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

[PCSPounder]

Was the Balsille offer the only offer prior to the current one that kind of met the league’s preferred sale price?

Not that it met the league’s condition of not “threatening” another market, that’s another old argument.

 

[aqib]

You think the threads are ending just because the Coyotes are going dormant?

They will go on long after all of us here are dead and gone.

Its like the Billy Joel song Lullaby. "Some day we'll all be gone but these threads will go on and on..."

 

[GKJ]

 

[aqib]

He doesn't just have a bad reputation in Arizona. He has a terrible reputation across the North American sporting world and I think that's undeniable.

He'll be fine, as he knows how to make himself wealthier. He might be able to persuade other idiots from time to time that he knows what he's talking about when it comes to running a hockey franchise, but you and I both know he doesn't.

There were a bunch of people who screamed when I said he had a PR problem. I guess hiding behind XG wasn't the best strategy.

 

[GKJ]

Pod starts off with more Arizona stuff, am giving a listen

 

[TheGreenTBer]

There were a bunch of people who screamed when I said he had a PR problem. I guess hiding behind XG wasn't the best strategy.

The guy is such a manipulator. Even now he has people brainwashed.

 

[GKJ]

Friedman believes Arizona was under a gag order, clearly lost control as they had intentions of announcing nothing until it was done.

Meruelo keeping the Roadrunners is supposed to be part of the deal, so they can keep the business operations and those people employed and also to keep all the youth hockey programs. But there is not an affiliate agreement coming out of it. Not a slam dunk, far from certain.

Roadrunners playing at Mullett is not a done deal either.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Friedman believes Arizona was under a gag order, clearly lost control as they had intentions of announcing nothing until it was done.

Meruelo keeping the Roadrunners is supposed to be part of the deal, so they can keep the business operations and those people employed and also to keep all the youth hockey programs. But there is not an affiliate agreement coming out of it. Not a slam dunk, far from certain.

Roadrunners playing at Mullett is not a done deal either.

He is getting 900 million to walk and the fans get nothing. Sad stuff.

 

[GKJ]

NHL never looked at Coyotes ownership the same after the Tempe vote since they kept selling to them that they were going to win it and instead got hammered.

Arizona was the #2 issue for the PA behind international hockey. Players (the PA) knew what questions to ask and were prepared. They were confident that a move was likely if nothing was done by January 1.

Bettman knew at the GM meetings that it was time, he and Daly met with AM and XG. 2 weeks ago “the people that mattered, knew”

Meruelo must win the auction (and then may the 30-day payment window). And then get the arena done within 5 years.

Meruelo potentially getting the team reactivated for $1B as an expansion team. It does not matter what, in theory, Houston and/or Atlanta do. If they or any other expansion team come in at $2B, Meruelo still comes back in for $1B. Locked in.

 

[Melrose Munch]

The guy is such a manipulator. Even now he has people brainwashed.

NHL keeps being undone by scam artists and wonders why it's always struggling to grab a foothold in the US.

 

[GKJ]

BOG is not happy and think Meruelo is getting too good a deal to get out and get back in. There are benchmarks to clear but is not automatic. His role as an unofficial observer was confirmed. His return must still be approved by the BOG.

 

[MaskedSonja]

NHL never looked at Coyotes ownership the same after the Tempe vote since they kept selling to them that they were going to win it and instead got hammered.

Arizona was the #2 issue for the PA behind international hockey. Players (the PA) knew what questions to ask and were prepared. They were confident that a move was likely if nothing was done by January 1.

Bettman knew at the GM meetings that it was time, he and Daly met with AM and XG. 2 weeks ago “the people that mattered, knew”

Meruelo must win the auction (and then may the 30-day payment window). And then get the arena done within 5 years.

Meruelo potentially getting the team reactivated for $1B as an expansion team. It does not matter what, in theory, Houston and/or Atlanta do. If they or any other expansion team come in at $2B, Meruelo still comes back in for $1B. Locked in.

I did wonder after Tempe it seemed to becoming a game of "we are going to go to X city and try here" and I was wondering how long the NHL was going to let him keep going from city to city with seeming false hope after false hope. Sounds like Tempe was the "enough of this" moment.

 

[GKJ]

Jeff highlights how the richer teams had to cut revenue sharing checks all these years for a team getting the max value of those. And how no one was ever happy about how the Coyotes had to get pulled up. But they stayed out of court.

Arizona players are understandably not happy but other players, agents, PA, other teams in the league are. There was apparently ‘harsh conversations,’ one of which on the team plane going to Vancouver (it was not in the air) about the team being left in the dark. I’m guessing this is where Tourginy spoke up. Bill Armstrong then made the trip to Edmonton.

Elliotte and Jeff feels Armstrong was put in an impossible situation. He was likely restricted by the gag order and under the gag order probably should not have done this, but as the GM, he did what he thought he had to do and took the hits.

Utah values continuity and is expected to add in the offseason.

That’s it.

 

[LadyStanley]

 

[awfulwaffle]

Maybe a team that is doing well should not be moved? Like... Just pause and think. Team good. Crowd good.
No team...
No crowd. No people who know the team.

It really isn't a wonder why this shit is happening.
Next lesson.... ?

The team has lower % of fans than the Coyotes did when they were at Gila, so again, what constitutes success in your opinion when you say they are a success in Tucson, but saying the Coyotes aren't a success?

 

[GKJ]

I think the big highlights are:

-The auction is Plan Z for Meruelo, and then make all the benchmarks, and as I understood it, the arena must be done. And then the BOG will decide. I didn’t take it that it is like we’ve seen with Vegas and Seattle, and maybe will see with Atlanta, where they were awarded the team as the arena is being built as they went through the expansion process. I took it that the the arena has to actually be done and completed before Meruelo can get the team back - which again they said would still have to be approved by the BOG. Hard to see how they would deny him after all if that, but if they hate his guts, he does have a seat at the kids table to massage any of those relationships. No word of what specifically happens if he misses any benchmarks or deadlines, like if there is some kind of formal process? No word on if he can sell is rights.

-They didn’t mention the CBA, but if this was the #2 issue for the PA, it’s something they intend to leverage during those negotiations, and would be much easier for them to do while having to still play at Mullett. With the BOG already mad about it, the PA even without anything else they can do but make loud noises, Bettman heard them.

-Wonder if the Roadrunners split their time between Mullett and Tucson (maybe ECHL can move into Tucson?). The affiliation makes sense not being done since there is no sale official yet, but unless Ryan Smith is buying a team, there’s not many options.

-Wonder how Fertitta feels about paying perhaps substantially more for an expansion team than Meruelo will have to pay to get back in while pissing everybody off. His $1b price to reactivate is set.

 

[Melrose Munch]

How on earth is Meruelo going to afford an NBA team? That's like $5bn.

NBA already has told Meruelo to f*** off once before, ain't no way they're taking an even sketchier version with shittier credit.

Put the money in an index fun for 2 years. His reputation I concede is another matter.

I mean the biggest reason they even got a team down there in the first place was because of the snowbirds from the Midwest. Phoenix is renowned for Michigan, Minnesota, and Calgary residents seasonally live there when the snow hits.

Utah isn't going to scratch that itch. While I don't think Phoenix would be next in line for an expansion team, it would be Top 10 easily.

I think it will for now, and they don't have an arena. We also forget Phoenix is losing 4 sport status, which is significant and reputation-damaging in the sports world. It's not just the NHL losing here.

Here a crazy prediction the NHL will expand to three markets before Meruelo get to"reactivate" his franchise if he ever does, and he won't get a cent of those three expansions. That's one of the reason they wanted him out ASAP, and if in five years Arizona is not ready somebody else will be for that fourth spot. I pretty much guarantee the Salt Lake guy had to waive away getting any expansion fees for probably the next five years also. So instead of 32 shares of the expansion pie they divide it by 31 or even 30 if Seattle are still in that window.

Portland or Sacramento.

 

[Tawnos]

I think the big highlights are:

-The auction is Plan Z for Meruelo, and then make all the benchmarks, and as I understood it, the arena must be done. And then the BOG will decide. I didn’t take it that it is like we’ve seen with Vegas and Seattle, and maybe will see with Atlanta, where they were awarded the team as the arena is being built as they went through the expansion process. I took it that the the arena has to actually be done and completed before Meruelo can get the team back - which again they said would still have to be approved by the BOG. Hard to see how they would deny him after all if that, but if they hate his guts, he does have a seat at the kids table to massage any of those relationships. No word of what specifically happens if he misses any benchmarks or deadlines, like if there is some kind of formal process? No word on if he can sell is rights.

-They didn’t mention the CBA, but if this was the #2 issue for the PA, it’s something they intend to leverage during those negotiations, and would be much easier for them to do while having to still play at Mullett. With the BOG already mad about it, the PA even without anything else they can do but make loud noises, Bettman heard them.

-Wonder if the Roadrunners split their time between Mullett and Tucson (maybe ECHL can move into Tucson?). The affiliation makes sense not being done since there is no sale official yet, but unless Ryan Smith is buying a team, there’s not many options.

-Wonder how Fertitta feels about paying perhaps substantially more for an expansion team than Meruelo will have to pay to get back in while pissing everybody off. His $1b price to reactivate is set.

I really can't see it being a situation where the BoG still makes a decision if he meets the benchmarks. For one thing, he's still going to be a member of the BoG, just a non-voting one. For another, why would he be trying to make the benchmarks if he weren't guaranteed a team if he hit them?

The only thing I could see derailing him getting the team back, in the event that he hits all the benchmarks, is if he can't give the $1B back to the league.

 

[GKJ]

I really can't see it being a situation where the BoG still makes a decision if he meets the benchmarks. For one thing, he's still going to be a member of the BoG, just a non-voting one. For another, why would he be trying to make the benchmarks if he weren't guaranteed a team if he hit them?

The only thing I could see derailing him getting the team back, in the event that he hits all the benchmarks, is if he can't give the $1B back to the league.

Maintains his exclusive rights in the market, which we don’t know yet what ways other he can use it.

Would like to know about more of these benchmarks. So far it’s:

-Win auction (state can change date at any time)
-Make payment in 30 days (state law)
-Shovels in the ground 2Q 2025 (basically a year after the auction)

 

[cbcwpg]

The sale and relocation deal currently in the works represents the cleanest potential exit. While the NHL constitution includes language that allows the league to pursue “involuntary termination” of a franchise, that would be a litigious road to go down. Instead, they’re endeavoring to have Meruelo willingly part with the organization’s assets by paying him a price that far exceeds his entrance point (roughly $300 million, according to Forbes) while leaving the door open for him to return to the club if he succeeds in getting an arena built.

One source with intricate knowledge of NHL franchise matters views it as an unsatisfactory outcome for the NHL after years of backing the Coyotes. “This solves the potential litigation battle, but they’re basically rewarding (Meruelo) for being an ineffective owner.”

Bettman has said that he is “reasonably confident” Meruelo can see the plan through.

Johnston: How the Coyotes-Salt Lake relocation plan came together — and what issues remain

Inside details on the NHL-brokered deal to move the Coyotes to Salt Lake City and how it could lead to an expansion team in Arizona.

theathletic.com

 

[PredsHead]

The sale and relocation deal currently in the works represents the cleanest potential exit. While the NHL constitution includes language that allows the league to pursue “involuntary termination” of a franchise, that would be a litigious road to go down. Instead, they’re endeavoring to have Meruelo willingly part with the organization’s assets by paying him a price that far exceeds his entrance point (roughly $300 million, according to Forbes) while leaving the door open for him to return to the club if he succeeds in getting an arena built.

One source with intricate knowledge of NHL franchise matters views it as an unsatisfactory outcome for the NHL after years of backing the Coyotes. “This solves the potential litigation battle, but they’re basically rewarding (Meruelo) for being an ineffective owner.”

Bettman has said that he is “reasonably confident” Meruelo can see the plan through.

Johnston: How the Coyotes-Salt Lake relocation plan came together — and what issues remain

Inside details on the NHL-brokered deal to move the Coyotes to Salt Lake City and how it could lead to an expansion team in Arizona.

theathletic.com

One thing that stuck out to me in that article was this:

Among them was the precise language around what conditions Meruelo would have to satisfy and on what timeline to be granted the contractual rights to a future expansion franchise in Arizona. What is known is that he won’t be able to sell or transfer those rights. They will be his to exercise alone.

 

[GKJ]

One thing that stuck out to me in that article was this:

Well that answers one of my questions

 

[Melrose Munch]

Merulo is nuts to take this. There should be an out for him.

 

[LT]

-Wonder how Fertitta feels about paying perhaps substantially more for an expansion team than Meruelo will have to pay to get back in while pissing everybody off. His $1b price to reactivate is set.

This is a big question in my mind. I genuinely can't figure out why Fertitta wasn't even rumored to be in on the Coyotes. Maybe it wasn't even presented as an option to him? Maybe he simply wants to start from scratch? I don't think he cares much about hockey outside of the business side of it, so it's hard to get a good grasp on where his mind is really at on getting s team to Houston. The city could support a team today, so any delay is strictly due to financials.

Makes me also really wonder about the 2B price for expansion. Are we really gonna just have a nearly 200% jump in the fee only about 5 years from the previous expansion? Is this simply the starting price for the league and it'll be negotiated down?

 

[cbcwpg]

Merulo is nuts to take this. There should be an out for him.

There is an out for him. Nothing says he actually has to build an new arena and reactivate the franchise. He can take his money and walk away.