Bonsai Tree
Turning a new leaf
- Feb 2, 2014
- 9,359
- 4,771
I think that, as a group, we should all root for Seattle. It’s the one fan group that IMO never threw shade on us. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Confirmed with Link: All-Purpose "Days of Our Meruelo" Talk
- Thread starter Arizonatah Coyetis
- Start date
Dirty Old Man
Yotah Hockey Club
The fan group never did, but I got interviewed by a Seattle radio station once in Glendale when Seattle was our "imminent destination", and they - as everyone else - had that same "we know we're getting your team, what's wrong with Arizona, exactly?" attitude.
(at one time I had the list of those imminent destinations that went...let's see... Portland OR...long gap...then Hamilton, Winnipeg, Quebec, Las Vegas, Seattle, Houston...and then finally Salt Lake City)
GhostofTommyBolin
Registered User
He's not struggling. This is just the player he is. He's a mediocre player they drafted too high. The player you're seeing is the player he is.
Arizonatah Coyetis
Formerly Kai Yo T
I think you're right about the player he is. He was probably riding high off of excitement and adrenaline in his NHL appearances but he came back down to earth.
-----
Kind of weird to me that the NHL did this under the circumstances but...
Arizona Coyotes Quarter-Century Teams unveiled | NHL.com
TheLegend
Hangman's booking agent... he'll do anything.
Yeah that was pretty lame. And putting Keller (in Utah gear) on the first team over Keith Tkachuk was brutal.
This was put together like some clueless intern decided it would be cool.
Dirty Old Man
Yotah Hockey Club
I'm okay with it if it's only 25 years (ie starts with 1999-20), this omitting the first 3 years. In fact I wonder about Roenick being in front of someone like Nagy if we start with the year we got pounded by Colorado in the playoffs
- Oct 26, 2006
- 18,757
- 12,013
Went up to the Salt Lake City area for my niece's wedding. Everywhere I look, UHC swag. The practice facility at South Town has huge NHL and UHC signs on it facing the freeway. Billboards everywhere sponsored by UHC corporate partners. The airport is flush with UHC gear.
It reminded me of just how horrible the Coyotes' non-existent marketing was for the past 20 years, and also what it's like to see a city actually care about a hockey team.
When I landed here in Salted Earth, Sky Harbor was landing west, so we overflew the Tempe site. There were several tallish buildings under construction right under the approach path - buildings taller than any arena or apartment complex would have been. And even though I now believe that Meruelo may never have built the arena even if it had survived the vote, the mere thought of it still made me grind my teeth in frustration.
It reminded me of just how horrible the Coyotes' non-existent marketing was for the past 20 years, and also what it's like to see a city actually care about a hockey team.
When I landed here in Salted Earth, Sky Harbor was landing west, so we overflew the Tempe site. There were several tallish buildings under construction right under the approach path - buildings taller than any arena or apartment complex would have been. And even though I now believe that Meruelo may never have built the arena even if it had survived the vote, the mere thought of it still made me grind my teeth in frustration.
Arizonatah Coyetis
Formerly Kai Yo T
Yeah. It was pathetic.
Hardly ever saw promotions, bumper stickers, license plates, jerseys, T-shirts... Rare!
It was like the team didn't exist outside of a 3 hour TV slot 82x a year that most probably saw as an inconvenience. It still blows my mind how the average Arizonan's response to talking about the Coyotes was "they're still here?" And they started saying it a looooooong time ago.
TheLegend
Hangman's booking agent... he'll do anything.
Salt Lake City doesn't have the baggage Phoenix Metro has.
They have a single pro-sports team owner who you could say is not unlike a Jerry Colangelo. They want to be a major sports team town now, and their willingness to add public funding into the equation hasn't been abused yet.
But also unlike Colangelo..... Ryan Smith has his own money he's willing to put into the effort..
Colangelo relied on everyone else's money..... and then your had the Bidwills.
They have a single pro-sports team owner who you could say is not unlike a Jerry Colangelo. They want to be a major sports team town now, and their willingness to add public funding into the equation hasn't been abused yet.
But also unlike Colangelo..... Ryan Smith has his own money he's willing to put into the effort..
Colangelo relied on everyone else's money..... and then your had the Bidwills.
TheLegend
Hangman's booking agent... he'll do anything.
From my quick overview..... the recent IGA settlement between Tempe and Phoenix didn't really change much either. Tempe is still going to be able to build within that area (although the heights and densities rules have been tightened up). Literally guaranteeing an arena would never "fit" there anymore.
But the biggest thing out of it is now Tempe has to defend Phoenix if anyone files noise litigation.
RemoAZ
Let it burn
I firmly believe this was by design to push the narrative that they needed a new arena and/or subsidy. They stopped making an effort to increase attendance years ago all while crying with their hands out.
