GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Phoenix Coyotes took a big step toward stability Tuesday night when the Glendale City Council ratified an arena lease agreement with a prospective owner of the franchise.
After making a few alterations, the council voted 4-3 in favor on a 15-year, $225 million lease agreement with Renaissance Sports & Entertainment during a special session.
"Everybody who's followed this saga has said decide something or just shoot us," Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said. "Fortunately, we got the result we needed to stay in a great place and a great hockey town."
The vote clears the way for RSE to purchase the Coyotes from the NHL, which has been running the team the past four years.
The decision had been in doubt as RSE and the city went through tense negotiations over the past few weeks.
RSE may have swung the vote in its favor earlier in the day when it announced a partnership with Global Spectrum, which owns the Philadelphia Flyers, to help manage Jobing.com Arena.
RSE must finalize its lease agreement with Glendale and its purchase of the team by Aug. 5.
"We went into this hopeful and we're very, very happy, very grateful not only to the councilmembers here, but all the residents and taxpayers here," RSE partner Anthony LeBlanc said. "We are looking forward to a solid partnership and making this a (success) for all those concerned."