CXLIX - FINAL thoughts on the Arizona Coyotes

[Golden_Jet]

Probably gives the yotes a better chance, with him out.

 

[wpgallday1960]

LOL. Good riddance.

Arizona needs a clean slate with a solid owner. The long string of frauds and carpetbaggers has been toxic

I realize that Craig Morgan is a real supporter of Arizona and its market, but his indefatigable credulity for all of the phony ownership groups and schemes has been remarkable.

Why are you making me look up big words?

Not sure if this development means the end of NHL in Arizona or a better chance in the long run. It will need a deep pocketed patient owner regardless.

 

[JimAnchower]

Post-cup news dump from Morgan:

https://x.com/i/web/status/1805450606309785755

This makes it seem like his intention all along for the land was to win the auction and then sit on the land, claiming any development was delayed because Phoenix isn't giving him the necessary approvals.

 

[aqib]

So it's truly over unless there is a new owner willing to spend probably 3 billion total on expansion fee + building a new arena + everything that goes into launching the franchise?

That person may exist, to be clear. But it's going to take one hell of a rich person who is ready to take a big risk.

Its funny that people tell me that no one will pay that for a second team in Southern Ontario but some of the same people think someone will pay that for a team in Arizona

 

[MaskedSonja]

Its....finally over....not with a lusty howl over the desert, but a meek, quiet whine?

When I saw that the auction was being pulled I thought "thats it then"-and surprisingly I was right.

Going to really collect my thoughts on this-but wow, its done it seems.

 

[MaskedSonja]

And I do understand too it doesnt necessarily mean hockey will never come back to the area, or any thing like that, Just might be awhile, and it will go through a fresh process-not the arena hopping oh we have a new arena, whoops guess not merry-go-round.

 

[Llama19]

Report: Alex Meruelo stepping down as owner of the Arizona Coyotes

Source (Video and Article): www.12news.com/article/sports/nhl/coyotes/report-alex-meruelo-stepping-down-as-arizona-coyotes-owner/75-c89186a8-ef45-4cdc-9c9f-7ae1087b52a5

 

[Bixby Snyder]

Of the recent "new" cities to get one though? First since Atlanta over 10 years ago.

What are the recent "new" cities? If you're talking only NHL even though you mentioned "big 4" the most recent sunbelt team is Vegas most recent after that would be Nashville and they've been around for about 25 years, the California teams have been around for 30+, LA almost 60, FLA teams 30+, Carolina and Dallas were relocations that happened around the same time as Phoenix at ~30 years.

 

[Llama19]

State Land Department: Auction canceled by doubts over Coyotes' readiness

To quote:

"State Land Department sought interpretation one week ahead of auction

According to a letter sent by Adam Stranieri, zoning administrator for Phoenix, to Mark Edelman, director of planning and engineering for the State Land Department, the state agency requested an informal interpretation of the permitted uses on the site from the city on Thursday, June 20, exactly one week before the auction was scheduled.

In that letter, Stranieri wrote that an arena is not permitted by right in the existing zoning on the site, and a special use permit would be required. The permit would need to be granted by the Phoenix City Council.

The next day, the State Land Department sent out a notice that the auction was canceled, citing the need for the permit ahead of the sale.

“As a result, we are requesting that the applicant file for and receive a special use permit prior to the auction,” the notice stated. “This affords the applicant and ASLD certainty that the applicant can build what it intends to build for its anchor tenant.”

It is not unprecedented for an auction to be canceled, but none has been as high-profile as the June 27 auction. This year, four other auctions have been canceled. Two have been postponed, but one of those postponed auctions was later canceled.

Ability to hit milestones called into question

“In this case, the auction notice outlined specific performance milestones that needed to be met based on the applicant’s intended use,” Cordova said. “However, the need for a special use permit created uncertainty as to whether that use could occur and therefore whether our applicant could meet those milestones if they were to be the successful bidder.”

Many of the required milestones for the site involved infrastructure and accessibility improvements on the site, which could be more costly than the purchase price of the land. According to the auction notice, the city estimated the needed infrastructure improvements to cost about $80 million.

The winning bidder would be required to provide a phasing schedule for planning, engineering, permitting and construction of all required infrastructure within six months of the auction and within 12 months would be required to commence construction. The infrastructure must then be completed within 36 months of the auction date."

Source: www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2024/06/25/arizona-state-land-department-canceled-coyotes-auction-over-readiness/74192514007/

 

[sneakytitz]

This recent development almost certainly means that expansion talks will be in full gear this week at the BOG meetings. The NHL/owners have no more impending "what ifs" to consider with the current landscape.

 

[LPHabsFan]

I know it'll never happen, but I'm still hoping for apologies around here.

Everything that people said would happen, has happened.

It may have taken more time than we thought, but in the end, we were right.

I don't believe for a second that people in the media, locally like Morgan, or nationally like Friedman/Lebrun and others, actually ever believed the talking, points but instead towed the company line in order to maintain their status in the NHL's eyes.

We were told that when Muruelo took over, all of the problems were solved. We were told that he had a true desire to build this team into a stable financial position. He was invested in the market because of his heritage. He was a solid businessman with a long history of turning duds in to studs. We were told he's walking away with a billion dollars and that in 5 years the team would for sure be back.

And that's just a short list off the top of my head.

 

[Melrose Munch]

What are the recent "new" cities? If you're talking only NHL even though you mentioned "big 4" the most recent sunbelt team is Vegas most recent after that would be Nashville and they've been around for about 25 years, the California teams have been around for 30+, LA almost 60, FLA teams 30+, Carolina and Dallas were relocations that happened around the same time as Phoenix at ~30 years.

Phoenix, Atlanta. Those that got the NHL after during or after the 1990s expansion. Phoenix was the second to lose one after Atlanta. It's a bad look for Phoenix in general as a sports town is what I'm saying.

Its funny that people tell me that no one will pay that for a second team in Southern Ontario but some of the same people think someone will pay that for a team in Arizona

I think Toronto gets an NFL team before any of this Aqib. Thats probably a better chance of making money more than either hockey team. Hockey's model for business is a broken one, a thing people around here and the league ignore. Being a gate-driven league in 2024 is nonsense imo.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

Disagree....In 30 years, not one viable ownership group stepped up when the cost was less than $300M with a team friendly lease in place. If Glendale isn't in play(which it should be), the cost is going to be close to $3B for the team & an arena. Add in that the market itself & lack of of a stable fanbase is still an issue, as is getting a new building built in the political landscape that is AZ. Can't see a team back there within a decade.

Because nobody wants to own the team way out in Glendale.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

Phoenix, Atlanta. Those that got the NHL after during or after the 1990s expansion. Phoenix was the second to lose one after Atlanta. It's a bad look for Phoenix in general as a sports town is what I'm saying.

Other than Vegas none of the sunbelt teams are recent or new. Relocations happen in NA pro sports and it's usually not the fault of the city or fans but greedy entitled billionaire owners.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Other than Vegas none of the sunbelt teams are recent or new. Relocations happen in NA pro sports and it's usually not the fault of the city or fans but greedy entitled billionaire owners.

Fair enough.

Because nobody wants to own the team way out in Glendale.

Glendale is 25 minutes from downtown! At some point need to wake up and realize that was the only option to keep the Coyotes until another arena was built.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

That truly was a grift for the ages. I just hope he didn't salt the earth on the way out, too.

 

[cbcwpg]

Will be interesting to hear what Bettman has to say about all this now.

 

[GKJ]

Phoenix, Atlanta. Those that got the NHL after during or after the 1990s expansion. Phoenix was the second to lose one after Atlanta. It's a bad look for Phoenix in general as a sports town is what I'm saying.


I think Toronto gets an NFL team before any of this Aqib. Thats probably a better chance of making money more than either hockey team. Hockey's model for business is a broken one, a thing people around here and the league ignore. Being a gate-driven league in 2024 is nonsense imo.

We’ll all be long dead and gone before Toronto gets an NFL team

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

Total loser.

I really hope someone can get the Coyotes assets from him and build a new arena. The fans deserve way better

 

[cbcwpg]

At best, all Meruelo was going to do was kick the can down the road until the last possible moment and then not get an arena built. So having him walk away now is probably the best, because it does at least open the door , if by some miracle, there is actually someone who wants an expansion franchise in Phoenix.

But, realistically, who would come in now and pay full Bettman price for an expansion franchise, when at any time in the last 20+ years they could have bought the team for pennies on the dollar or at least hundreds of millions less than the price going forward?

 

[cheswick]

So if i understood correctly, Utah is a brand new team, and the coyotes/jets1.0 history stayed with the franchise. So that history is now "homeless"?

 

[dj4aces]

But, realistically, who would come in now and pay full Bettman price for an expansion franchise, when at any time in the last 20+ years they could have bought the team for pennies on the dollar or at least hundreds of millions less than the price going forward?

I'm willing to bet there's a lot more there than we know. It was true of Atlanta, when these questions came up.

So if i understood correctly, Utah is a brand new team, and the coyotes/jets1.0 history stayed with the franchise. So that history is now "homeless"?

If I've read everything correctly, the Jets 1.0/Coyotes history remains with the league until someone comes in and buys a franchise for Phoenix. So... not necessarily "homeless", but certainly not tied to any other organization.

 

[kickback256]

So if i understood correctly, Utah is a brand new team, and the coyotes/jets1.0 history stayed with the franchise. So that history is now "homeless"?

Exactly. All Utah got was the people and their contracts.

 

[sneakytitz]

But, realistically, who would come in now and pay full Bettman price for an expansion franchise, when at any time in the last 20+ years they could have bought the team for pennies on the dollar or at least hundreds of millions less than the price going forward?

Circumstances and personal fortunes change all the time, even with the exceptionally wealthy. For example, Ryan Smith could have bought the Anaheim Ducks for $109 million back in 2005 - but I doubt 25 year old Ryan Smith had that kind of money. Sure does now though, so he paid $1.2 billion.

 

[Tawnos]

At the end of the day, for me the problems that led to this outcome break down like this:

(1) Any new Coyotes started from a shitty position because of the debt the organization racked up.
(2) Meruelo is like a lot of business people in his class, including some current and solid NHL owners, who skirt or go over the edge of ethical business practices. Even if legal, there's an air of sleaziness to it.
(3) Meruelo in particular is not a charming, affable person. This issue, and issue #2 create a problem with:
(4) The Phoenix and Arizona market is especially difficult to deal with on projects, politically and otherwise. Maybe even uniquely so. 2 and 3 meant that Meruelo was never successfully ever able to gain the trust needed to grease the skids, if you will.
(5) Nepotism.

There is no defense of Meruelo, because 3 of those 5 factors are directly on him, another one isn't helped along by those 3 factors, and (1) is a factor that maybe means Meruelo's type of character is the only type that would give it a go.