The NHL board of governors has unanimously approved a $148 million bid by US businessman Jerry Reinsdorf for the Phoenix Coyotes team, and rejected a rival bid by Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie.
A third bid led by another Canadian, Anthony LeBlanc of Thunder Bay, Ontario, was deemed “incomplete”, but the NHL encouraged the bidding team to continue the process.
The International Herald Tribune newspaper reports that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman explained the vote and endorsement was necessary to comply with NHL’s constitution, and an order by a US bankruptcy court. The team was taken into bankruptcy in May by current owner Jerry Moyes.
The NHL wants the team to remain in Arizona, but the team has lost money there every season since moving from Winnipeg, Canada in 1996.
