Per Friedman: Coyotes players told team moving to Utah starting next season (Mod warning post #50)

[Skinnyjimmy08]

As much as I love visiting the State of Arizona and more specifically the city of Scottsdale, this team needs out of there so damn bad. It's been so pathetic seeing this organization in Arizona for a while now and seeing the struggles every damn year there.

Get them to Utah as soon as possible pleeeeease and end this strange situation that has been going on there for years and years

 

[cowboy82nd]

Saints is my choice

If their was a thumbs down vote, you would get it. No way when I hear Utah (or Salt Lake City for that matter) and I think of Saints. Not in the least.

 

[HFpapi]

I've been thinking this for a while now too. Arizona is a valuable market and with a proper arena could work. But a college barn just ain't it for the big leagues.

Moving to SLC now, if they're ready for a pro hockey team, makes a lot of sense. Then Arizona can get an expansion team with Atlanta, Houston, and whoever #4 is (KC? QC?) when they have an arena ready.

A 36 team league for Americas 6-7th most watched league/sport (i'm including NCAA basketball & football separate from NBA/NFL) is asinine.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

I don't think I'm saying anything anybody doesn't already know but... All these details coming out about "If" the team moves kinda makes it sound like the deal is already set in stone and they're just waiting for the season to end.

Some of this stuff is way too in depth to be leaking if it were just hypothetical.

 

[Spargon]

To paraphrase the Dolphins from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. So long and thanks for Auston Matthews.

 

[viper0220]

some questions.

If the team does move to Utah:

1.) Can Utah support an NHL team?

2.) Does the owner have an arena that is suitable for an NHL team?

3.) Does the owner have a plan for an arena plan for the future. once they need an replacement?

4.) Can Utah support the team long term?

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Chayka happened. I will never understand how that dude ever got the GM job to begin with

He had teh analytics. They were the bestest analytics. The mostest awesomer analytics in the history of evar. His analytics were so bestester, they generated their own analytics.

 

[Colezuki]

some questions.

If the team does move to Utah:

1.) Can Utah support an NHL team?

2.) Does the owner have an arena that is suitable for an NHL team?

3.) Does the owner have a plan for an arena plan for the future. once they need an replacement?

4.) Can Utah support the team long term?

They support an NBA team and SLC will likely be a small market nhl team but they should be able too.

They have an NBA arena, while on the smaller side it’s possible and they’re been talks he’ll go bigger once he gets it

Likely yes

 

[CandyCanes]

It’s surprising that the NHL is considering moving a team to Salt Lake where sports betting likely won’t be a thing for a very long time.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Arizona's problem is that they never got to experience the luxury of playing in a 21 team league where 76% of teams made the playoffs. That would be like 24 teams making the playoffs this year. They'd be 2 pts out of a playoff spot today if that were the case.

The 87-88 Maple Leafs, with a 21-49-10 record, the 2nd worst record in the league by a single point, made the playoffs. Over 4 teams that had better records(granted, some in the other conference at the time). Imagine the crying if the internet were around back then.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Merulo's and the Leagues' behaviour is offensive.

 

[JKG33]

A 36 team league for Americas 6-7th most watched league/sport (i'm including NCAA basketball & football separate from NBA/NFL) is asinine.

You're aware of how many NCAA football and basketball teams there are, right?

And again, at least 4 of those teams are in tiny Canadian markets thatre irrelevant to the US. So ultimately the NHL could have 36 teams but really only 30-32 big markets

 

[JKG33]

So you understand my logic about when the start to dig and until they start to dig they wont know what they are up against and how long will it take to put the basic infrastructure in.. It looks like 75% of the parking will be underground? Also, we are not just talking the arena build, but it looks like phase one is about 1/4 of the project and that is a large area in 3.5 years. And like you said they have not broken ground yet. Then you have all of studies they have to do BEFORE they break ground

Exactly. Obviously they'd have drawings available of what if anything is under the land, where the nearest tie-ins are for utilities, things like that. I'd imagine for an auction like this some kind of soil/environmental report may be provided, but that I'm unsure.

Since they're pretty confident they'll win, they'd have all the engineered drawings pretty much ready to go, some materials on standby, which does save on a lot of time. But as you say until they start digging you never know what they could find, and project delays are often in the early stages of piling and excavations.

The subcontractors who get awarded projects of this size are pros at what they do, especially in a city as large as Phoenix. So the infrastructure stuff you're referring to is just another day in the office for them. Underground parking really isn't as difficult as it sounds, it's just means you have a deeper excavation and a lot more concrete work

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

A 36 team league for Americas 6-7th most watched league/sport (i'm including NCAA basketball & football separate from NBA/NFL) is asinine.

I think the league gets its revenue from tickets more so than TV revenue. Agree 36 teams makes a worse TV product but if they can find a market that will buy tickets and corporate boxes in a brand new arena at the prices they want to charge then it makes sense. There's a question if they can keep selling those tickets with so many teams and how much "championship dreams" drive ticket sales, but for most of the American markets the ticket buyers are becoming less and less "die hard fans" and more "deep corporate pockets looking for an amusing night on the town." At least the bulk of the revenue.

 

[Machinehead]

They have cool branding, and if it happens, I would be cool with just "Utah Coyotes."

 

[CupofOil]

Utah (Salt Lake City) could be a great NHL market, fans love their sports in that area.
It doesn't have nearly the size of the Arizona market but when a franchise hasn't stabilized for 3 decades, that might be a sign that it's time to move on.

I feel for the Coyotes fans and, in theory, the move to Arizona seemed like a profitable idea but it hasn't worked, clearly to everybody but Bettman, so... it's time to bring it to a market that COULD work. None of this half measure stuff, make a clean break.

 

[Coffey]

Just has Josh Doan say how much he loves Utah and their wonderful churches every month and it’s a full sell out.

 

[Machinehead]

Uthans

 

[Frank the Tank]

A 36 team league for Americas 6-7th most watched league/sport (i'm including NCAA basketball & football separate from NBA/NFL) is asinine.

You're looking at it wrong. This is situation where the current 32 owners are taking a series of $10-30M cash payments to allow 4 more billionaire owners to acquire a billion dollar asset in their exclusive club. That's all that matters to them.

 

[joestevens29]

Exactly. Obviously they'd have drawings available of what if anything is under the land, where the nearest tie-ins are for utilities, things like that. I'd imagine for an auction like this some kind of soil/environmental report may be provided, but that I'm unsure.

Since they're pretty confident they'll win, they'd have all the engineered drawings pretty much ready to go, some materials on standby, which does save on a lot of time. But as you say until they start digging you never know what they could find, and project delays are often in the early stages of piling and excavations.

The subcontractors who get awarded projects of this size are pros at what they do, especially in a city as large as Phoenix. So the infrastructure stuff you're referring to is just another day in the office for them. Underground parking really isn't as difficult as it sounds, it's just means you have a deeper excavation and a lot more concrete work

Feel that without this you'd be kind of stupid to spend 10's of millions on land.

It's not exactly that hard to get either.

 

[BKarchitect]

Will SLC be the smallest market in the league with both NBA and NHL teams vying for the same dollars from a fanbase?

Obviously competition for arena dates won’t be a thing if Ryan Smith owns both franchises and I expect a lot of cross-over synergy and marketing.

But nonetheless - it’s not just about population or overall sports market saturation - which clearly the SLC market can handle an additional pro team at its current population and growth.

But the fact that the two major franchises are going to be running on the exact same season schedule and competing for the exact same week night time and expenditures from a fanbase is interesting. To me there is something to look at not in terms of pure market saturation but maybe seasonal saturation here? I’m a family and I live maybe not in downtown as the area spreads out and I’ve got only so much time to make evening games and so many dollars to spend on my sports enthusiasm during the October thru April half of the year.

This is not an attack on SLC, so put the knives away. I’m just wondering if there is another market quite like this at this size if the move happens…I would have thought the MLB would be a better fit and I know that is still something folks in the area are dreaming of.

 

[JKG33]

some questions.

If the team does move to Utah:

1.) Can Utah support an NHL team?

2.) Does the owner have an arena that is suitable for an NHL team?

3.) Does the owner have a plan for an arena plan for the future. once they need an replacement?

4.) Can Utah support the team long term?

1) Probably. The owner seems confident.

2) The existing arena holds 14k for hockey. Similar size as the arena in Winnipeg. More than what the Isles and Coyotes were playing in.

3) Yes. They'd need a replacement asap, and they want to build a new arena for their winter olympic bid in 2030whatever

4) I'd say so. It won't be a top 10 market or anything like that, but SLC is a beautiful city. There's lots of money there, and it's a place players will want to be. When there's a situation the players like, the fans will come. I'd compare it to a better St Louis

 

[HFpapi]

You're looking at it wrong. This is situation where the current 32 owners are taking a series of $10-30M cash payments to allow 4 more billionaire owners to acquire a billion dollar asset in their exclusive club. That's all that matters to them.

No, I know that's exactly what's going on.

Owners are getting addicted to expansion money and will try to turn that into their new revenue model completely watering down the league and creating a ton of instability and proliferation of defunct/relocating franchises that need to be propped up by the 8-10 successful ones.

 

[sxvnert]

Imo how this all played out:

- Meruelo wanted to do everything possible to ensure he had a defence in court if the league every tried to rip the team away from him.
- League decided to massively overpay him with the relocation fees/buyouts with a signed agreement that he wouldn't turn this into a lengthy court battle.
- Knowing how desperate the league is for a team in arizona, Meruelo added the first buyer right (with a time limit) in case the league shows up the following year with a new ownership group + land agreements to build a new arena.

The end

 

[Lions67]

Arizona's problem is that they never got to experience the luxury of playing in a 21 team league where 76% of teams made the playoffs. That would be like 24 teams making the playoffs this year. They'd be 2 pts out of a playoff spot today if that were the case.

The 87-88 Maple Leafs, with a 21-49-10 record, the 2nd worst record in the league by a single point, made the playoffs. Over 4 teams that had better records(granted, some in the other conference at the time). Imagine the crying if the internet were around back then.

Sorry but Gen X and whatever you guys are right now l, Gen Z ??
We are not the same lol