Phoenix Coyotes close to closing new ownership deal

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The Phoenix Coyotes may finally have a new owner in the near future.

Sources close to the team say a group led by San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison will buy the Coyotes and keep the team in Glendale.

The Phoenix Business Journal reports that the deal includes establishing a fund to help cover the team's financial losses, which accumulate to at least 20 million dollars a year.

The deal has to be approved by the city of Glendale, but they have remained tight lipped.

"When those negotiations are concluded and we have something to present we will release all of the details," said Glendale spokeswoman Kimberly Larson.

Larson also said they are taking the proper steps to the negotiations, and they can't comment on how long a resolution will take.

Coyotes spokesman Rich Nairn declined to comment on the potential sale of the team.

Meanwhile, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the Coyotes have not been sold.

"The NHL is the owner of the team, and it should know if and when a deal is completed," Daly told Seattle's KING5.com. He went on to say that he "hopes that a deal gets done with Jamison, but that 'there's a long way between here and there.'"

The Phoenix Business Journal said that the deal could include Jamison getting some rebates. The Goldwater Institute's Carrie Ann Sitren wants to know more about that.

"We would certainly love to get more information about what kinds of rebates the city is thinking about," she said. "I am sure that the taxpayers and residents of the city of Glendale also want to know what the city is considering."

Sitren said it's unconstitutional for Arizona cities to give taxpayer subsidies to private businesses, and she wants to make sure Glendale doesn't do that with the Coyotes.

The Goldwater Institute and the city of Glendale have been at odds with the way the city has handled other attempts for someone to buy the Coyotes from the NHL.

Sitren said the Institute is watching this situation "very closely."