Coyotes Tempe arena project rejected by public referendum - will remain at Mullett Arena for 2023-24

[Boris Zubov]

The difference between you and me was that I was there for most of it and spoke to lots of the people behind the scenes and you have no idea what you're talking about.

Glendale promised a GIGANTIC Westgate that was to stretch way north of Westgate and south of the Cardinals stadium. This was to be a massive complex with housing, shopping, and other things to do. Then 9/11 happened and all construction was stopped. Over time, Glendale's promised plans for Westgate got smaller and smaller until they just gave up. The current Glendale government doesn't have a clue on what the original vision was instead they just stopped putting money into Westgate and eventually it will become a Ghost town.

I'd post links for this but you're too stubborn to read them.

Stubborn? You glossed over a simple question I asked about the Yotes profit margin since they arrived in Phoenix. Somehow that's irrelevant in this discussion?

The Great Recession happened & killed those dreams, not 9/11. Nobodies' fault, yet it affected both the city, not just the team. From there you're choosing to skip over the incidents I've brought up & talk about the current political climate in Glendale when it was clear the relationship was one Meruelo wasn't interested in pursuing. This is going to be my last reply to you, so you can feel free to type away, but you're not going to get me to agree Gretzky & the COG are the only reasons the team is in the positon they are. There's been 25+ years of screw ups that you can lay blame the direction of many sources. Hockey trades from 15 years ago is missing the point entirely.

 

[BiolaRunner]

And why is the dilution this would cause to the Dallas Stars seemingly a total non issue while it is trotted out as an instant deal breaker for other locations? Like Hamilton and Quebec

Because Texas has been able to support multiple teams in every other major sport.

The distance between Dallas and Houston is a lot farther than the distance between Hamilton and Toronto.

 

[Dolemite]

That's not what sunk your franchise. That's a ridiculous point of view.

Yeah it was. Gretzky was blackballed by the league for a LONG time after that.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Stubborn? You glossed over a simple question I asked about the Yotes profit margin since they arrived in Phoenix. Somehow that's irrelevant in this discussion?

The Great Recession happened & killed those dreams, not 9/11. Nobodies' fault, yet it affected both the city, not just the team. From there you're choosing to skip over the incidents I've brought up & talk about the current political climate in Glendale when it was clear the relationship was one Meruelo wasn't interested in pursuing. This is going to be my last reply to you, so you can feel free to type away, but you're not going to get me to agree Gretzky & the COG are the only reasons the team is in the positon they are. There's been 25+ years of screw ups that you can lay blame the direction of many sources. Hockey trades from 15 years ago is missing the point entirely.

Yeah really. The Briere trade is a drop in the bucket to the point people barely remember he played in Phoenix. And while he was a great player at his peak, him getting traded is hardly the franchise altering event that he's trying to make it out to be.

 

[bossram]

The team is probably out of contigencies, no matter how they decide to spin it.

The NHL however had to know this failling was somewhat of a possibility. They probably would love to avoid a lame duck season at Mullett, but they may have to suck it up for a year while they figure out the best move forward without taking it in the shorts. Ideally they'd love to pivot to Houston immediately, but Fertitta isn't going to pay them what they want, so they'll need to decide how much they need to save face vs the big picture & the benefits of Houston in the long run.

I agree that the most likely outcome is that they get to Houston, but likely not on their terms.

But that isn't a "contingency". That's basically hoping they can work out something post hoc. There is no established plan they can pivot to right now.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Yeah it was. Gretzky was blackballed by the league for a LONG time after that.

I'm sure it's nothing to do with the fact he and his wife were tied to a gambling scandal and was just totally the fact he was a terrible coach.

Nope. All his fault the team failed.

 

[robertocarlos]

To put it bluntly

Glendale is insane and they refuse to live up to agreements that they originally drew the coyotes to that area.

I read a little bit. The first owner was going to make bank developing the surrounding area. Then the market crashed. Same as Ottawa, built in the sticks to make money with future developments, except that franchise survived somehow. Ottawa is being sold soon for $1 billion.

I'm sure it's nothing to do with the fact he and his wife were tied to a gambling scandal and was just totally the fact he was a terrible coach.

Nope. All his fault the team failed.

They needed the money. You try living on a net worth of $110 million in LA.

 

[robertocarlos]

I agree that the most likely outcome is that they get to Houston, but likely not on their terms.

But that isn't a "contingency". That's basically hoping they can work out something post hoc. There is no established plan they can pivot to right now.

Their terms if they have about $1 billion.

They might have to sell the team to new owners.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Yeah it was. Gretzky was blackballed by the league for a LONG time after that.

Gretzky was blackballed by the league because he sucked as a coach/executive? Please provide links (your personal twitter account doesn't count, by the way).

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

Salt Lake City won’t work. 1.2 million people isn’t good enough in the USA. That’s smaller than every market besides Winnipeg. The smallest American markets are in the 2 million range.

Yet there is already an NBA team.

2 times fewer inhabitants than in Phoenix but a higher fanbase potential with much less competition (no NFL and MLB teams).

There's no point in going to a big market with a lot of competition and a local population that has no hockey culture. Atlanta and Phoenix have already shown the limits of this vision.

 

[blueandgoldguy]

Yeah it was. Gretzky was blackballed by the league for a LONG time after that.

You should really do your homework. The team's drafting was mostly awful immediately after the team left Winnipeg for the 5 - 6 years before Gretzky was even involved with the franchise. And a critically bad decision made by the first Arizona owners who gave the order to Jets management to trade Teemu Selanne in the Jets lame duck year of 95-96 (as they felt they wouldn't be able to pay top dollar to both him and Tkachuk long-term (with Tkachuk being viewed as the better more marketable star as he was american)) was just as impactful if not more so than any decisions made by Gretzky and company years later. They traded away a top 50 - 60 player of all-time!!

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

I'm sure it's nothing to do with the fact he and his wife were tied to a gambling scandal and was just totally the fact he was a terrible coach.

Nope. All his fault the team failed.

I wonder whatever happened to the guy that ran that gambling ring?

Being the upstanding league the NHL is I'm guessing they ran him out of town. lol

 

[Blitzkrug]

I wonder whatever happened to the guy that ran that gambling ring?

Being the upstanding league the NHL is I'm guessing they ran him out of town. lol

The NHL is too upstanding to allow a degenerate gambling ring leader to have one chance at being part of such a great league. They wouldn't allow him one, let alone multiple chances! They're just too smart for that.

...

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Yeah it was. Gretzky was blackballed by the league for a LONG time after that.

Gretzky was blackballed for bad trades?

If you remember that era then you surely remember the gambling scandal Gretzky was involved in.

Do you know what the ringleader of that illegal gambling operation is doing for employment these days?

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Might make Los Angeles even more appealing for AM.

not sure why Arizona being in the league makes LA less appealing. the only thing Arizona has is him going home. not all players recruit home. especially not ones in their prime to teams that are starting a total rebuild. Arizona never made sense at all, only thing that made it more interesting is if Arizona won Bedard

 

[Flybynite]

I wonder whatever happened to the guy that ran that gambling ring?

Being the upstanding league the NHL is I'm guessing they ran him out of town. lol

If Pete Rose had been a hockey player he would have been back coaching another team a year or two after getting caught betting.

 

[robsenz]

Portland is a cesspool right now. Businesses are fleeing in droves. Not exactly the sort of place you want to invest in with a multi-million dollar franchise.

Portland Zombies, They'll always be down, but not out!

 

[Brookbank]

Quebec is selling out their building , all 18,295 seats , for junior hockey. This isn't even a contest. But whatever

The Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph

 

[BB79]

Have you seen the Oakland A's?

Because the fans are protesting the crappy ownership.

Yeah, but yesterday they only had 2,064 people in a stadium of 53k places. It's early in the season, it'll get worse. (btw, I'm not blaming the fans, I wouldn't show up either for a gutted team that might fall below .200)

Again, fans not showing up is more in protest of the owner than the crappy product on the field.

For those of us that remember when the A's were a competitive franchise it really sucks seeing them like this. From a powerhouse in the 70s-90s to a minor league team. Terrible.

 

[Dicky113]

Buttmans refusal to accept reality and just give this hopeless dream up has become a major story line. Ffs Gary, it’s over; this is just embarrassing at this point.

 

[ArmadilloThumb]

Because Texas has been able to support multiple teams in every other major sport.

The distance between Dallas and Houston is a lot farther than the distance between Hamilton and Toronto.

And also because Texas is projected to have 40 million people by 2035. They could easily support Dallas, Houston, and a Central Texas (Austin/San Antonio) franchise and have intense rivalries between each.

SLC is also a high growth region with Tech companies looking at it as an alternative to Silicon Valley, and corporations bringing strategic/high value industries back from overseas, which is an emerging trend. There is also a trend for emigration from California, and Utah is one of the desirable choices for relocation.

That said, I would very much prefer to see the Coyotes stay and have the others I mentioned added as Expansion.

And, as a Canadian, I would like to apologize for the Canadian posters on here gloating on a potential move. How would you feel if it ends up with Ottawa ending up in Houston, or Winnipeg going back to Atlanta if their circumstances turn unexpectedly. Have some class fellow Canucks.

 

[Kimota]

If they move to Quebec, I would like if they kept a few things like replace the Coyote by a Wolf.

 

[Dicky113]

Quebec is selling out their building , all 18,295 seats , for junior hockey. This isn't even a contest. But whatever

The Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph

I agree, it’s just seems vindictive at this point. Let’s try yet another failed us market where none cares and hockey is a niche sideshow instead of moving somewhere where they are so starved for it they are selling out nhl sized rinks to watch kids

 

[Kimota]

I mean don't count them out, they've been this dead before, but for the sake of discussion I'd guess the NHL looks at Houston as the ideal option.

This is so accurate. Bettman is literally Billy Crystal in this.

 

[stealth1]

Do you honestly think Kansas City and Salt Lake City have more hockey fans than Houston, which has a successful history of supporting multiple hockey teams over the years?

IMO it shouldn't go to Houston or Salt Lake City. Market size shouldn't be all that matters. What should matter most is competition in the city in regards to other sports. They need to find cities where they are the only game in town.