City council approves deal

It is official Coyotes fans.  The Desert Dogs will be playing hockey in the Valley for years to come. On Tuesday night, the Glendale City Council came to a 5-2 agreement to give the franchise $197 million to keep them at Jobing.com Arena through 2040.

The two council members that voted against it, Phil Lieberman and Joyce Clark opposed the measure, citing the city’s finance issues and a proposed lease termination clause.  The meeting was attended by more than 300 fans to show their support to make sure that the team is kept in Phoenix.  Team buyer Matthew Hulsizer and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman were also in attendance.

This is certainly exciting news for all Coyotes fans across the state of Arizona.  For the diehards like myself, it is extra exciting.  It seems like the new ownership group’s intent is to put a winning product on the ice for years to come.  If you needed any further proof in the new ownership’s intent with improving relations with the fan base, Hulsizer was shaking hands with many fans who were in attendance last night.  That is a good first step in the right direction.

For more information regarding the deal, check out Rebekah Sanders article in the Arizona Republic.