GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes and the city of Glendale agreed to amend an existing lease agreement on Thursday, though the deal only might be a temporary fix in the team’s ongoing saga to remain in the desert.
The amended deal, which will be voted on by the Glendale City Council on Friday, calls for the original 15-year, $225 million agreement to be cut to two years, expiring on June 30, 2017.
It also would trim the management fee the city pays annually to the Coyotes from $15 million to $6.5 million and shift all hockey-related revenue to the team instead of Glendale, which would generate approximately $6 million for the Coyotes. A five-year out clause if the team lost more than $50 million that was part of the original agreement also has been removed.
“This decision will bring much-needed certainty to our fans and sponsors about our near-term future and an end to the uncertainty brought about through this legal action,” Coyotes co-owner and CEO Anthony LeBlanc said in a statement. “We know that hockey works in the Valley and we are committed to Arizona for the long-term.”
The lease agreement was signed in 2013, not long after IceArizona purchased the team from the NHL.
The City Council voted June 10 to terminate the agreement with the Coyotes, citing a conflict-of-interest law involving two Glendale employees who later went on to work for the team.
A judge granted the Coyotes’ request for a temporary restraining order two days later. A judge also ordered the city to make a scheduled $3.75 million payment to the team on June 29 and the Coyotes to increase their bond payment to Glendale by $750,000 to $1 million.
If passed, the amended arena lease agreement will keep the Coyotes in Gila River Arena for the next two seasons but likely will further relocation speculation that has swirled around the team for the past six years.
Thumbnail photo via  Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports Images
