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Glendale votes to cancel lease deal with Coyotes

FILE - This April 12, 2010, file photo, shows an entrance to the Jobing.com Arena home of the Phoenix Coyotes NHL hockey playoff team in Glendale, Ariz. The city of Glendale has called for a special meeting on Wednesday, June 10, 2015, to determine whether to end an arena lease agreement with the Coyotes, further clouding the team's future in the desert. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File) FILE - This April 12, 2010, file photo, shows an entrance to the Jobing.com Arena home of the Phoenix Coyotes NHL hockey playoff team in Glendale, Ariz. The city of Glendale has called for a special meeting on Wednesday, June 10, 2015, to determine whether to end an arena lease agreement with the Coyotes, further clouding the team's future in the desert. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

By Associated Press June 10, 2015 1 min read

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – The Glendale City Council has voted to end an arena lease agreement with the Arizona Coyotes, thrusting the franchise’s future further into doubt.

The council voted 4-3 Wednesday night to end a 15-year, $225 million lease agreement signed by Glendale and IceArizona shortly after the team was purchased from the NHL in 2013.

Members who voted in favor of dissolving the deal cited a state statute that allows an agency to cancel a contract if an employee directly involved with the agreement becomes an employee or agent to the other party. At issue was the Coyotes’ hiring of former city attorney Craig Tindall as general counsel in 2013.

The city of Glendale issued a statement before the meeting that it would be open to renegotiating the arena deal, a proposal the Coyotes flatly refused.