NHL Asks to Delay Coyotes Sale, Saying Bids Need Work

By Steven Church

July 31 (Bloomberg) — The National Hockey League asked the bankruptcy judge overseeing the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to delay an auction for the team, saying Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and another bidder need “several more weeks” to improve their offers.

The league said Reinsdorf needs time to negotiate a new lease with Glendale, the suburban city near Phoenix where the Coyotes play, and that a competing offer may also improve with time. The league filed its request yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix a few hours after lawyers for the Coyotes claimed in papers that Reinsdorf and the competing offer failed to meet bid qualifications set by the court.

“If given several more weeks, the bids will be substantially more complete and in a form that allows the court to render a considered judgment on the merits,” NHL lawyers said in their motion to delay the auction.

Under court rules for the Aug. 5 auction, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Redfield T. Baum would decide which of the bidders should be allowed to buy the team and keep it in Phoenix.

Should none of the bids provide enough money to creditors, Baum would hold another auction in September at which bidders, including by Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive officer of Blackberry-maker Research In Motion Ltd., could try to buy the team and move it out of Phoenix.

The case is Dewey Ranch Hockey LLC, 09-09488, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona (Phoenix).

To contact the reporter on this story: Steven Church in Wilmington at schurch3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 31, 2009 12:40 EDT

taken from bloomberg.com 8-5-09