Coyotes put in letter of intent to purchase 41 acres of land for new arena in Mesa

[jackjohnson]

Is it fair to compare Toronto (or any Canadian market) to Arizona for the interest in hockey? Hockey is number one (and by a lot) in Canada. In Arizona (and most US markets is it even in the top five? The Coyotes would go okay if they built a winning club.

Yeah every team would be ok if they are winning anywhere. But not every team could be a "winning team".

 

[S E P H]

I don't think there's a single NHL city in the US where hockey's the #1 sport, but some teams stilll manage to thrive down there regardless of on-ice performance.

The bigger problem in your argument isn't that NHL is popular in US cities, it is that you're comparing a franchise that was made in 1917 with a history of dedicated fans to a franchise that is less than thirty years old with a history of constant losing except one WCF year. Apples versus oranges mate.

 

[johnnybbadd]

I think the best bet right now would be to sell the team to a group in Houston and promise an expansion team within 5 years if an arena and ownership group can be presented at a reasonable fee. Bring back Atlanta or Quebec in the east. A 34 team league can work as long as the playoff system goes to a 1-8 matchup for each conference.

 

[VivaLasVegas]

....Perhaps because they've already invested in keeping the Coyotes in Arizona for the better part of thirty years, and to date it hasn't yielded much more than a series of misfires and bad managerial decisions, compounded by steady financial losses?

That might have something to do with it.

That said, I'm still convinced there's no plans to give up just yet, even in the face of all this failure........this crazy train is gonna keep rolling on.

IMHO, it is not Phoenix area that is the problem per se, but rather that the Yotes keep getting incredibly bad owners. A good organization would be highly successful there.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

The mayor has been pushing for the Coyotes to build their rink there for months but sure pal...

Is he golf buddies with Meruelo? Did the mayor just get a brand new benz and a rolex daytona?

 

[Mr Positive]

Awesome news.

 

[Osakahaus]

I'm not a fan of the Coyotes and I'm very vocal against their existence, but you have to give them credit: they're trying their damn best to stay in Arizona. This hinges on them making a playoff run IMO, so their fate is in the hands of this roster. Logan Cooley, you are now the modern Joe Sakic on the Nordiques.

IMHO, it is not Phoenix area that is the problem per se, but rather that the Yotes keep getting incredibly bad owners. A good organization would be highly successful there.

And i'm gonna disagree because look at the D-backs.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

Hopefully they get things worked out and organized. I think they can succeed with a well run organization.

 

[Shwan]

Is he golf buddies with Meruelo? Did the mayor just get a brand new benz and a rolex daytona?

Any municipality would be pushing for a 100% privately funded arena in their city.

“I personally have not spoken with the Coyotes. I have been encouraging to the Coyotes telling them I think Mesa makes a lot of sense for them,” Giles told KTAR News 92.3 on Monday. “One of the things that distinguishes Mesa I think from the Tempe proposal or from their previous home in Glendale, we don’t have a piece of city, publicly owned property that I think is a candidate for hosting an arena.

 

[cowboy82nd]

I have no issues with the Coyotes, but Bettman should relocate the Panthers.

Why?

 

[LPHabsFan]

I don't think this site ever shows a greater display of ignorance than when Coyotes threads come up and people en masse act like they have zero understanding of why the NHL wants to invest in a top 10 most populated MSA centered by a top 5 most populated city in the US

That's interesting on two levels. Firstly is that you think this site hasn't shown even greater levels of ignorance than in these types of threads.

Secondly, and more importantly, is that there is equally a high level display of ignorance when people comment that population and/or population growth is a surefire way to make money.

But here we are.....

 

[Summer Rose]

And i'm gonna disagree because look at the D-backs.

The Diamondbacks are not a good organization.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

Just an LOI doesn’t mean much. Even if they eventually close it’s not necessarily indicative of an arena going there (especially if they are targeting multiple sites).

 

[MMC]

I'm not a fan of the Coyotes and I'm very vocal against their existence, but you have to give them credit: they're trying their damn best to stay in Arizona. This hinges on them making a playoff run IMO, so their fate is in the hands of this roster. Logan Cooley, you are now the modern Joe Sakic on the Nordiques.


And i'm gonna disagree because look at the D-backs.

A team that's won 1 playoff series (the one game WC game) in the last 16 years?

 

[StreetHawk]

IMHO, it is not Phoenix area that is the problem per se, but rather that the Yotes keep getting incredibly bad owners. A good organization would be highly successful there.

Is there a reason that any would be good owners for the coyotes have never stepped up to buy the team? Seems like it’s a real estate play since Phx Arena was not built for hockey thus they need their own arena.

Phx should never have been a relocation. It had to be an expansion like all of the other clubs from the late 90’s onwards. Have an arena plan in place before puck drops.

Needed a deep pocketed owner since suns arena was only 4 years old and not a hockey arena. So would need a lot of private funds to build another 18K arena in around that area.

 

[cptjeff]

A team that's won 1 playoff series (the one game WC game) in the last 16 years?

They did win a world series two decades ago.

 

[SR]

It’s never going to work in Arizona if it’s not in Scottsdale. You might as well put a team on the moon and hope that aliens are going to buy tickets to watch hockey games.

What an embarassement for the league lol Nuke it already.

You don’t know anything. Another clown that likely has never spent any time in Arizona.

This site is 4 miles from Scottsdale, shorter if the crow flys. The majority of the fans live in Mesa, Gilbert, chandler and Scottsdale. This is a prime location. It’s a mere 5 miles east of the Tempe site.

I can’t wait for the day this all pans out and you f***s have nothing else to talk about.

 

[VivaLasVegas]

I'm not a fan of the Coyotes and I'm very vocal against their existence, but you have to give them credit: they're trying their damn best to stay in Arizona. This hinges on them making a playoff run IMO, so their fate is in the hands of this roster. Logan Cooley, you are now the modern Joe Sakic on the Nordiques.


And i'm gonna disagree because look at the D-backs.

Compare to the Tampa Bay Rays .......

 

[Osakahaus]

A team that's won 1 playoff series (the one game WC game) in the last 16 years?

They need to get fans to give a crap, don't they?

Compare to the Tampa Bay Rays .......

Location location location-Ray Kroc

 

[Osakahaus]

The Diamondbacks are not a good organization.

I think the D-backs are a good team that SHOULD be run better but it doesn't excuse how their fans dont care.

 

[VivaLasVegas]

Is there a reason that any would be good owners for the coyotes have never stepped up to buy the team?

Probably somebody locally can answer this better, but it has seemed to me that the problem has been in finding a billionaire in Phoenix who has a true interest in hockey, as opposed to just another rich guy who wanted to break into pro sports team ownership. That's how they ended up with Meruelo who didn't care a thing about hockey but was using it as a stepping-stone towards an NBA team (he unsuccessfully bid for the Atlanta Hawks), doesn't even live in Phoenix (even if he bought a house there -- he actually lives in Newport Beach), but who at the time was seen as diversifying ownership with a Latin-American owner (his background is Cuban), and seemed to be flush with cash at the time. But Meruelo probably now will not divest because of his Arizona sportsbook interests that dovetail somewhat with his casinos in Reno and Vegas. So even if a better ownership group in Phoenix miraculously appeared, it would be like pulling teeth to get Meruelo to sell.

Maybe this Mesa deal will actually work out, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I suspect this will go along for about a year, then it will flop and we'll be back to hearing about a wonderful potential partnership with the local Indian Tribe.

 

[93gilmour93]

 

[LuckyDay]

I don't think there's a single NHL city in the US where hockey's the #1 sport, but some teams stilll manage to thrive down there regardless of on-ice performance.

San Jose, Las Vegas

 

[Dr Pepper]

San Jose, Las Vegas

I still would've guessed college football outranked them in ratings, even if there's no other pro team to compete.

 

[jackjohnson]

I don't think this site ever shows a greater display of ignorance than when Coyotes threads come up and people en masse act like they have zero understanding of why the NHL wants to invest in a top 10 most populated MSA centered by a top 5 most populated city in the US

But if the team has sucked for 30 years and has barely any fans at all, then what is the point? They could relocate to Houston and have a more financially stable team then to keep a welfare team in Arizona in hopes of catching some spikes in TV ratings.