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

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New…. AZ Republic reports Meruelo did meet with Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego



Edit: Just glanced at the article and the meeting has been scheduled for later this month. Mayor’s office had released the letters.
 
Friedman's Saturday Headlines


- They want to do an announcement Thursday or Friday
- NHLPA told players last fall that unless they had an arena lined up by Jan 1 the team would likely move
- Bettman put the pressure on Meruelo about a month ago to sell, deal started to take its current shape about two weeks ago
- Meruelo has a 5 year window to prove he can build a new arena, line up financing, buy the land, get shovels in the ground etc. He is determined to see it through.
- Meruelo wants to keep the AHL team and business staff, and have the team play in Mullett, but no affiliation agreement yet
- Other owners are very happy to have Ryan Smith as a "member of the club," value what he brings
- Tourigny "very vocally demanded" that the team and staff be addressed directly
 
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The piece that I feel like is still missing here is what happened a month ago that prompted Bettman to start putting on the pressure then? Was it something specific or was that just an established timeline the league decided on further back?
 
ponder719 said:


I would laugh so hard if this ends up with Meruelo getting absolutely none of what he was going for. No team, no arena, no district, nothing.
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I would love this so hard but I don't think it's going to happen. He's flush with cash now.

Why would the government even want to sell to him in the first place? He doesn't pay his f***ing bills!
 
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Tawnos said:
The piece that I feel like is still missing here is what happened a month ago that prompted Bettman to start putting on the pressure then?
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From what I’ve gleaned from the article Meruelo is just now looking to get the mayor on board for setting up a theme park district.

You put in for the land a month after the TED vote fails and take an entire year before even trying to stroke the mayor for setting up a plan to help defray costs??

I would surmise Meruelo grossly underestimated the length of time he had to get something done and Bettman and the BoG started worrying this was going to take a LOT more time than than he was letting on.
 
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TheGreenTBer said:
I would love this so hard but I don't think it's going to happen. He's flush with cash now.

Why would the government even want to sell to him in the first place? He doesn't pay his f***ing bills!
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The state was convinced enough. They don’t take J. Willingham Wimpy offers where they’d sell a plot of land today and wait until Tuesday for payment.

Extending that logic…. would the NHL really expect him to have that $1 billion left after 5 years to reactivate the franchise?
 
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Tawnos said:
The piece that I feel like is still missing here is what happened a month ago that prompted Bettman to start putting on the pressure then? Was it something specific or was that just an established timeline the league decided on further back?
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The GM's meeting more than likely. There might have been a bunch of complaints about GM's being hamstrung with salaries because of the loss of revenue in the NHL because of Arizona. If Arizona had been even close to league average with revenues, they probably would not have had to keep a flat cap, except for the one Covid year.

Combined with the timelines of the land auction and some question marks as to whether Meruelo could hit the mandated timeline, with Mullett being the only recourse for 3 years, they figured it was time to punt the Coyotes and maybe get them back at a later point.

EDIT: The league is heading into an uptrend with the Canadian TV rights deal coming up soon, as well as a new CBA to be negotiated in two years. Get the 200 million from the SLC sale and solve the arena problem (maybe) at the same time, and get the SLC revenue going hard, starting next year. The Merch plus ticket revenues for the next 3 years will put a lot of money into the owners/players pockets.
 
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TheLegend said:
Using that logic…. would the NHL really expect him to have that $1 billion left after 5 years to reactivate the franchise?
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They are gambling that he won't have it or won't spend it. Or both.

I bet he will have it. I also bet that he won't spend it on a hockey franchise in Arizona, which is actually good for hockey fans there because everything hockey-wise he touches he destroys.

Get a good owner and a good arena in the right place and the team will make it. I'm 100% sure. I'm also 100% sure this guy isn't the right owner for a NHL team in Arizona and that if he (for lord knows what reason) is given another chance he will fail again.
 
TheLegend said:
From what I’ve gleaned from the article Meruelo is just now looking to get the mayor on board for setting up a theme park district.

You put in for the land a month after the TED vote fails and take an entire year before even trying to stroke the mayor for setting up a plan to help defray costs??

I would surmise Meruelo grossly underestimated the length of time he had to get something done and Bettman and the BoG started worrying this was going to take a LOT more time than than he was letting on.
Click to expand...

That last part is kind of where my mind has been. A timeline that the BoG was barely comfortable with in the first place turns into something they’re not at all comfortable with the longer they looked at it and considered the uncertainty of winning the auction and everything else that needed to come after.

In a way, that would mean there really wasn’t a “last straw” in this case. We’re talking about a change in feeling without a change in the facts on the ground.

It’s just a theory. One day it might come out that a specific meeting or event in early March was the last straw. I hope we really do find out at some point, instead of needing to glean what we can from the coverage.
 
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Tawnos said:
The piece that I feel like is still missing here is what happened a month ago that prompted Bettman to start putting on the pressure then? Was it something specific or was that just an established timeline the league decided on further back?
Click to expand...
Probably just the timeline of the league wanting / needing a resolution by the end of the season. They were never going to announce relocation during the season to avoid a lame duck status that is more than a game. But they want thing finalized soon after the season to prepare everything in Utah for next year. So with the end of season being a deadline a month out seems like a natural point to up the pressure on getting a deal done.
 
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Tawnos said:
The piece that I feel like is still missing here is what happened a month ago that prompted Bettman to start putting on the pressure then? Was it something specific or was that just an established timeline the league decided on further back?
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Spitballing (from Feb 29th article)

The IOC’s Future Host Commission is scheduled to visit Salt Lake City from April 9-13 to tour venues and evaluate preparations before submitting a report to the Executive Board which will determine if the bid should be put to a vote by the full membership.
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"We think we will blow them away," said Bullock. "We are very, very pleased with what we have to offer.
"If we receive a positive vote after our presentation then we would go right to signing the Olympic host contract right there. "That will be a very special day for us."
Click to expand...
 
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Tawnos said:
The piece that I feel like is still missing here is what happened a month ago that prompted Bettman to start putting on the pressure then? Was it something specific or was that just an established timeline the league decided on further back?
Click to expand...

Probably figured they'd screw up with the auction, when that didn't happen they had to make a push.
 
Tawnos said:
The piece that I feel like is still missing here is what happened a month ago that prompted Bettman to start putting on the pressure then? Was it something specific or was that just an established timeline the league decided on further back?
Click to expand...

I could be completely wrong but I would think that after the midseason/January 1st date was missed for a concrete arena plan, then the NHL started ramping up the vetting process on Smith and the situation in Utah. Once that progressed to a point everyone felt they would be comfortable enough with it working for a relocation this season, then Bettman started pressuring Meruelo. They had to all of their ducks in a row before taking it to Meruelo or he wouldn't have agreed to it. If he didn't think they could pull off relocation this year why wouldn't he have dug in his heels for one more year? He already has a lease for a building next season. He basically had to be shown that this was a better option for everyone but him and he was going to get paid enough to not care.
 
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Are you people... Crazy?
Really. The coyotes players' were told they were moving. From the GM ( yes not am or ).... Uhggggghg. Stop with the "I heard"... All due respect... But.
It is done....
 
1CasualFan said:
The reports of a League guided sale to Utah sound pretty serious.

I guess two years at ASU and no legitimate arena options was enough for the NHL boys to pull the trigger. I say no legit options - but I have skimmed through the State Land Department Auction Notice. That is a really long process and its completely uncertain at multiple levels. I think its understandable that the League now considers the situation so untenable that they'll execute a relocation option.

I'm pretty skeptical that Mr. Meruelo is receiving $1B, as reported - but we'll never know the real figures... unless we get another whacky Balsillie BK carnival. Wouldn't that be great? We go back to the start and repeat the entire MegaThread, like an awful Groundhog Day sequel...

To really put a wrap on the whole thing - it seems helpful that Utah state legislature already passed SB-272, which kicks something like $500M in tax money over to Ryan Smith for arena improvements if he can land an NHL team. Gary has always been fond of that kind of government assistance. All the pieces appear to fit for the final curtain dropping on this amazing saga...
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Nice to read ya again CF.
 
PredsHead said:
I could be completely wrong but I would think that after the midseason/January 1st date was missed for a concrete arena plan, then the NHL started ramping up the vetting process on Smith and the situation in Utah. Once that progressed to a point everyone felt they would be comfortable enough with it working for a relocation this season, then Bettman started pressuring Meruelo. They had to all of their ducks in a row before taking it to Meruelo or he wouldn't have agreed to it. If he didn't think they could pull off relocation this year why wouldn't he have dug in his heels for one more year? He already has a lease for a building next season. He basically had to be shown that this was a better option for everyone but him and he was going to get paid enough to not care.
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I think one major variable that also contributed, is Marty Walsh's criticisms. It came directly after Bettman created the PR that things are working out for Phoenix, only for Marty to crash it down like a House of Cards, and accused the franchise of not even disclosing future plans. And then reports came out about the franchise not even paying their bills. If Marty Walsh doesn't talk, chances are Meruelo gets more leeway, maybe one more year at the Mullet.

This does make me wonder how the BoG and Bettman vets prospective owners, because I find it extremely strange that ownership tends to be a consistent issue with Arizona.
 
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