Arizona Coyotes Obtain Restraining Order to Keep Lease Despite Glendale Vote

The Glendale City Council voted Wednesday evening to terminate the Arizona Coyotes' arena lease agreement, which may leave the NHL franchise without a home heading into the 2015-16 season. 

"We are disappointed with the city's decision to violate its obligations under the agreement that was entered into and duly approved only two years ago," Coyotes co-owner Anthony LeBlanc said in a statement. "We will exhaust any and all legal remedies against the city of Glendale for this blatant violation of its contractual obligations to us."

The team announced that they had filed a restraining order against the city of Glendale on June 12:

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The Arizona Coyotes have acted to defend their rights and reaffirm their continuing commitment to their great fans by seeking a restraining order to stop the City of Glendale's baseless attack on, and improper attempt to void, the Coyotes' lawful and proper lease to play at Gila River Arena.

The suit was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court against the City of Glendale, the Glendale City Council and other City officials.

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Brahm Resnik of KPNX TV reported the judge temporarily blocked Glendale from removing the team from the Arena. He added the restraining order prohibits their removal while the case proceeds.

Aaron Ward of TSN reported the hearing between the city of Glendale and the Coyotes is set for June 29.

After an executive session of the Glendale City Council, Interim Assistant City Manager Tom Duensing released a statement on the Coyotes, via Craig Morgan of Fox Sports Arizona:

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Let's be clear. This isn't about hockey. We want the Arizona Coyotes in Glendale and we want them to succeed. As we've consistently indicated to the team, we are prepared to negotiate a mutually beneficial approach to address concerns. This issue is about the law and the process and to ensure the law is followed. We have an obligation to the law and to the citizens first. We continue to believe in the strength of our case which is rooted in facts. Over time, those facts will come out. But they'll only come out in the appropriate venue, and that's a court of law. Please know, we have not and will not litigate this case in the media.

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The Coyotes subsequently released a statement of their own, saying, “We expect the City of Glendale to honor its contractual commitments. We intend to continue to honor ours."

Peter Corbett of the AZCentral.com provided more details on the vote and what lies ahead:

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The court filings the team unveiled on Friday afternoon claim the Coyotes' executives were caught off guard by the city's decision to void its agreement with the team.

The Glendale City Council on Wednesday voted 5-2 to terminate its 15-year, $225 million agreement with the Coyotes. The city cited a conflict of interest law that precludes a former city employee from going to work for a company if that employee was involved in creating a contract between the city and the company.

The Glendale council will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday in executive session to discuss the arena management deal with the Coyotes , Weiers said in a statement that suggested the city is still trying to renegotiate the agreement.

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Phoenix mayor Greg Stanton told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM radio that he reached out to the team about moving back to the downtown area after the vote (via Josh Gold-Smith of TheScore.com):

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After the vote, I appropriately reached out to representatives of the Coyotes (and) I reached out to the Phoenix Suns and asked if they would be willing to at least engage in conversation, and both sides want to engage in conversation.

We're at a very preliminary stage, but ... of course the Coyotes should pursue all regional options to stay here in the Valley of the Sun.

I know that the team is going to be pursuing conversations with the city of Phoenix relative to our building, US Airways Arena - soon to be Talking Stick Resort Arena - in downtown Phoenix.

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LeBlanc continued on Thursday, taking to the Doug & Wolf Show in Phoenix to express his displeasure:

"The National Hockey League stands by, and will fully support, the Arizona Coyotes in their efforts to vindicate their contractual rights in response to last night's outrageous and irresponsible action by the City of Glendale," the league said in a statement. "We continue to proceed on the basis that the Coyotes will remain in Glendale and will be playing their home games at Gila River Arena."

Glendale and the Coyotes were just two years into a 15-year, $225 million agreement they reached in July 2013. At the time, the move was expected to keep the financially strapped franchise in Arizona for the foreseeable future.

The city council, which had indicated its willingness to renegotiate the lease, voted 5-2 in favor of its termination, per John Marshall of the Associated Press.

Former Arizona attorney general Grant Woods shared his thoughts regarding the Coyotes finding a stadium home: 

"We've all taken a beating tonight here, and I think it's all unjust because most of the fans don't understand the complexity of this issue," Glendale mayor Jerry Weiers said, per Marshall. "The complexity of this issue is the fact that you don't have all the information. When you have more information, I think you will have a better understanding."

Should the ruling stand, the Coyotes franchise would be forced into an unprecedented state of limbo. The franchise would have to scramble to find a new viable city for the 2015-16 season, even if it's only a temporary solution. Arena deals involving relocations are often multiyear projects, and it will be difficult to sell the viability of a franchise that was essentially just kicked out of its home.

The Coyotes franchise has seen its share of downs in recent years, including a four-year stretch that saw it run and operated by the NHL. That said, nothing compares to the state of flux the Glendale City Council put the franchise in Wednesday night. 

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter