Thunder Bay businessmen Anthony LeBlanc and Keith McCullough will not be purchasing the Phoenix Coyotes, after the city of Glendale, Ariz. on Tuesday night rejected the terms of an arena lease deal negotiated with the southern U.S. city.
However, LeBlanc, the CEO of Ice Edge Holdings, told CKPR Radio on Wednesday that the company isn’t giving up its dreams of buying and NHL franchise and will continue to pursue an American Hockey League or, more likely, an ECHL team for Thunder Bay.
“Unfortunately last night the city of Glendale looked at the two proposals that were in front of them, and they made a decision that they only wanted to move forward with one of those,” LeBlanc said in an exclusive interview. “And unfortunately our proposal wasn’t that one. We disagree with their stance and we disagree with their interpretations, but we obviously respect their decision and unfortunately it is the end of the road for the Ice Edge Group in regards to the Coyotes.”
On Tuesday, Glendale city council unanimously approved a proposed lease agreement for Jobing.com Arena put forth by sports mogul Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and MLB’s Chicago White Sox.
His group, Glendale Hockey, will now have to work out a deal to buy the financially struggling Coyotes from the NHL, which bought the team out of bankruptcy last year. Reinsdorf has promised to keep the team in the Phoenix suburb for the remaining 24 years of the lease, though he does have a possible way out after five years.
According to the Associated Press, should certain conditions not be met, the city would have 180 days to find an owner who will keep the team, guaranteeing the Reinsdorf group a minimum US$103 million, the amount they plan to spend on the Coyotes.
The Coyotes have lost $300 million since moving to the desert from Winnipeg in the mid-1990s.
LeBlanc said he wouldn’t let the setback sour him on the NHL and that hockey fans in his hometown shouldn’t think this means he won’t continue to pursue a farm team for the city.
“Obviously we’re a group that originally we formed to look at the Coyotes. But we’ve been spending the last eight or nine months looking at professional hockey at a number of levels. So the very good news for Thunder Bay is the fact that this does not impact in any way our plans to bring a minor-league franchise to Thunder Bay,” LeBlanc said. “And also there are a number of NHL franchises that have been publicly stated they are looking for outside investors. So that’s something we will be exploring.”
LeBlanc wouldn’t divulge which NHL teams he might be looking at, although it’s widely believed that both the Atlanta Thrashers and Florida Panthers are on the market. The Thrashers have been linked to a group that wants to move the team to Winnipeg.
“I’d rather just take our time and look at the number of teams that have approached us privately, weigh our options, and decide what the best course of action is going to be, if any at this time.”
LeBlanc said Ice Edge is continuing to speak with both the AHL and ECHL.
“The reality is that while our plan was always one of vertical integration between the parent club and the minor league franchise, it is absolutely not a requirement in minor league hockey. In fact most of the teams in the minor leagues are not owned by the parent NHL team.”
LeBlanc has said all along he will only consider moving a team to Thunder Bay if there’s a concrete plan for a new arena in place.
“I feel very strongly that we’ll have some good news for Thunder Bay in a matter of months,” he said, adding formal discussions with both leagues are set to begin. “I can tell you from what we’re looking at, the ECHL makes a lot of sense for Thunder Bay. We’re not saying the AHL doesn’t make sense, but first and foremost we’re a business that has to operate on revenue streams,” he said.
