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

[JasonDemersWasOkay]

Of all the times for the team to be silent, their silence today to me is heartbreaking

 

[rt]

The sell for relo in April, win the auction in June, get an expansion team in three years scheme still strikes me as extremely harebrained and unlikely for a variety of reasons.

It doesn’t give Smith enough time to do this right. They’re going to have to scramble and throw everyone together. It’s a bad beginning.

Why would Arizona sell the land for an NHL arena to a guy who just dumped his NHL team two months ago?

What does the NHL get out do this? A whole lot of extra risk. If they sell on 4/18 then NEITHER the Yotes or Smith will have a permanent arena solution in place.

 

[LAIslanderFan]

Why would the Coyotes even bother to pursue an auction for the land if they intended on relocating? The Coyotes website seems adamant that AM has every intention of keeping the team in AZ. I would think if AM backtracked and the team relocated it would hurt his brand as well.
The Coyotes season ends on April 17th. I would think if the team was relocating we'd hear something within days of the final game.

 

[AZviaNJ]

The expansion rumor makes absolutely no sense imo. I can’t see the NHL giving AM another shot if he sells the team. It’s either auction success, Ishbia last minute buys the team, or relocation. I don’t see a scenario where Arizona gets an expansion team in the near future imo.

It makes total sense. AM holds many of the legal cards, it's his team, if he wins the auction and the the league forces him to sell/relocate the NHL will be facing the type of lawsuit that will turnoff other prospective owners (expansion and otherwise). And the NHL likely loses said lawsuit.

How does the NHL get around it? Entice AM to sell now with the commitment of an NHL expansion franchise once a viable NHL arena is available (2027).

The puzzle pieces fit.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

What does the NHL get out do this? A whole lot of extra risk. If they sell on 4/18 then NEITHER the Yotes or Smith will have a permanent arena solution in place.

According to the most enthusiastic proponents of this Keystone Kops scenario, the main thing is that people won't have to watch NHL hockey played in a 4,600-seat dinky rink. And I guess in their eyes, it's worth pulling off something like Pee Wee Herman's breakfast machine to avoid that travesty.

For god's sake, just announce relocation on April 18th and salt the earth in Phoenix, NHL, or let us go to auction and GET OFF OUR f***ING BACKS.

 

[MayDayMayDay]

Yea selling now before the auction makes no sense. It would destroy the relationship between ownership and fans, and it would be a total spit in the face from the league.

Just get to the auction and win it.

 

[DaBadGuy7]

It makes total sense. AM holds many of the legal cards, it's his team, if he wins the auction and the the league forces him to sell/relocate the NHL will be facing the type of lawsuit that will turnoff other prospective owners (expansion and otherwise). And the NHL likely loses said lawsuit.

How does the NHL get around it? Entice AM to sell now with the commitment of an NHL expansion franchise once a viable NHL arena is available (2027).

The puzzle pieces fit.

My point is why would the NHL do that if he wins the auction. The SLC move makes sense only if he loses, he wins the get a new arena in Phoenix area like they wanted. To me, this is just added pressure on AM to make sure he wins the bid and that this arena is built as soon as possible.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

My point is why would the NHL do that if he wins the auction. The SLC move makes sense only if he loses, he wins the get a new arena in Phoenix area like they wanted. To me, this is just added pressure on AM to make sure he wins the bid and that this arena is built as soon as possible.

In fairness, there is an element of logic - albeit a bit twisted - that indicates that this little Rube Goldberg scheme would actually help Meruelo immediately finance the ED build and infrastructure setup with a reservoir of fresh, available cash.

I would have to guess, though, that in order for AM to agree to this, the NHL would have to offer him a VERY steep discount on the expansion fee, and I don't know that the Atlanta groups would appreciate that one bit.

 

[LAIslanderFan]

We're also not considering the expansion fees the NHL loses if the Coyotes move to SLC.
The best case for the league is the Coyotes stay and the NHL gets $1 billion dollars in expansion fees from SLC (and probably Atlanta).

 

[AZviaNJ]

The sell for relo in April, win the auction in June, get an expansion team in three years scheme still strikes me as extremely harebrained and unlikely for a variety of reasons.

It doesn’t give Smith enough time to do this right. They’re going to have to scramble and throw everyone together. It’s a bad beginning.

Why would Arizona sell the land for an NHL arena to a guy who just dumped his NHL team two months ago?

What does the NHL get out do this? A whole lot of extra risk. If they sell on 4/18 then NEITHER the Yotes or Smith will have a permanent arena solution in place.

Saving face for Bettman and AM. "It's not good-bye Arizona, it's good-bye for now"

 

[rt]

This seems like a very careless way to handle a billion dollar asset if you’re Smith.

Does 4/18 technically give him enough time to get the team playing games there in October? Possibly.

But man, what a wasted opportunity to do this right. To take his time and make this the optimal version. This would be so sloppy and reckless. It’s like the Yotes to AWA all over again. But so much worse for a variety of reasons.

It can’t be his preference to do it now, right? Why would be his motivation?

Saving face for Bettman and AM. "It's not good-bye Arizona, it's good-bye for now"

Not sure they’re motivated by much more than the bottom line. I’m not connected the dots on how those two things fit together.

 

[JasonDemersWasOkay]

Saving face for Bettman and AM. "It's not good-bye Arizona, it's good-bye for now"

And good luck with a new franchise full of nobodies who will probably require an additional 5 years of rebuilding if you even get a new franchise in the first place

 

[The Feckless Puck]

We're also not considering the expansion fees the NHL loses if the Coyotes move to SLC.
The best case for the league is the Coyotes stay and the NHL gets $1 billion dollars in expansion fees from SLC (and probably Atlanta).

In this scenario, I would expect that Smith would pay the $1 billion+ to the league, the NHL would pay a specified amount of that as a Meruelo buyout/ED build slush fund, and then AM would have a free ride to a new franchise.

I'm not an economist and as such I don't know how much sense this makes in real life, but you can bet that's what's percolating in the Shit Throwers' brains as they target the walls.

 

[JasonDemersWasOkay]

How the f*** can Meruelo possibly think fans will trust him with a new franchise after all the damage he has done to this one

 

[GhostofTommyBolin]

This would be 'classic' Coyotes to actually lose the team when we start to get good...only to be replaced by another "Expansion Team"

Good News: Expansion Team comes w/Arena
Bad News: Team will stink for 20 years

'Classic' Coyotes

28th out of 32 isn't quite 'starting to get good' but that's just my opinion.

 

[LAIslanderFan]

In this scenario, I would expect that Smith would pay the $1 billion+ to the league, the NHL would pay a specified amount of that as a Meruelo buyout/ED build slush fund, and then AM would have a free ride to a new franchise.

I'm not an economist and as such I don't know how much sense this makes in real life, but you can bet that's what's percolating in the Shit Throwers' brains as they target the walls.

The Arizona team would still need an arena to play in. I also suspect the other NHL owners wouldn't want their piece of the $1 billion discounted to give AM a larger share.

If the Coyotes relocate I don't see any way that AZ gets an NHL franchise for years to come, and more than likely they won't ever get one. It would really be disappointing especially after all of the good things BA has done with the draft and the bright future the team has on the ice.

 

[rt]

How would the State evaluation of highest and “best” offer for this parcel go if the guy who said he wanted to buy it to put his nhl team there, sold his nhl team to SLC out of nowhere?

If I was Arizona, I’d refuse to sell to him. I wouldn’t trust him to enact any plan at that point.

 

[MayDayMayDay]

How the f*** can Meruelo possibly think fans will trust him with a new franchise after all the damage he has done to this one

1000000000 percent this. Selling now before the auction would be the most out of touch thing he could do.

Just get to and win the damn auction.

 

[GhostofTommyBolin]

Jesus Vyacheslav Christ on a zwieback, karma doesn't just hate us, it wants to eviscerate us and shit in the empty carcass.

This is such a great sentence.

 

[LAIslanderFan]

28th out of 32 isn't quite 'starting to get good' but that's just my opinion.

This team will be a powerhouse in a few years if they get the new arena. They have an amazing group of young prospects and they have a lot of cap space. If they get the new arena, they'll be able to attract high end quality free agents to complement the young prospects. They also have the best draft capital of any team and they'll add a top 10 draft pick this year.

 

[AZviaNJ]

How would the State evaluation of highest and “best” offer for this parcel go if the guy who said he wanted to buy it to put his nhl team there, sold his nhl team to SLC out of nowhere?

If I was Arizona, I’d refuse to sell to him. I wouldn’t trust him to enact any plan at that point.

If SLC happens this month.....there's no N. Phoenix arena, AM probably sells his expansion chip and double dips his profit.

 

[JasonDemersWasOkay]

According to Gambo, he believes playing at mullett isn’t really an option anymore, he thinks there’s only 3 options on the table, all of which include selling the team

 

[TheLegend]

This all truly is quite fascinating, if you remove yourself from the emotions. If AM is really going to pay for all this.... is it because of ego? Is he so shrewd that he knows he can make it work financially? Let's face it, this is an unprecedented move by a sports franchise owner in this day and age, at least to my knowledge.

The only one in Arizona doing a similar thing right now is Ishiba. Putting up new $100 million HQ for the Suns and Mercury. But even he is working out of a taxpayer funded arena. What going to happen the next time Footprint needs more work??

If Meruelo pulls all this off it'll change the face of a lot of things.

 

[Mosby]

The NHL should also not go to SLC until a new, viable arena is built. Starting elsewhere in a temporary spot and then moving to a new arena is unnecessary (see Phoenix).

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

28th out of 32 isn't quite 'starting to get good' but that's just my opinion.

Dude, you are correct...WE COYOTES FANS will miss the 'good' part of this scenario.