CXLVIII - Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo had 'productive' meeting with Phoenix mayor

[Edenjung]

Great lets report something that is not 100% save.
And that guy calls himself a journalist.

 

[TheLegend]

Did you read Kaplan's article or not?

"The NHL is preparing a contingency that could relocate the Arizona Coyotes to Utah as soon as next season, sources told ESPN."

"A league source told ESPN that a Coyotes relocation could involve two separate transactions."

The article is filled with that kind of language. She does her own investigating and right now, that investigating is corroborating what Seravelli has reported as well as adding in some more details.

The sources here aren't "wrong"... and as the Kaplan article and the Seravelli tweets have been saying, none of this is a done deal. If it doesn't happen, it's not going to be because the sources were wrong. It's going to be because the league decided not to go with this contingency plan for now. That doesn't dispute the existence of this plan.

It's always been thought that a contingency plan was in place. That's a known Bettman SOP.

The fact they are springing this up now.... before Meruelo has a chance to bid on this parcel.... smacks of someone trying to nudge things in a certain direction.

 

[gstommylee]

I guess we can put to bed the BS about the Mullett being a temporary arena.

There is no replacement and this shows the league also views it that way.

and what happens if AM wins the auction?

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

My guess would be a billionaire owner willing to pay over 4 billion US$ if and when a team were up for sale (with the league also allowing it to relocate in the first place) and maybe more for an as yet announced expansion franchise (Next 2 will be most likely be Seattle and Las Vegas anyways).

It's been all but confirmed the NBA is gonna be in Seattle and LV with their next round of expansion for years now. We even know Lebron is gonna be involved in the LV group.

 

[LPHabsFan]

These numbers make absolutely no sense and I would bet a significant amount of money that there is no way that AM is going to come out of this with a billion dollars. This is the NHL trying to save face and prop up the sale price. You're also trying to tell me that the relocation fee has only gone from 60 million to 300 million while expansion fees have skyrocketed and are reported to be a billion or more by itself? Not a chance.

 

[Tawnos]

It's always been thought that a contingency plan was in place. That's a known Bettman SOP.

The fact they are springing this up now.... before Meruelo has a chance to bid on this parcel.... smacks of someone trying to nudge things in a certain direction.

Absolutely. Which is why I was saying that the league has to be pissed that the memo the league sent updating the governors got leaked. Not that I think the memo itself was leaked, but some of the contents of it were, at least.

 

[gstommylee]

It's always been thought that a contingency plan was in place. That's a known Bettman SOP.

The fact they are springing this up now.... before Meruelo has a chance to bid on this parcel.... smacks of someone trying to nudge things in a certain direction.

If there is someone trying to interefere with a state aunction of a person right' to actually bid on it, i hope the state of Arizona goes after this for interfering with the state aunction.

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

Anyways, I'm both surprised and not surprised at this leak. Timing wise it makes perfect sense, as the Winnipeg relocation was not ideal in a bunch of different ways and I think the NHL learned from it.

If they do end up moving for next October, I am going to take a VERY cynical view on what the post-referendum loss sequence of events was. I will believe until my dying day that all the hooting and hollering about backup plans was at some level a complete farce to fool fans into actually going to games this year.

 

[Reaser]

And are they back??

Nope, and you know that wasn't the point. Don't be disingenuous. You were saying all these alleged Yotes fans are saying they're done with the NHL, FOREVER! If the Yotes relocate now. Numerous examples of fans saying that but then being excited at even the prospect of getting a team. i.e. not done, "forever."

 

[Mightygoose]

Sportsnet's take on this along with Freidman

Report: NHL, Coyotes make progress on framework for Utah relocation

The Arizona Coyotes could find themselves looking at two scenarios for where they play in the 2024-25 season — and one involves relocation.

www.sportsnet.ca

It's his opinion but not refuting anything either.

 

[TheLegend]

Merulo should have never been allowed to buy the team. He will win the auction and then build a mall. smh.

Andrew Barroway wasn't going to make it through the 2018-19 season. If you want back and saw how things were at that time it was pretty easy to figure it out.

Also, Steve Peters and Craig Morgan had a podcast a while back where they spilled some tea on the various ownerships and suitors the Coyotes have had. Peters was the Coyotes video coach during all that time and Craig has been well entrenched with the team since the BK days.

Some of the stuff was comical and sad at the same time.

 

[ponder719]

If there is someone trying to interefere with a state aunction of a person right' to actually bid on it, i hope the state of Arizona goes after this for interfering with the state aunction.

Nobody, and nothing, is interfering with the auction. That will go forward, no matter what. The question at hand at the moment appears to be "will Alex Meruelo's corporation be bidding on this site as the owner of the Arizona Coyotes, looking to build an arena for their team, or will they be bidding as the former owners of the Coyotes, looking to build an arena for a future expansion team?"

If indeed Frank et. al. are correct, it appears that the plan is to Cleveland Browns this, where the existing team moves to a new city under a new owner, the current team IP remains with the current owner, and when the arena is built, that owner "reactivates" the team (read: holds an expansion draft).

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

This feels a lot different and possibily moee definitive than really anything else I can remember as part of this saga, not going to lie.

You'd have to go back to Glendale council meetings pre 2010 to get this same feeling.

It sounds like the players were actually told to be ready to be in SLC next season potentially.

I was convinced the auction would buy this ownership group another year.

 

[OG6ix]

What's wild to me is that some form of this thread was on HF While I was doing my CFA in my early to mid 20s. I remember following it religiously and getting distracted from studying. I'm now close to 40 years old. Now it seems like it's all heading to an end. Doesn't seem like the meruelo group knows how to play the political game, nor do the politicians have faith in them, but now with the reports that the NHL BOG doesn't have faith either it all seems done. Unless the suns or someone come in last minute... Times up..

 

[gstommylee]

Nobody, and nothing, is interfering with the auction. That will go forward, no matter what. The question at hand at the moment appears to be "will Alex Meruelo's corporation be bidding on this site as the owner of the Arizona Coyotes, looking to build an arena for their team, or will they be bidding as the former owners of the Coyotes, looking to build an arena for a future expansion team?"

If indeed Frank et. al. are correct, it appears that the plan is to Cleveland Browns this, where the existing team moves to a new city under a new owner, the current team IP remains with the current owner, and when the arena is built, that owner "reactivates" the team (read: holds an expansion draft).

Frank is pushing the idea that the team will be sold before june and everyone else is running with it...

 

[Melrose Munch]

Andrew Barroway wasn't going to make it through the 2018-19 season. If you want back and saw how things were at that time it was pretty easy to figure it out.

Also, Steve Peters and Craig Morgan had a podcast a while back where they spilled some tea on the various ownerships and suitors the Coyotes have had. Peters was the Coyotes video coach during all that time and Craig has been well entrenched with the team since the BK days.

Some of the stuff was comical and sad at the same time.

For sure, I hear you. It just stinks how all of a sudden he wants to sell - he's not confident he'll win 2 months out? He deserves the blame for this report getting along with the NHL BOG.

 

[TheLegend]

Nobody, and nothing, is interfering with the auction. That will go forward, no matter what. The question at hand at the moment appears to be "will Alex Meruelo's corporation be bidding on this site as the owner of the Arizona Coyotes, looking to build an arena for their team, or will they be bidding as the former owners of the Coyotes, looking to build an arena for a future expansion team?"

If indeed Frank et. al. are correct, it appears that the plan is to Cleveland Browns this, where the existing team moves to a new city under a new owner, the current team IP remains with the current owner, and when the arena is built, that owner "reactivates" the team (read: holds an expansion draft).

Just going to point out that the auction can be delayed or cancelled at the state's discretion.

 

[Brodie]

At this point, even if AM wins the land auction what is stopping him from taking his $$$ and just continuing on in non-sports real estate development at the location?

 

[GKJ]

All this is why I think there's an expansion deal in place.

AM has given no indication of selling the team, playing at Mullett while chasing an arena deal (First TED now North Scottsdale) proves this. He's been committed. Nothing has changed that would affect the commitment. Losing the auction really doesn't change anything from where he was after TED fell through.

It's possible that he decided that if the auction land is a no-go, THEN he'll sell. But the NHL saying "You need a CONDITIONAL deal in place now because we don't want to play a lame duck season in Mullet... so you gotta let SLC prepare to have a team for next season if the deal doesn't happen" it seems ULTRA unrealistic for the NHL to do anything on that kind of timeline.

And it means the NHL and AM have both done a 180 on making it work in PHX.


The more realistic scenario to me is that the NHL knows it's adding Salt Lake City in the near future, and because they know Salt Lake is coming, they'd just rather have a team playing in the Delta Center than Mullet arena for the next 3-5 years while a PHX arena gets built.

AM isn't so much as "selling" as he is "loaning" the operation of a franchise to SLC during an expansion timeline.


Pretend hypothetically that the NHL leak was "Smith is getting an expansion team." The first two comments would be "Who's #34?" and "Why don't they just move the Coyotes to Salt Lake NOW since Delta is better than Mullet?"

Doesn't that make more sense than a 180 on the NHL in Phoenix from both AM and the league?

He will likely get right to first refusal for a determined amount of time. The money he’ll get from a sale can go towards putting the arena auction and infrastructure together. And he gets favorable expansion rules.

 

[Tawnos]

Anyways, I'm both surprised and not surprised at this leak. Timing wise it makes perfect sense, as the Winnipeg relocation was not ideal in a bunch of different ways and I think the NHL learned from it.

If they do end up moving for next October, I am going to take a VERY cynical view on what the post-referendum loss sequence of events was. I will believe until my dying day that all the hooting and hollering about backup plans was at some level a complete farce to fool fans into actually going to games this year.

I do still wonder if the NHL knew that they didn't have a site to announce the day the referendum failed. And if the NHL didn't know, how they reacted when there wasn't one.

 

[ponder719]

Frank is pushing the idea that the team will be sold before june and everyone else is running with it...

And? That doesn't do a damn thing to interfere with the auction. That, as I said, will go forward, whether the current Coyotes team is playing in Mullett or Delta Center next year. Either way, Meruelo appears to be planning to win the auction with an eye towards building an entertainment district with an arena for a Phoenix-based NHL team; the only question appears to be whether he will be operating that team in the intervening years or not.

 

[GKJ]

At this point, even if AM wins the land auction what is stopping him from taking his $$$ and just continuing on in non-sports real estate development at the location?

There’s a specific zoning for the land I think.

 

[Melrose Munch]

What's wild to me is that some form of this thread was on HF While I was doing my CFA in my early to mid 20s. I remember following it religiously and getting distracted from studying. I'm now close to 40 years old. Now it seems like it's all heading to an end. Doesn't seem like the meruelo group knows how to play the political game, nor do the politicians have faith in them, but now with the reports that the NHL BOG doesn't have faith either it all seems done. Unless the suns or someone come in last minute... Times up..

This is why Tempe failed imo.

 

[TheLegend]

For sure, I hear you. It just stinks how all of a sudden he wants to sell - he's not confident he'll win 2 months out? He deserves the blame for this report getting along with the NHL BOG.

I think he's confident on the auction. The reports are something he can't control.

I can also tell you IF he has a deal in place where they move this team to SLC and get him a expansion team in 3-4 years the majority of fans won't accept Meruelo as an owner. No matter how much work he put in to keep them here the last 4 years.

 

[ponder719]

Just going to point out that the auction can be delayed or cancelled at the state's discretion.

Fair, but unless we have evidence that the state will delay or cancel it in the absence of a team, I don't see a reason to consider that interference with the auction. From the state's perspective, I don't see any material change between the two scenarios, especially if the wording of any sale of the Coyotes includes guarantees that the NHL will grant a franchise to Meruelo upon the completion of an arena (which I believe is part of the situation, in the absence of evidence to the contrary.)