A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has yet to rule whether the Glendale City Council's approval of a Phoenix Coyotes deal should be invalidated, but he wanted one change immediately.

Judge Dean Fink ordered Glendale to make it clear the deal didn't garner enough council support to make it effective on the day of the June 8 vote, opening the door for a possible ballot initiative against the 20-year lease agreement with Coyotes suitor Greg Jamison.

Now Glendale and the Goldwater Institute, which sued the city to invalidate the council vote, wait for Fink's ruling.

Experts: Goldwater Institute's Coyotes lawsuit faces uphill battle

But the judge's informal order spurred Glendale resident Joe Cobb into action. Cobb, a plaintiff in the Phoenix-based watchdog group's lawsuit, said he plans to begin gathering signatures today. Cobb would need 1,862 valid petitions by early July to get a referendum on the November ballot.

Glendale could have shielded itself from such an attempt had five of seven council members approved the deal. The city included an emergency clause in its lease agreement with Jamison to make it immediately effective but only four council members voted in favor of the arena lease.

Now Glendale's $324 million lease agreement with Jamison, the former chief executive of the San Jose Sharks, will be effective early next month unless it's halted by a referendum or the judge's ruling.

"At this time, the city is moving forward with the transaction and would not suspend activities based on threats of a referendum," Glendale City Attorney Craig Tindall said. "Only when sufficient signatures are gathered and certified is a legislative act suspended."

It was not immediately clear whether the Tuesday hearing or a possible ballot measure could impact the National Hockey League's efforts to sell the Coyotes to Jamison.

The city and the NHL have been working for more than three years to sell the financially struggling team that plays at the city-owned Jobing.com Arena. The team moved to Glendale from its former downtown Phoenix home in 2003.

At the hearing, Goldwater attorney Carrie Ann Sitren argued the vote on the Coyotes deal should be invalidated and the council should take it to a second vote after requesting bids from other companies to operate the arena.

The bidding process ensures that there is no favoritism and that Glendale residents get the best deal, she said.

In the council-approved deal, Glendale agreed to pay Jamison $10 million to $20 million annually to operate the arena.

Phoenix attorney Gary Birnbaum, hired to represent Glendale, argued that Sitren's claims were unrealistic and that the delays she proposed could result in the city losing the Coyotes.

Jamison is someone who can manage the professional hockey team and also operate the arena, and he will only agree to buy the Coyotes if Glendale allows him to manage the arena, Birnbaum said.

He argued the city would lose millions should the team, the anchor tenant at the arena, leave.

Fink pushed back, questioning whether other companies would be qualified to manage the arena but also acknowledging the potential impact of any delays.

"If the NHL concludes it's done with Glendale, one could argue there would be significant harm," he said. "(The league) may not allow for a new Coyotes deal."

Fink later hinted he's not inclined to invalidate the Glendale council vote. Some legal experts say he's unlikely to do so because courts tend to give other government entities wide discretion to make decisions.

"There was a request that I invalidate the entire ordinance," Fink said. "I'm only willing to say (the emergency clause) is inoperable."

Fink said he expects to issue a formal ruling in the coming days.

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