As sports leagues began shuttering in mid-March because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Arizona Coyotes and Gila River Arena vowed to continue paying the arena's part-time and hourly employees.
On Wednesday, in response to an inquiry from The Arizona Republic, the Coyotes said they had provided funds to the arena's operator, ASM Global, to pay those employees but they have not yet been compensated.
The Coyotes would not say how much they contributed to paying the arena's employees.
"These employees are not Coyotes employees," the team said in a statement.
In a joint statement, the companies said: "We have full intention of upholding our commitment to our part-time employees, however, it has been a much more turbulent time than originally anticipated and are awaiting a decision from the league on whether or not the 2019-2020 season will be completed.