The Republic | azcentral.com Fri Aug 23, 2013 2:42 PM

Attorney Craig Tindall, who was waived by Glendale in the spring, now is starting for the Phoenix Coyotes.

The former city attorney, who was involved in negotiations with various potential ownership groups for the Coyotes for years, took a position with the team Tuesday. The city and NHL had sought new owners since 2009.

Tindall is serving as general counsel, handling work excluding player contracts.

“I’m being a lawyer. I’ve got to be a lawyer somewhere,” he told The Arizona Republic.

That became an issue this past February when four of the seven Glendale City Council members asked him to resign from his municipal position, citing the need for the city to move in a more business-friendly direction.

Tindall’s resignation became effective April 1, but according to an agreement with the city, he retains the title “special counsel” to Glendale for six months from the date of his resignation as the city pays out the balance of his $167,000 severance package. The package includes severance pay, accrued vacation pay and more.

Tindall worked for Glendale 12 years, including eight years as city attorney.

Tindall, a Phoenix resident, worked for about a month with the Phoenix law firm Fennemore Craig, before transitioning to the hockey team. He enjoyed working at the law firm, but the Coyotes presented a unique opportunity, he said.

He attended a press conference at Jobing.com Arena on Aug. 6, when National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman formally turned over ownership of the Coyotes to IceArizona, an investment group headed by Canadians George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc.

“The opportunity came up with the new owners and I thought, ‘Well alright, I’ll give it a shot. It seems like fun,’” Tindall said.

The investors purchased the team from the NHL for $170 million.

Tindall resigned from Glendale nearly two months before the city’s negotiations with IceArizona principals began after May 28.

In July, the council approved a 15-year deal in which the city will pay the Coyotes’ owners $225 million to manage Jobing.com Arena.

The arrangement calls for the team to reimburse the city a projected $9 million a year derived largely from ticket surcharges and parking fees and naming rights at the arena.

Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers said Friday that he was unaware that Tindall had taken a position with the hockey team.

“Is it going to create problems? I hope not,” Weiers said.

“He certainly probably has enough background information on the arena and everything else going on that he doesn’t have to start from scratch,” he said. “I don’t know how the public will take that.”

In a related matter, the council has narrowed its search to three finalists for a new city attorney to succeed Tindall.

The candidates: Michael Bailey, former city attorney for Surprise; James Mapp, presiding city judge in El Mirage; and Kelly Ward Sr., an assistant city attorney for Scottsdale.

Council members interviewed the finalists Tuesday and have directed city administrators to negotiate an agreement with one of them, said acting Assistant City Manager Julie Frisoni.

The council will bring the matter for a vote during an upcoming public meeting, she said.

Assistant City Attorney Nick DiPiazza, who did not seek the position, has served as acting city attorney since Tindall’s departure.