to Hulsizer, would cover the management of the arena and scheduling concerts and other non-hockey events.
Reassurances from Glendale staff and hired consultants about the financial wisdom behind the deal was not enough to convince Councilman Phil Lieberman and Councilwoman Joyce Clark.
The two voted no, expressing concerns about the cost to the city.
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Clark asked whether any taxpayer’s dollars will be used to pay the debt.
Art Lynch, the city’s former chief financial officer and current consultant, said no. He said that city services were not going to be affected and that debt would be covered by parking revenues.
Read the previous blog post. Watch the video of the Glendale City Council meeting.
