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

[Llewzaher]

I agree. Seems like there's more to the story. Is he having trouble with financing? I mean look at interest rates. Commerical investment seems kind of insane right now. Is the cost of getting the land ready with freeway access and water and whatever else is needed more than they will be able to handle without taxpayer assistance? Or has Meruelo just been looking for a way out and we're just finding out about it? I'm sure it will come out eventually.

I think they are being pushed by Walsh and don’t want the bad press for the next few years. Just my opinion.

I still think AM is stubborn and wants to come out on top. I don’t believe he sells until I hear it from the NHL and the Yotes.

After hearing LeBrun say they are being told not to say too much as they don’t know if AM will sell, that sounds more correct than Daily Faceoff and Sports net saying “ this is a bad day for Yotes fans “ based on their news leak.

It’s like they want it to be true..

What we know for sure:

-NHL and Smith in negotiations to buy the team, both are all in

-NHL are trying to get AM to sell the team

-AM is committed to winning the auction and keep ing the team in PHX .. if that doesn’t work , relocating is the only option per XG

Everything else is speculation.

As far as bringing the Yotes back , if I was AM , I sure wouldn’t agree to that after how much work BA has done.

The rumour is he sells for 1b , then pays 800m to bring the team back. They say he makes 200m profit. But how much of that goes to the minority owners?

They would have to really up the offer in my opinion ( which is not much )

 

[Edenjung]

What’s the news? I can’t read.

"Seravalli said that the Yotes haven't been paying for hotels on the road. And the hotels with league contracts demanded the nhl give certified checks up front so the Yotes wouldn't refuse to pay anymore. That was THIS season."

Cited rt

 

[Llewzaher]

Here’s food for thought. Fertitta just put a 25mil ice plant in the Toyota center and has been meeting with the nhl in NYC. Then you’ve got ATL hot and heavy.

If you do a relo to SLC then you can do an expansion to HOU and ATL. Suddenly you don’t miss that PHX market so much and you get 300M relo from SLC AND like 1.5B from EACH of HOU & ATL.

Pretty tidy business.


Seravalli said that the Yotes haven't been paying for hotels on the road. And the hotels with league contracts demanded the nhl give certified checks up front so the Yotes wouldn't refuse to pay anymore. That was THIS season.

Frank S says a lot.

Edit I am not saying he is wrong no .. but he has been misinformed a lot in the past

 

[The Feckless Puck]

The absolute worst part of all of this is that I have had to admit that Katie Strang, Frank Seravalli, and John f***ing Gambadoro were all right.

 

[Coyotedroppings]

"Seravalli said that the Yotes haven't been paying for hotels on the road. And the hotels with league contracts demanded the nhl give certified checks up front so the Yotes wouldn't refuse to pay anymore. That was THIS season."

Cited rt

Ahhh, so asshats. I honestly hoped I was wrong about them.

 

[Mosby]

The absolute worst part of all of this is that I have had to admit that Katie Strang, Frank Seravalli, and John f***ing Gambadoro were all right.

I still take issue with the first two as there was an undertone of glee in their reporting.

 

[Edenjung]

Ahhh, so asshats. I honestly hoped I was wrong about them.

Me too.

 

[TheLegend]

And despite the overwhelming defeatist attitude on F40, the team's still here. Stiff upper lip, chaps - "There's dead and there's mostly dead."

 

[LuckyNumber11]

Mullett was always going to be an issue. They should’ve shelled the 50M or whatever needed to make VMC viable. That was a big time misstep that’s ultimately forced the league’s hand

 

[LittlePipes]

First I hope AM has the funds and ability to make the new arena work, then I hope he’s a Gila monster that just won’t let go of his franchise…. with the legal means to do it.


What’s the news? I can’t read.

news was that Coyotes werent paying hotel bills on the road

 

[TheLegend]

The State Land Department needs to tell the NHL to f*** themselves and that, no, Alex Meruelo's bid and corresponding project no longer fits the proposal guidelines in the event that he no longer currently owns a team.

In a roundabout way that could actually help Meruelo.

If his hot Latino blood gets the better of him, he could sue the league claiming they interfered with his ability to fix a problem they originally created.

Part of the reason why they're dangling a $1 billion carrot in front of him. Money people call it greenmail.

 

[TheLegend]

Mullett was always going to be an issue. They should’ve shelled the 50M or whatever needed to make VMC viable. That was a big time misstep that’s ultimately forced the league’s hand

VMC was going to run $120 million minimum and take 18 months. No time.

 

[rt]

Mullett was always going to be an issue. They should’ve shelled the 50M or whatever needed to make VMC viable. That was a big time misstep that’s ultimately forced the league’s hand

Remember Mullett was also to serve as a way to cozy up to Tempe.

 

[LittlePipes]

If Muerlo is as bad a guy as its looking like, then I hold no grudge against Bettman for kicking him out of the club.

 

[TheLegend]

Seravalli said that the Yotes haven't been paying for hotels on the road. And the hotels with league contracts demanded the nhl give certified checks up front so the Yotes wouldn't refuse to pay anymore. That was THIS season.

This is the other stuff that both Seravalli and Friedman were hinting at.

 

[JasonDemersWasOkay]

Morgan also hinted in the podcast yesterday that he’s got some stuff he knows about that he’ll be able to discuss after all is said and done. We’re gonna see a lot of shit come out that’s gonna make all of us that trusted Meruelo look like f***ing fools.

 

[TheLegend]

Remember Mullett was also to serve as a way to cozy up to Tempe.

True.... but it was also literally the only choice they had.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

I still take issue with the first two as there was an undertone of glee in their reporting.

Their tone is meaningless. The fact that their reportage ended up being correct is what counts. Strang might be best pals with Meagan Chayka but she also apparently had the real goods about Meruelo. And Seravalli... goddammit... if it wasn't for that fat bastard, we'd have been utterly blindsided by this next week.

 

[rt]

Their tone is meaningless. The fact that their reportage ended up being correct is what counts. Strang might be best pals with Meagan Chayka but she also apparently had the real goods about Meruelo. And Seravalli... goddammit... if it wasn't for that fat bastard, we'd have been utterly blindsided by this next week.

So true.

 

[LittlePipes]

Their tone is meaningless. The fact that their reportage ended up being correct is what counts. Strang might be best pals with Meagan Chayka but she also apparently had the real goods about Meruelo. And Seravalli... goddammit... if it wasn't for that fat bastard, we'd have been utterly blindsided by this next week.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Morgan also hinted in the podcast yesterday that he’s got some stuff he knows about that he’ll be able to discuss after all is said and done. We’re gonna see a lot of shit come out that’s gonna make all of us that trusted Meruelo look like f***ing fools.

While hearing the tea will be healthy for all of us, I'm going to be pissed for a while at Morgan for withholding this in favor of providing a paper covering and pro-Meruelo point of view this whole time. You sit on this shit like that, and you are no longer a journalist, you're a patsy.

 

[GhostofTommyBolin]

This is a much bigger project. Maybe that’s the problem? It seems to me that the NHL wants Meruelo out and Smith in. They see this as a twofer.

Accurate.

 

[rt]

Other side of the equation is the league doesn't like AM or his hardball approach. Likely they wanted him to sell to Ishbia at a lower price but he won't do it because he still feels he has a chance locally. So to 'spite' the league he is giving Smith a jumpstart, making more money, and sticking it to Bettman a bit. They aren't going to fight it because the upside outweighs whatever minimal benefit would come from fighting AM in court.

But the league also seems to be lowkey ecstatic with the swap. And it clears the way for them to trip up AM's exclusive window - if it even happens - and get Ishbia like they want at a price that works for him.

I think there’s probably some truth in there.

Accurate.

They get to make that trade and then fast track a double expansion to major media markets in ATL and HOU and Phoenix won’t look like such a loss all the sudden. Easy peasy.

 

[Mosby]

It's annoying how all this stuff always come out at the end. Then Morgan goes into hiding yesterday and turns off comments on everything after the fact.

 

[RollingCoyote]

I was born and grew up in Winnipeg watching the Jets win Avco Cups. In the early 80’s we moved to Calgary when my dad was transferred but I didn’t become a Flames fan, I stayed with the Jets. When it was announced the Jets were moving to Phoenix I was devastated, said I was never going to watch the NHL again. After thinking about it for a while I decided I was going to continue cheering for them in Phoenix because it was the same team, still had Tkachuck, Doan, Khabibulin etc. Maybe some of you will have the same thoughts as I did and decide to follow them after all. That being said, I don’t think they are leaving Arizona, this is just plan B in case they don’t win the auction. The NHL and Meruelo would be stupid not to have something like this in place and ready to go.