NHL team pays delinquent tax bill after being threatened by city
Update: The Arizona Coyotes paid their unpaid taxes and other debts on Thursday, Dec. 9, according to a team spokesperson. “The Coyotes are current on all bills and tax liabilities,” a spokesperson said to McClatchy News in an email. The original story is below.
The Arizona Coyotes could become homeless come Dec. 20 because of unpaid taxes, multiple news outlets are reporting.
The National Hockey League team’s owners, IceArizona Hockey, was sent a letter from the City of Glendale, warning them that they will be locked out of Gila River Arena if they don’t settle delinquent tax bills and arena charges totaling for more than $1.3 million.
The letter, dated Dec. 8, says the “Arizona Department of Revenue has filed a notice of state tax lien for $1.3 million in unpaid Transaction Privilege Tax, of which $250,000 is owed to the City of Glendale,” ABC 15 reported.
The letter also said:
“The City of Glendale has serious concerns as to whether IceArizona is a going concern, able to meet its current and future financial obligations. As such, I have instructed ASM Global, our arena manager for the Gila River Arena, that if all outstanding amounts owed for taxes and back rent are not paid in full by 5:00 PM MST on December 20, 2021, the Arizona Coyotes will not have access to the Gila River Arena until such time as approved by the City of Glendale.”
The Coyotes responded in a statement released to The Athletic on Dec. 8:
“We have already launched an investigation to determine how this could have happened and the initial indications are that it appears to be the result of an unfortunate human error. Regardless, we deeply regret the inconvenience this has caused. We will make sure by tomorrow morning, the Arizona Coyotes are current on all of our bills and owe no state or local taxes whatsoever. And we will take immediate steps to ensure nothing like this can ever possibly happen again.’‘
The team has until 5 p.m. Dec. 20 to pay the outstanding taxes, or “the City of Glendale has instructed ASM [Global, the Gila Arena Management company] to deny team employees access to the arena and the offices within the arena used as administrative space,” the Athletic reported. “Arena vendors would also be locked out.”
McClatchy News reached out to the Coyotes and City of Glendale but has not yet heard back.
It was reported in August that the City of Glendale was opting out of its lease agreement with The Coyotes at the end of the 2021-22 season. While talks between both parties has been ongoing regarding an extension, nothing has been finalized, ESPN said.
The first home game after the Dec. 20 deadline would be on Dec. 23, against the Tampa Bay Lightning, winners of the 2020 Stanley Cup.
It’s also been a tough year on the ice for the Coyotes, who are 5-18 and last in the Central Division in the NHL West.
And Arizona ranks 30th — out of 32 teams — this season in attendance, averaging 12,205 per home game.
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 12:04 PM with the headline "NHL team pays delinquent tax bill after being threatened by city."