Bankruptcy Court Adjourns Hearing Without Ruling On Balsillie’s Bid For Coyotes

Jim Balsillie’s bid for the Phoenix Coyotes remains on hold.

A U.S. bankruptcy hearing adjourned Wednesday without a decision on whether the BlackBerry boss could take part in an auction for the troubled NHL franchise. There was no immediate word on when Judge Redfield T. Baum will rule on the issues.

“I totally respect the court process. Whenever he rules it I will respect his ruling,” Balsillie said.

“I still think our bid is best by far the best for creditors for fans and the long term viability of the team. All I wanted from the very beginning is a chance for a level-playing-field court-supervised auction where we could participate.”

“The process continues but we are getting closer to a culmination of these proceedings,” added NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who added he was not disappointed that Baum did not make a ruling Wednesday.

“I don’t think that would be a fair characterization,” he said. “As the judge indicated, a tremendous amount of paper and pleadings have been submitted. I’m sure the judge wants to be completely comfortable he’s had ample opportunity to review everything and reflect on it appropriately.”

In court, lawyers for the NHL and Balsillie offered different visions of the Coyotes this season.

The NHL defended its position not to accept Balsillie as a potential owner and insisted the team had to stay in Arizona while a lawyer for the Canadian billionaire claimed that the team could move to Hamilton partway through the season.

The NHL argued that the Coyotes couldn’t be moved for the 2009-10 season and league lawyer Shepard Goldfein said the Coyotes should remain in Glendale for the sake of financial stability and so other teams can know their schedule and travel plans.

Balsillie lawyer Jeff Kessler agreed that moving the team this late does create problems, but he said they can be fixed.

“We have confidence if the league . . . were to work with us every one of this obstacles would be overcome,” he said.

Kessler said Balsillie would be willing to have the team play only part of the coming season in Hamilton if he gets the franchise.

Goldfein scoffed at the idea of moving the team during the season.

“You want to talk about disruption of families and players and the fan base,” he said. “I don’t think that’s ever happened. I’m not aware it’s ever happened.”

Balsillie and Bettman were both in court expecting a key decision on the future of the Coyotes.

Baum has to decide if Balsillie can participate in a Sept. 10 auction for the NHL club, even though the league has rejected his bid to purchase the franchise.

Baum noted that if he rules in favour of Balsillie, the NHL would appeal and seek a stay. By then, the regular season will have started, the judge said.

Earlier in the day, Goldfein told court the decision to reject Balsillie by the NHL board is “unassailable.”

However, Kessler said the only reason the NHL doesn’t want the Canadian billionaire to buy the Coyotes and move them to Hamilton is the league is afraid of a lawsuit the Toronto Maple Leafs may file because of a team moving into Leafs’ territory.

“God knows what they will sue for,” said Kessler. “And the league does not want that battle.”

Kessler said Balsillie would still be a good owner, even if the league does not want him.

“Sports leagues do not need for their owners to love each other,” Kessler told the court.

Balsillie has offered to pay US$212.5 million for the Coyotes. The bid is contingent on moving the team to Hamilton. He has also set a Sept. 14 deadline to complete his proposed purchase, though Baum said in court the co-CEO of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion should reconsider that date.

Baum said that given all that has yet to be determined it was “reasonably probable” that he will not have ruled on all outstanding issues by Sept. 14.

The NHL – which favours keeping the franchise in Phoenix for the time being – has bid US$140 million.

Goldfein said if the league buys the franchise and then sells it, all profits from the sale will go to the team’s creditors.

Another group of American and Canadian businessmen is also interested in buying the team.