FEATURE STORY
Report: Coyotes Could Lose US $50 Million This Season
A 12-9-1 record to start to the NHL season hasn't done much to help the Phoenix Coyotes' bottom line. The Globe and Mail reports the club lost US$5 million in October - the first full month of the NHL season - according to documents filed in an Arizona bankruptcy court this week.
The Coyotes have lost $15.9-million in the fiscal year that began July 1, the filings show. If that pace continues, the team could lose close to $50-million this season.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly isn't fazed by the reported losses, adding that they won't impact the league's efforts to sell the club.
He said in an email to the Globe that the ``losses in the short term don't seem to be factoring into the interest of potential buyers. They have much bigger, longer-term vision of the investment.''
Daly added the league has fielded a number of inquiries about the club and questioned the accuracy of the court filings, noting they were compiled by current majority owner Jerry Moyes, who put the club into bankruptcy protection in May.
The NHL has been critical of Moyes for running the club into the ground and trying to sell it to Jim Balsillie, who wanted to move it to Hamilton. The bankruptcy court eventually ruled the Canadian billionaire's bid to buy the team could not proceed.
The NHL took control of the Coyotes, who play in suburban Glendale, Ariz., after paying creditors about $140-million.
Daly and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman have maintained that they want to sell the team to an owner who will keep the Coyotes in Arizona.
(Globe and Mail)
(The Canadian Press, Toronto Globe And Mail)
