A few days after he used a carrot to entice the local politicians who will determine the fate of the Phoenix Coyotes, Gary Bettman hauled out a big stick and gave them a mighty whack.
If Glendale city council does not approve the latest arena-management offer from prospective buyer Renaissance Sports and Entertainment, which is headed by Canadian businessmen George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc, by its regular public meeting Tuesday, the NHL will move the Coyotes to another city in time for next season.
The NHL commissioner has made this threat before during the many failed efforts to find an owner for the team the league was forced to buy out of bankruptcy in October of 2009. But now there is a date attached – although Bettman was careful to avoid saying July 2 is a definite deadline or the Coyotes will move to Seattle or Quebec City.
“That’s something that needs to be done by July 2,” Bettman said Thursday. “It’s difficult to see why, if council turns this down, we would want to keep this in Glendale any longer. We will have to see the options and there are many.”