Bankrupt Coyotes to go to auction in Aug or Sept

* Judge sets Coyotes auction for August or September

* First auction will be for bidders committed to Arizona

By Ben Klayman

CHICAGO, June 23 (Reuters) - The Phoenix Coyotes may be sold in an August or September auction after a bankruptcy judge outlined a schedule to address whether the bankrupt hockey team will play its future games in Arizona or possibly Canada.

Judge Redfield Baum of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Arizona on Monday ruled a sale of the team -- for which BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd (RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie has offered $212.5 million -- will proceed along two tracks, according to Thomas Salerno, attorney for the National Hockey League team's owner, Jerry Moyes.

Under the judge's schedule, an auction for the Coyotes will be held on Aug. 5 for bidders willing to keep the team in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Salerno said.

The NHL has said it wants to keep the team in Arizona and four potential bidders are committed to that.

If the August auction fails to attract a suitable offer, a second auction -- open to other bidders, including Balsillie, who could move the team -- would be held on Sept. 10, Salerno said. The Coyotes, which filed for bankruptcy in May, have never made a profit since moving to Arizona in 1996.

"The judge is 'two tracking' it, but is accelerating the process such that a relocation bid, if approved by the NHL or the court, could still happen for the 2009-10 season," he said in an email.