Confirmed with Link: All-Purpose "Days of Our Meruelo" Talk

[rt]

I've been saying this all along. This has been in Bettman's back pocket since the TED failed. I actually suspect that the announcement might have been made at the deadline if it hadn't been for the auction revelation.

Like Craig said last night, if the auction goes south, get ready for moving vans.

There is a 100% chance they will play next season at Mullett. There’s a decent chance they play all or part of that season under league or Smith ownership as a lame duck year.

There is a 0% chance that Smith is going to invest nearly a billion dollars and then do some half cooked botch job of scrambling to throw out a subpar slapped together anticlimactic disappointing launch of a new franchise. They don’t have time to do this the right way. And they only way they’re going to do it is the right way. That means taking next season to build it right. Even if the new baby has to hang out in the incubator in Tempe for a season.

They will NOT play next season in SLC. There isn’t even the remotest of chances that could possibly happen.

 

[Jakey53]

The state has the right to kick out any potential land speculators/squatters.

You want to bid? Come with a $16 million cashiers check and a plan.

I understand, but "what" are the potential bidders going to build. It states they have to complete whatever in three years, but doesn't say what. Would say a hospital give the COP the return in taxes etc. going forward compared to the Coyotes plan? It's one thing to sell the land, but you would think COP would be interested in the future ROI.

 

[AZDesertKnight]

Just tell me when I need to buy a Golden Knights or a new Coyotes jersey..

I will NOT be following this team to Utah, I go to Vegas often so that's it for me folks.

There is a 100% chance they will play next season at Mullett. There’s a decent chance they play all or part of that season under league or Smith ownership as a lame duck year.

There is a 0% chance that Smith is going to invest nearly a billion dollars and then do some half cooked botch job of scrambling to throw out a subpar slapped together anticlimactic disappointing launch of a new franchise. They don’t have time to do this the right way. And they only way they’re going to do it is the right way. That means taking next season to build it right. Even if the new baby has to hang out in the incubator in Tempe for a season.

They will NOT play next season in SLC. There isn’t even the remotest of chances that could possibly happen.

Yeah, even if there is 10% coyotes fans in the building every night. It would just be a visiting team fan vacation destination to get through the lame duck season.

 

[TheLegend]

I understand, but "what" are the potential bidders going to build. It states they have to complete whatever in three years, but doesn't say what. Would say a hospital give the COP the return in taxes etc. going forward compared to the Coyotes plan? It's one thing to sell the land, but you would think COP would be interested in the future ROI.

Mayo was already asked if they ever thought about bidding on the site and they said “no”.

Honor Health just bought another parcel not long ago in the area. So they probably aren’t interested

 

[AZDesertKnight]

What if Ryan Smith buys it just to bork us?

Or Ishbia to gain control of the process?

 

[JasonDemersWasOkay]

We all wonder what other potential bidders there can be when it’s clear to me who’s gonna be strolling in with their dolla bills to mess this whole thing up:

The changing Hands bookstore lady

 

[rt]

52 minutes long..... nothing but arena talk between Petey and Craig.

There’s a moment toward the beginning (I clipped it but can’t post because this website is trash) where Petey and Craig talk about how this was originally for 200 acres. Now it’s only 100. And the coyotes are paying 100% of the cost for hooking up the raw desert land to municipal infrastructure like roadways, sewage, electric, telecom, etc. Why would anyone compete with the Coyotes for this 100 acres, when they could just wait and buy the other 100 acres? Then they likely won’t have to bid against anyone, deal with any extra scrutiny and benefit from the infrastructure investment already paid for by the Yotes.

That’s a REALLY good point.

What if Ryan Smith buys it just to bork us?

Or Ishbia to gain control of the process?

The State and the NHL will see right through a scheme like that. Everyone would. They’d get nothing out of it but damaged reputations.

We all wonder what other potential bidders there can be when it’s clear to me who’s gonna be strolling in with their dolla bills to mess this whole thing up:

The changing Hands bookstore lady

It’s so funny how we lost to such classic Tempe stereotypes. Three cat ladies. Two with teaching jobs at ASU and one used bookstore owner. Lol. It’s just such a Tempe way to lose.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

There is a 100% chance they will play next season at Mullett. There’s a decent chance they play all or part of that season under league or Smith ownership as a lame duck year.

There is a 0% chance that Smith is going to invest nearly a billion dollars and then do some half cooked botch job of scrambling to throw out a subpar slapped together anticlimactic disappointing launch of a new franchise. They don’t have time to do this the right way. And they only way they’re going to do it is the right way. That means taking next season to build it right. Even if the new baby has to hang out in the incubator in Tempe for a season.

They will NOT play next season in SLC. There isn’t even the remotest of chances that could possibly happen.

I'm already fully briefed on your opinion on how this might shake out.

But I also know that franchise relocations have been managed on shorter time frames than this one. And the fact that Gutierrez came out and said that if the auction goes south, the only option is relocation, tells me that the league has put together a contingency plan and will be developing a schedule option to accommodate it.

The league has to weigh whether a lame duck season in a half-full 4,600-seat arena is preferable to a quick-and-dirty overnight move. My guess is that both the NHL and Smith have assets in place and ready to go if the nuclear option is invoked - a marketing plan, infrastructure, the works. They've already seeded the garden, so to speak, with their public interviews referencing "as soon as possible" and "immediate" and other rather telling verbiage.

I know you are 100% convinced that that scenario is bullshit. But I've been involved enough in sports business to know that it's not only possible, but probable that things will happen that way if Meruelo doesn't win the auction.

 

[TheLegend]

There’s a moment toward the beginning (I clipped it but can’t post because this website is trash) where Petey and Craig talk about how this was originally for 200 acres. Now it’s only 100. And the coyotes are paying 100% of the cost for hooking up the raw desert land to municipal infrastructure like roadways, sewage, electric, telecom, etc. Why would anyone compete with the Coyotes for this 100 acres, when they could just wait and buy the other 100 acres? Then they likely won’t have to bid against anyone, deal with any extra scrutiny and benefit from the infrastructure investment already paid for by the Yotes.

That’s a REALLY good point.


The State and the NHL will see right through a scheme like that. Everyone would. They’d get nothing out of it but damaged reputations.

Can’t recall which article it’s in but XG mentions the estimate for infrastructure work on the 200 acre plan was twice what their civil engineers expected it to be ($130-180 million IIRC).

XG also mentioned Meruelo has assets he’s set aside for this project like he did with TED and that number didn’t pencil out for him.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

What if Ryan Smith buys it just to bork us?

Or Ishbia to gain control of the process?

Smith isn't going to do jack squat to interfere with either Meruelo or the NHL, because he knows that if he does he will immediately become persona non grata with Bettman, and you only have to look at Jim Balsillie to know what happens to people who rub the league the wrong way when it comes to their franchises.

Ishbia might be too busy with his feud with the Cavs owner to even notice this is going on.

 

[JasonDemersWasOkay]

It sucks that this is happening right on top of the draft. I love the draft and if they lose I won’t be able to bring myself to watch.

 

[TheLegend]

It sucks that this is happening right on top of the draft. I love the draft and if they lose I won’t be able to bring myself to watch.

That unfortunately was totally out of the Coyotes control.

 

[Mosby]

It sucks that this is happening right on top of the draft. I love the draft and if they lose I won’t be able to bring myself to watch.

We will win the auction the first night and select Celebrini the next.

 

[rt]

I'm already fully briefed on your opinion on how this might shake out.

But I also know that franchise relocations have been managed on shorter time frames than this one. And the fact that Gutierrez came out and said that if the auction goes south, the only option is relocation, tells me that the league has put together a contingency plan and will be developing a schedule option to accommodate it.

The league has to weigh whether a lame duck season in a half-full 4,600-seat arena is preferable to a quick-and-dirty overnight move. My guess is that both the NHL and Smith have assets in place and ready to go if the nuclear option is invoked - a marketing plan, infrastructure, the works. They've already seeded the garden, so to speak, with their public interviews referencing "as soon as possible" and "immediate" and other rather telling verbiage.

I know you are 100% convinced that that scenario is bullshit. But I've been involved enough in sports business to know that it's not only possible, but probable that things will happen that way if Meruelo doesn't win the auction.

Not even 1% chance. I know you drive a Mazda. But that doesn’t mean you can drive it to the moon. No matter how familiar you are with it. Doesn’t make the impossible possible.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Not even 1% chance. I know you drive a Mazda. But that doesn’t mean you can drive it to the moon. No matter how familiar you are with it. Doesn’t make the impossible possible.

Again, I know your opinion and bless you for having it. But your 100% certainty doesn't make your opinion reality.

 

[JasonDemersWasOkay]

I saw somewhere that the auction will take place at 11am, so we’ll know if we still have a team before lunch. I sure as hell ain’t working that day.

I prefer this over having to wait all day for the vote like last time. I now cannot watch Master and Commander because I watched it to pass time before the vote and now I associate it with the utter despair I felt.

 

[rt]

Can’t recall which article it’s in but XG mentions the estimate for infrastructure work on the 200 acre plan was twice what their civil engineers expected it to be ($130-180 million IIRC).

XG also mentioned Meruelo has assets he’s set aside for this project like he did with TED and that number didn’t pencil out for him.

Exactly. So if you want 100 acres there, it as to wait and take the 2nd 100 acres and likely save a lot of coat as the Yotes will have pulled so much infrastructure into the area. Right?

I don’t know how this works. Lol

 

[AZDesertKnight]

I saw somewhere that the auction will take place at 11am, so we’ll know if we still have a team before lunch. I sure as hell ain’t working that day.

I prefer this over having to wait all day for the vote like last time. I now cannot watch Master and Commander because I watched it to pass time before the vote and now I associate it with the utter despair I felt.

I've already taken the morning off, I just don't know if I want to go in person or watch in my car and cry if we lose. Then get over it probably quickly and feel an immense sense of closure. lol

 

[TheLegend]

Exactly. So if you want 100 acres there, it as to wait and take the 2nd 100 acres and likely save a lot of coat as the Yotes will have pulled so much infrastructure into the area. Right?

I don’t know how this works. Lol

Sure…. He could expand the site later if nobody buys it.

But the cost per acre would be higher… by a lot.

 

[SR]

I am very confident we win this land auction. There’s several investors with similar, but different interest in this whole build that is in on this with Muerelo. There isn’t one single entity that wants this alone, full investor team approach. My guess the only bid will be AM’s

 

[SR]

This isnt the only project AM is in on either. There’s a few more that are non hockey related.

There are quite a few pieces to this whole investment group. All with heavy backing and very good at their crafts all working together to see the big picture of the project.

This will be the nicest arena venue and entertainment district in the country, nothing will compare to it, that’s what I’m being told anyway. No cutting corners or going cheap on the whole thing

 

[Arizonatah Coyetis]

Anyone come across any names for who could be among the other investors in this project?

 

[Jakey53]

I am very confident we win this land auction. There’s several investors with similar, but different interest in this whole build that is in on this with Muerelo. There isn’t one single entity that wants this alone, full investor team approach. My guess the only bid will be AM’s

You have mostly been spot on and I respect your posts, until you screwed up on TTD deals that never happened. I hope you are right about this. Could the stars finally be aligning for the Coyote's? Number one was Doan being called up and his play surprising everyone, number two is winning the lottery, and number three is winning the auction. The Trifecta. Us long suffering Coyote fans need this.

 

[SR]

Anyone come across any names for who could be among the other private investors in this project?

I haven’t heard any names but have heard there is local interest but just backing AM’s vision and concept.

I believe the residential build and arena build is being formatted by AM and then the shops, restaurants and entertainment is being handled by others. All high end stuff.

 

[Jakey53]

This isnt the only project AM is in on either. There’s a few more that are non hockey related.

There are quite a few pieces to this whole investment group. All with heavy backing and very good at their crafts all working together to see the big picture of the project.

This will be the nicest arena venue and entertainment district in the country, nothing will compare to it, that’s what I’m being told anyway. No cutting corners or going cheap on the whole thing

I like what you are saying. Keep on.