Feh… you have to expect Glendale to paint the rosiest picture possible.
They’ve got an $200 million taxpayer funded albatross on their hands they still $120 million on. And. It’s not the only thing they’re on the hook for.
Joyce still gets grief from a few residents over the spring training facility that in some residents eyes, only gets used two months a year. Brings in relatively next to zero income and they’re on the hook for roughly the same amount.
But because the Coyotes are in the news so much it gets all the attention.
And, sadly, the presence of the Coyotes really hasn't done one thing to relieve the weight of that albatross.
True, very true that Glendale would prefer not to see another arena be built. Please do not despise them for that in this thread Legend. You can hate them for it on F40. But, it's just business. The City of Glendale has not done one thing in this entire saga which was unethical or immoral or illegal.
On the other hand, the Coyote ownership, and the leadership of the league in which they play, has never ceased to deal with Glendale in unethical, manipulative ways.....to wit:
1- Please pay the NHL 25M/yr for 2 years to cover our losses or we will move this team
2- The team moves unless you sign this ridiculously overpriced 15M/yr AMF, which was then signed, leading to....
3- IA (ownership) not paying the surcharges on tickets in a timely manner
Which led to IA, having done too many stupid things, losing their subsidy, and being so mad about it that they have told the spin-doctored story a million times since that the location in Glendale is the problem, when the obvious problem is that COG isn't subsidizing their losses.
Which led to Meruelo's ownership and....
1- Nonpayment of bills due to Glendale
2- Nonpayment of state taxes, for pity's sake.
Look, I feel bad for the fans in the Coyotes' market. They haven't been able to relax and have fun for about 13 years now. That has to get old. One shifty, underfunded owner after another. Each one bringing a fresh bunch of hope, and turning out to be just like the others. That's got to be really old.
And, if we are being honest and looking at the "business of hockey", we have to admit that Glendale is not the problem here.
Simply summed up, the problem is that there isn't enough money in the market for both the team and its host city. That's the problem.
And, that is the reason that my 'deal' with Meruelo, were I Tempe, would be like this:
1- It's your money to clean up the site
2- It's your money to build the infrastructure
3- After it is built, and creating tax dollars for us, we will reimburse you for some of the clean up, and some of the things like a parking deck.
4- It's your place. Not ours. You live or die on whether it's viable business.
5- No continuing taxes, no future city obligations. Nothing.
And, I would be sure that, under those circumstances, the place won't be built. Meruelo is not an honest businessman, and he won't do an honest deal.