Tensions rose Thursday morning at City Hall as the proposed Texas Tech hockey contract with the city was rejected, by a 5-2 vote, for the second time.
Council member John Leonard, District 5, made a motion which was carried to continue the negotiations and appoint councilman Todd Klein to negotiate with the organization.
Until a contract is agreed on by Tech hockey and the council, the team must rent the rink from the city, which costs $1,850 on game days and $925 on days that do not need game preparation.
Tom Martin, mayor of Lubbock, said the largest issue he had with the proposed contract, besides money, was the fact that Tech hockey would have the coliseum "tied up," preventing other revenue-drawing events from being scheduled at the location.
"The previous contract that is expired and the one they tried to present today both provide for the hockey club to pay on the day - the full fare - on days of their meets," he said. "But the rest of their time, for all intents and purposes, it just says they can just use the coliseum for five months with no payment at all for recreational skating, skating lessons and so forth."
Martin said if the new contract provides for the city the ability to schedule events on days the hockey team is not using the rink, the negotiated cost will be much less than if they want to use the coliseum exclusively.
During the council meeting, Martin said the negotiations between the council and the hockey team were a "political circus," and he was not interested in continuing until "cooler heads" could take part in negotiations.
Council members Floyd Price, District 1, and Linda DeLeon, District 2, have been on the front lines of helping the team, hosting town hall meetings in support of the team and originally voting to renew the contract.
DeLeon, who has organized town hall meetings among other services to assist the team, said she was not pleased with the remarks made by Martin, especially because the leader of the community would use those words about other council members.
"For him to say those types of comments," she said, "I'm hoping this community will demand that the mayor of this community do a public apology to councilman Price and councilwoman DeLeon - because I resent the hell out of it."
However, DeLeon said the issue is not dead, although it probably will come at an extra cost to the hockey team.
John Leonard, one of the five council members to vote against the passage of the contract, said several factors led to his motion that will suspend the ability of the Tech hockey team to play under a contract.
The city is renting out the City Bank Coliseum to the Tech hockey team for less than the cost of running it, he said, and the city at least must cover its expenses.
Although he is willing to leave some money on the table, Leonard said he does not want to "eat expenses."
"I think long-term, hockey needs to find another venue - maybe it's the Fair Park Coliseum," he said. "I don't know what it is. Maybe it's a facility that doesn't yet exist."
Leonard said he is confident councilman Klein will be able to negotiate a deal with the hockey team, but he did not want to be pressured into saying "yes" to a contract he did not have time to contemplate: The proposed contracts were delivered to the council members Wednesday night before the Thursday morning meeting.
Tim Castleman, director of game operations and corporate sales account manager for the team, said while the team would like to have a contract, the ruling Thursday was a "step in the right direction."
Both sides have some room to negotiate so they can meet somewhere in the middle, he said, although he regrets that the council's decision delays a feeling of certainty for players and fans.
Ultimately, Castleman said, the vote was the "lesser of two evils," because the team still is allowed to rent the rink to play home games at the coliseum until a contract is finalized.
When the Cotton Kings played at the coliseum, he said, they were not required to pay a fee on "off days," although they practiced every day.
In addition, Castleman said the Tech hockey team always is compliant with the city when they wish to schedule other events.
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