Balsillie back in Coyotes bidding game
Canadian billionaire will be allowed into the Sept. 10 auction for NHL club
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 5, 2009 | 10:32 PM ET
CBC Sports
Court documents released Wednesday by a federal bankruptcy court judge in Phoenix will allow Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie to take part in the auction of the Phoenix Coyotes. (Mark Lennihan/Canadian Press) Jim Balsillie's attempt to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and relocate them to Hamilton may not be dead yet.
An Arizona judge decided Wednesday to allow "any and all bidders" to be involved in a court-ordered auction for the bankrupt National Hockey League team on Sept. 10.
Previously, only bidders who were willing to keep the club in the desert city were to be involved.
Balsillie, a Canadian billionaire businessman, has offered $212.5 US million for the team on the condition it be allowed to move to Hamilton.
But the NHL, which has been funding the club, wants the team to stay in Arizona where it has lost tens of millions since moving from Winnipeg in 1996.
Baum, who acknowledged that "this decision probably expands the issues for the auction," called a hearing for next Tuesday to deal with any possible arguments from all sides as to how the case should proceed.
Reaction to Baum's decision from Balsillie's spokesman was swift.
"As the only bidder with a firm offer before the bankruptcy court to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes, we obviously agree that Jim Balsillie belongs in the Sept. 10 auction," said Bill Walker.
"From the time his bid was launched, Jim Balsillie has said that all he is asking for is a chance to bid for the Coyotes at auction through the bankruptcy court process on a level playing field and let the best bid win."
The statement went on to say Balsillie believes his bid will emerge the winner "because it offers the best financial terms and the most solid hockey market in Hamilton."
Later in the evening, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly released a statement on the league's website.
"We remain confident that the successful bidder will be one who is committed to continuing to operate the Coyotes in Glendale for the long term," it said. "We also remain confident that Mr. Balsillie's bid for the team will never be approved by the court for a variety of reasons, including that his application for ownership was overwhelmingly rejected by the NHL board of governors last week.
"We look forward to making significant steps toward resolution of this unfortunate situation over the next several weeks."
It was a busy Wednesday for judge Baum who earlier had delayed a hearing on whether to hold current Coyotes' owner Jerry Moyes in contempt of court for disclosing information about one of the bids for the team last week.
Moyes's attorneys said the disclosure was inadvertent.
Last week the NHL's board of governors had unanimously approved an offer by Jerry Reinsdorf of $148 million US to buy the Coyotes and unanimously rejected Balsillie's offer, one that is contingent on the club moving back to Canada.
The league's position all along has been that only a professional sports league can determine the location of its franchises and that owners must be approved by the league's board.
Reinsdorf's group, headed by the owner of basketball's Chicago Bulls and baseball's Chicago White Sox, wants to keep the team in Arizona.
Another pending offer is from the group Ice Edge Holdings that would also keep the club in Phoenix.
