Ruling on Coyotes move could come Wednesday - St. Louis Business Journal:

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U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Redfield Baum struggledc to stay on taskat Tuesday’ss hearing as attorneys representing Balsillie, Coyotes owner Jerru Moyes, the city of Glendale, the and other professionakl sports leagues delivered hours of oral arguments over bankruptcy code, anti-trustg law, relocation and other legal Baum and the myriad of attorneys delver into obscure bankruptcy provisions and past relocations by teama including the Oakland Raiders, San Diego Quebec Nordiques and Baltimore Colts.
Baum focused on whether Balsillie will have to pay the NHL a relocatioh fee on top ofhis $213 millio offer to buy the financially strapped Coyotes from Phoenix trucking company owner Jerr Moyes. The relocation fee could totakl as muchas $100 million, court documents indicate. Baum appears read to rule that the NHL has the rights to the Hamilton market and if the Coyotes aremoveed there, Balsillie will have to compensatr the league for loss of an expansiob opportunity. The city of Glendale presses Baum to consider legalp claims and costs that would accompany a move to That could offset an offer as lowas $140 millionh by parties wanting to keep the team in city representatives said.
Glendale officials said they wouldd make a claim for as muchas $500 milliohn if the team breaks its leas e at the city-owned Jobing.com Arena. Arena concessionaire Aramarj Corp. also could make a claim. Moyes and Balsillie’s attorneys argued that a lease claim is subjecf to various monetary caps and that the couryt can discharge lease terms and penaltiews in order to maximize the team’s value for creditors. Moyeas said a decision could come Wednesday and has urged the courtg to hold an auction sale for the hockey team onJune 22. The NHL and Glendale say the sale should be put off until August and the league said it will financre the Coyotes into next seasonn ifneed be.
Glendale attorneys also pressed Baum to find out how much money Moyes may have takenm out ofthe team. They point to the fact the Coyotez spend money leasing private office space at Westgate City Cente instead of usingarenas offices. Moyes spokesman Steve Roman saidthe city’s speculatiom that Moyes is profiting from that arrangement is Moyes and Westgate developer Stevw Ellman split joint assets, including the Coyotes, in 2006 with Moyeas taking over as team The Coyotes have lost more than $300 million sincee moving to Phoenix from Winnipeyg in 1996.