Arizona Coyotes Minority Owner Andrew Barroway Arrested

Andrew Barroway was arrested in Aspen, Colorado Thursday morning. He was taken into custody at the Limelight Hotel at about 9:35 am. Barroway was taken to the Pitkin County jail until he posted a $2,500 bond on Friday morning. He was charged with felony strangulation and misdemeanor second-degree assault in a dispute with his wife. The couple is going through a divorce.

Another Embarrassing Coyotes Moment

With all the negative things that have happened to this NHL franchise, this is adding salt to the wound. In 2014, Andrew Barroway purchased a majority share of the team for $152.5 million. A few years later, he bought out the other IceAriziona partners to become the sole owner.

In 2019, he sold his majority interest to current majority owner Alex Meruelo. Meruelo has had his share of issues as he failed to pay bills in a timely manner. The city of Glendale who owned Gila River Arena (now re-named Desert Diamond Arena) ended the year-to-year lease with the team and wanted them out.

The team lucked out by partnering with Arizona State University, who had a new college arena being built. The arena only holds 4,600 fans for NHL hockey. The organization has taken on excessive criticism for playing in such a small venue.

They hope to have a new arena if three Tempe propositions are passed on May 16th. This embarrassing event may put quite a negative spin on the hockey team.

NHL Statement

NHL statement regarding Coyotes’ minority owner Andrew Barroway: https://t.co/Z7kpeQAXpo pic.twitter.com/Ba6NvGtBJO

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 24, 2023

The real issue with this unfortunate occurrence is that the Coyotes had a “good behavior” clause in their agreement to use Mullet arena. If Andrew Barroway is convicted of charges, it could have some serious consequences for the team’s relationship with ASU. It could even affect their future use of the college facility.

That clause was added to the agreement since Meruelo had some issues after buying the team. ASU was merely protecting their interests, and who knows how or if that will be addressed in the Barroway situation.

The other issue could be that the NHL will want a different minority owner, and perhaps Meruelo will buy out Barroway, since he already has quite a bit invested in the team. The unknown factor remains how this may affect the vote for the $1.2 billion entertainment project.

The Coyotes Ownership History is Less Than Admirable

In December 2008, the media became aware the Coyotes were suffering massive losses and that the NHL was paying the team’s bills. The media reports were minimized by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and vice-president Bill Daly. However, Jerry Moyes had secretly given operational control of the team to the league. In May 2009, Moyes put the team into bankruptcy hours before Bettman was to present him an offer to sell the team to Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Moyes intended to sell the team to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, who intended to purchase the team out of bankruptcy and move it to Hamilton, Ontario. The NHL responded by stripping Moyes of his remaining ownership authority.

From May until September 2009, hearings were held in Phoenix bankruptcy court to determine the fate of the Coyotes and the holding company. Two potential bidders for the team surfaced, Reinsdorf and Ice Edge Holdings, but they did not submit a bid for the team. Instead, the NHL put in the only rival bid to Balsillie for the team, while it contended the Moyes–Balsillie deal violated NHL rules. The bankruptcy court voided the planned sale to Balsillie, accepting the NHL’s argument that bankruptcy could not be used to circumvent NHL rules. The NHL’s bid was also declared insufficient, but the judge left the window open to an improved bid. Moyes and the NHL settled, with the NHL purchasing the team and assuming all debts. The NHL negotiated a temporary lease with the City of Glendale, which owns Gila River Arena.

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In the End, It’s the Fans Who Are the Losers

Unstable ownership has plagued this franchise. It only seems fitting that something like this would happen. While there is a rabid fanbase in a growing area, the team just can’t seem to get it together. And, you know what that means? There will be additional calls (and perhaps valid requests) that the team will be moving… AGAIN!

This is no doubt a public relations nightmare for all those who have worked so diligently to bring the franchise back into a respectable circle. If your ownership has issues, it almost always never ends well.

Can Meruelo clean up this mess? Can anyone?