Seravalli: NHL Back to AZ Within 5yrs ?!?

[TheNewEra]

Pipe dream really.

I really don't think anyone is going to put up billions for a third arena in the area, not to mention for an expansion team.



NHL holds the rights.

in that case it could work. Thanks for clearing it up i thought he still held the rights but i must have missed it

 

[Voight]

in that case it could work. Thanks for clearing it up i thought he still held the rights but i must have missed it

Nah he gave the rights up mer months after he he agreed to let the team relocate to Utah. I think it might've even been before the land auction.

 

[mpir3]

Hockey should only be played in states where it snows in the winter and lakes freeze. So yea AZ should be back before Atlanta and Houston

 

[DingDongCharlie]

Pipe dream really.

I really don't think anyone is going to put up billions for a third arena in the area, not to mention for an expansion team.



NHL holds the rights.

I'm surprised he didn't hold the rights hostage. Meruelo had 5 years to play smoke and mirrors.

 

[AKL]

It's always been the plan to get the NHL back to Arizona ASAP, it's just frustrating because the Coyotes had guys like Cooley, Guenther, Doan and Iginla which made for a very exciting future. The new team won't have that.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Why is this a surprise? The NHL is going to get back to a market like Phoenix ASAP. Shoot, it might not take five years. Hopefully they will leave the grifters behind though.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

I mean this has always been the plan since they moved to Utah no? Once they finally get a proper arena built they will be back in no time.

Agree on the plan. But for 5 years to be an option like Seravalli said, you would essentially need to have an ownership group that has the local juice to get a stadium approved (and ALL that goes with that) in the next 2 years, and be willing to pay the reported $1.2B expansion fee. That seems unlikely with what we saw from the Yotes.

 

[PuckG]

Why keep forcing something that isn’t working? And if so, why such an unrealistic timeline?

Try Houston or Atlanta…

 

[JianYang]

I imagine most posters in this thread have never been to the arena or even know where glendale sits in relation to Phoenix and Scottsdale.

The stadium was in nowheresville because the project to build a large entertainment center there got abandoned after the 08 recession.

the easy thing to say is that this is stupid, but you have to look under the hood to see why it failed.

It's a decent sized tv market and I'm sure the nhl eventually wants to get back.... but next time, don't overlook the importance of location, location, location.

 

[bringbacktheskate604]

Arizona is just Hockey crazy, there are hundreds maybe even thousands of Hockey fans there. Bettman is just speaking for all us hardcore Hockey fans that loved #HockeyInTheDessert

Like Atlanta I think youre market has everything to be a success but have gotten saddled with shitty owners.

Like in an alternate timeline the team doesn't get kicked out of Gila or whatever it was called, giving time to for the hypothetical great owner to build an arena in a great location, hockey would have been great there. Both cities are just as viable as Nashville, Dallas, Vegas, Miami etc, plus both are huge tv markets etc.

People can shit on Gary but his USA expansion not only created a multi billion dollar league, he quite literally saved the league from becoming the CFL so the fact that he and his circle are so hell bent on Phoenix, shows they know that it would work if given a proper chance.
I got the impression that the city basically derailed things because they wanted nothing to do with Murello but I have no proof of that obviously but he gave off such a greasy car salesman vibe.

 

[SensontheRush]

has the last owner given up his rights to the logo etc, if its the same owner then absolutely not. If its someone new and they get a proper arena then it could work

He bowed out a mere couple of weeks after agreeing to sell the team.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

I hope he knows something we don’t because I don’t see it.

 

[TheLegend]

Five years

If they do, it must be through the Suns owner.

There Is one other option. Albeit a long shot.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

It's what the 5th or 6th largest MEDIA market?

Yea they will get a team.
I think Arizona wanted a completely new owner.

New owner. New arena. It will happen. Even if there is hockey markets elsewhere.

 

[Crede777]

If the NHL returns to Arizona, it isn't Bettman that is taking the risk. It's the owner who is paying billions to build a suitable arena and purchase the franchise.

If such a person exists, the league would be stupid not to go for it.

 

[TheLegend]

I think a cooling off period would likely do them a lot of good, especially with the taxpayers that will likely need to vote yes at some point.

There’s no need to rush it for that very reason.

I can’t see a physical team playing here 5 years from now. But I could see the beginning of a process to return beginning in that time.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[TheLegend]

Nah he gave the rights up mer months after he he agreed to let the team relocate to Utah. I think it might've even been before the land auction.

It was… when he realized he wasn’t going to get the proper zoning and tax break he needed.

For an owner who put in a lot to get a top flight hockey ops together he pooched just about everything else.

 

[Takeahnase]

I’ve spent a lot of time in the Phoenix area this past year working and just don’t talk to many people who care about hockey. It’s baseball mad, for sure, but I met more hockey fans in central / southern Indiana than I have here.

 

[StreetHawk]

Agree on the plan. But for 5 years to be an option like Seravalli said, you would essentially need to have an ownership group that has the local juice to get a stadium approved (and ALL that goes with that) in the next 2 years, and be willing to pay the reported $1.2B expansion fee. That seems unlikely with what we saw from the Yotes.

Again, if the option is that auction site, isn't that technically in Phoenix, not Scottsdale, though Scottsdale is right next to it. If you are Phx, I don't think it makes logical sense to have basically 2 indoor 18K arenas as then you are maintaining both of them, doubling your costs and handing the arena management rights to both clubs. If that land was in Scottsdale, that's a different matter as that's for another city to decide.

But, it does seem like AZ will be like Houston, playing out of the same arena as the NBA team, more than it will be like ATL where another arena is going to be built. Given how difficult it's been to get something down in other cities in AZ. Plenty of time left on the Suns lease, so the city probably is in no hurry to drop hundreds of millions into another arena in the next 5 years unless the NHL owner was going to foot more of the costs than the 2 to 1 ratio (city to team owner) it cost the city to renovate Footprint.

 

[Kevinsane]

Gary is thinking Richard Burton but’ll end up with Larry Fortensky.

 

[MartyOwns]

can we stop expanding and further diluting the talent pool? holy hell. in the context of other sports, hardly anyone in the US cares about hockey. fix the product before you go giving a team to every tom dick and harry.

 

[Johnny Rifle]

Market size and fanbase are two entirely different numbers. Right now, Arizona and Atlanta are large populous areas, but there is little interest right now. Curiosity will sell out a few games at first, but the game needs to grow into expansion, not expand and expect it to grow with it.

Ticket prices are just too high in every NHL arena to grab new fans and keep them coming when those areas have other entertainment options at lower prices.

 

[GKJ]

Nah he gave the rights up mer months after he he agreed to let the team relocate to Utah. I think it might've even been before the land auction.

The land auction had been canceled, and that spurred the action to move to Utah

 

[Sol]

What a joke. Hockey in Arizona isn’t a thing. Stop this stupid experiment.