What if any, were the signs Ellman would have money problems? And yes, I understand Meruelo is in a different league, but let’s not forget Ellman wasn’t even paying for an arena.
Unfortunately, it’s “Coyote norm.”
Pretty much everything. I remember having an owner who some question his financial backing, last ditch effort to save the Coyotes, breaking ground, watching the build on state of the art facility and entertainment district. Just feels really familiar to me. I want to know / hope that something is different this time.
Yeah. The location. That matters, Glendale is still Glendale. This is essentially north Scottsdale.
Way, way, waaaaay different. You had an owner that wanted to get rid of the team. You had a shady developer that was only using the team as a way to get his project financed. Then you had a third guy come in that didn't want the team either. None of them had anywhere near the finances to afford the team OR the project, let alone both. Throw in one of the worst crashes of any of our lifetimes and it was one big disaster. The long list of pretenders after just made it worse. Only Glendale's subsidies and ransom money, Gary Betman's stubbornness and possibly divine intervention have kept the team here this long. Hopefully the current owner is through stepping on his dick and finally gets this thing done. Not to jinx it but there doesn't seem to be anything left in his way that he can't easily overcome at this point.
It's very different. Listen to the PHNX podcast with Craig. They talked about the situation with previous owners before in a recent one. Think it was in the old thread, few pages back.
I doubt anyone can provide backup to that $1 billion offer.
Ellman was going to spend 10 years building out Westgate and then sell it all (including the Coyotes.) The Coyotes were nothing but a means to an end for him. He was actually quoted saying as much.
Lotta misinformation here boys, let me clear some of it up.
Richard Burke was the owner who wanted to sell the team, rather than move to Glendale. In fact his original intent was to move the team to St. Paul, but arena situation thwarted that effort (ironic eh?). Steve Ellman has been correctly characterized here in that he was a developer, looking to improve assets and reap financial reward. When Ellman refused to show the City of Scottsdale financials, he found a willing partner in the City of Glendale. Burke said that it will never work in Glendale and sold the team to Ellman, Moyes and Gretzky, the latter whom no doubt just wanted to grow the game, having had a direct impact on the growth of hockey in California.
Richard T. Burke - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
I've met Jerry Moyes personally and had a business associate who actually leased Jerry his very first truck back in the day. Jerry once told me "I don't even know how to spell puck" and he relied heavily on Wayne as to all hockey decisions. Jerry believed in Glendale, was/is "Glendale proud" and wanted to help put his city on the map, he also of course, liked making money and had had success with Diamondback investment.
Two Coyotes owners separating team, real estate
Two owners of the Phoenix Coyotes are splitting their partnership in the parent company of the NHL team and the Westgate City Center development complex around Glendale Arena.www.espn.com
Below is what it looks like when things start to go south and after that people often do things they normally wouldn't to try to stay afloat. In Jerry's case, he tried to save "his baby" Swift Transportation.
Coyotes owner Ellman in default on $7M arena loan
Phoenix Coyotes owner Steve Ellman is in default on a $7 million loan tied to developments around the team's hockey arena in Glendale, according to financial documents.www.espn.com
Everyone will have their own thoughts on the viability of Meruelo's latest attempt and while there are plenty of differences in the two situations, there are plenty of similarities.
I've described in the past, what I believe to be "the perfect storm" that killed the Yotes in Glendale. In summary, the lockout and subsequent cancellation of an All Star game killed the shiny new buzz and respectable attendance in Glendale and then the economy went to hell and killed the ED.
But at least my talk makes sense.
If SLC group made an offer on an existing franchise before Uncle Gary wanted it they would no longer be at front of line, anyone that doesn't know that hasn't paid much attention. You don't get to change Gary's process
Who knows?
Only to you.But at least my talk makes sense.
No one has questioned that they talked to other groups. The claim has been made twice now they there has been a $1Billion off from SLC Group, and i call bs on that. If it ever gets to a relocation offer it will not be a billion to Mureulo it will be a purchase price much below that and a hefty Relocation Fee to league to make up rest of approximately $1 Billion price.
