Glendale planning to pay NHL up to $25M for more time to find buyer for Coyotes

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The Glendale City Council is scheduled to vote next week on a plan to pay the NHL up to US$25 million to buy more time to find a buyer for the Phoenix Coyotes.

If the plan is approved Tuesday night, Glendale would keep the Coyotes through the 2011-12 season at Jobing.com Arena.

The NHL bought the Coyotes out of bankruptcy in September 2009 with the intention of finding a buyer to keep the team in Arizona.

The proposed sale to Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer has been stalled by the threat of a lawsuit by the Goldwater Institute, a conservative watchdog group.

The Arizona Republic says the NHL is under pressure to determine the Coyotes' location in order to schedule games for the next season. If a buyer isn't secured, the league could move the team, possibly to Winnipeg or Quebec.

The NHL exercised its option on Monday to take $25 million from Glendale to cover losses by the Coyotes this season.

The Coyotes have never made a profit since relocating from Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1996.