And then there was one...
One of two potential buyers for the Phoenix Coyotes who vowed to keep the team in Arizona has withdrawn his bid to buy the bankrupt franchise.
Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago Bulls and White Sox, announced in a press release last night that he and his group of investors, Glendale Hockey, were giving up the fight to buy the Coyotes.
"It's time to move on," Reinsdorf says in the statement.
"We were happy to serve a critical role for the city to keep the team in Glendale, and we look forward to assisting the city in the future on other projects both as a company and individually."
The only current hope for the Howlers to remain in Arizona now lies with Ice Edge Holdings, a group of Canadian and American investors that has agreed to keep the team in Glendale if its ownership quest is successful.
The Glendale City Council is set to vote tonight on whether to grant Ice Edge exclusive negotiating rights for 60 days -- something it refused to grant Reinsdorf's group.
Lurking in the shadows and waiting to swoop in and steal the team away to Canada (yes, Canadians, we're aware the Coyotes were once the Winnipeg Jets, we just don't care) is Toronto Billionaire David Thomson and his Winnipeg-based group, True North Sports and Entertainment.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed last month that Thomson expressed interest in buying the team and would likely move it to Winnipeg.
Bettman has given the city until the end of the year to find a buyer that would keep the Yotes in Arizona. If the city is unable to do so, as we explained in a prior post, Shane Doan and Co. better get used to shitty beer, polite fans, and moose because the Howlers will most likely be heading north of the border.
