Update: Glendale open to new, better deal with Coyotes

Glendale's move to consider ending its agreement with the Arizona Coyotes took another turn Wednesday morning with a statement by the city saying it's open to renegotiating a better deal for taxpayers.

The Glendale City Council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. this evening at City Hall to end a 15-year, $225 million agreement with the team to lease Gila River Arena and manage the facility. That meeting, announced late Tuesday afternoon, was the latest in a long history of turmoil for the Coyotes in Glendale.

The city issued this statement this morning:

"The City Council has scheduled a discussion and possible vote regarding Glendale's contract with the Arizona Coyotes. Discussions and negotiations regarding the contract have been ongoing for months. Specifically, the City is open to a resolution but it must be one that provides certainty and fairness to both parties, especially the taxpayers. The Council has agreed to stand for transparency and the highest standards of ethics for any future agreement with the Coyotes."

WHAT DO YOU THINK?Take our poll

RELATED:Coyotes fans react to Glendale vote on arena deal

The National Hockey League released its own statement criticizing Glendale and noting that the league "fully expect(s) the Coyotes to continue to play at the Gila River Arena and for the city to continue to honor its obligations to the Coyotes. After everything that has transpired, it is extremely disappointing that the City of Glendale would do anything that might damage the Club."

MONTINI:Time to tear down Glendale's nightmare arena?

ROBERTS:Is Glendale finally ready to cut its losses on Coyotes?

Mayor Jerry Weiers said he could not speak about the city's reasons for weighing a cancellation of the agreement because it had been discussed only in an executive session and he is legally barred from disclosing those discussions.

EDITORIAL:Glendale's tantrums do nothing for its fortunes

BICKLEY:Bickley Blast podcast

The agenda posted for the meeting cites a state statute that allows government entities to end a contract within three years of being signed if a person involved in negotiating the contract for the city is, in effect, an employee or agent of the other party to the contract.

Glendale leases Gila River Arena to the Coyotes and pays IceArizona, the team ownership group, $15 million annually to manage the arena. The deal is worth $225 million over 15 years.

To see more about the deal, see the infographic below.

Shortfalls in revenue sharing cost the city $8.1 million last fiscal year, and Glendale expects to lose up to $8.7 million on the arena this fiscal year.

Glendale called the special meeting late Tuesday, just hours after Coyotes President Anthony LeBlanc met with reporters and said that the Coyotes are in full compliance with the terms of the agreement.

In a statement, LeBlanc responded by saying, "This action by the city of Glendale is completely ludicrous, especially in light of the fact that myself and (majority owner) Andrew Barroway visited with the city (Monday) and the particulars of this were never raised."

MAC ATTACK:Coyotes should call Glendale's bluff or leave Arizona

HEAT INDEX:Coyotes change Twitter location in response to Glendale

The city asked if the Coyotes would be willing to renegotiate the contract. "But that's not going to happen," LeBlanc said.

The meeting agenda did not cite a specific incident in which the state statute on contracts would apply, but it may relate to a years-old controversy.

In November 2013, then-Councilman Phil Lieberman filed an ethics complaint with the State Bar of Arizona regarding Craig Tindall, a former Glendale attorney. Lieberman alleged that Tindall went to work for the Coyotes in 2013 while still being paid a severance by Glendale.

Tindall relinquished his duties with the city when his separation agreement went into effect April 1, 2013, three months before the Glendale City Council approved a 15-year agreement with the Coyotes. Tindall was paid his full salary through September 2013.

Andrew Halaby, Tindall's attorney, said in a 2014 filing in response to the complaint that there was no merit to Lieberman's assertion and that the councilman misrepresented Tindall's responsibilities.

The agenda item reads in part, "This is a request for City Council to consider and take action to direct the city manager and the city attorney to cancel the professional management services and arena lease agreement ... and to pursue any and all other legal actions and remedies necessary to effectuate cancellation or termination of the agreement."

RELATED:Glendale staffer resigns over arena audit

Coyotes attorney Nick Wood blasted the city's move.

"This is a blatant attempt to renege on a valid contract that was negotiated fairly and in good faith and in compliance with all laws and procedures. In the event the City Council initiates any action to revoke, repeal or otherwise rescind the agreement, the Coyotes will immediately take all actions available to them under the law against the city of Glendale," he said.

Tindall was unavailable for comment, according to Coyotes spokesman Rich Nairn.

Weiers and Vice Mayor Ian Hugh met with LeBlanc and Barroway on Monday in a meeting that also included Dick Bowers, interim city manager, and City Attorney Michael Bailey.

Weiers and Hugh opposed the agreement in July 2013. Councilmen Gary Sherwood and Samuel Chavira voted for the deal.

Newly elected council members Jamie Aldama, Lauren Tolmachoff and Bart Turner took office in December.

It was not clear which council members would vote to keep or sever the agreement. The mayor has not been a supporter of the contract, and the new council members came on board after the agreement was approved nearly two years ago in front of a packed council chamber of Coyotes fans, other supporters and opponents of the deal.

Glendale has still not released its audit of the Coyotes 2013-14 season a year after it notified the team that it would exercise its option to evaluate the team's financial results.

The Coyotes blamed a delay in providing information to the city on the ownership change at the end of 2014, when Barroway became the majority owner.

Glendale's losses for hockey and concerts at Gila River Arena through April hit $6.3 million, up nearly 14 percent from a year earlier.