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Sale of Phoenix may finally be here


Devils Dose

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I can't imagine the citizens of Glendale much care if the Coyotes leave.  Sure, they're stuck with a white elephant arena if they go, but the Coyotes are demanding such outrageous payments to stay that I can't imagine they make more money by having the arena open.  The arena does literally no other business - someone looked at their schedule and there is one concert.

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I can't imagine the citizens of Glendale much care if the Coyotes leave.  Sure, they're stuck with a white elephant arena if they go, but the Coyotes are demanding such outrageous payments to stay that I can't imagine they make more money by having the arena open.  The arena does literally no other business - someone looked at their schedule and there is one concert.

Yeah that's crazy, after that one concert they have something in January and that is it. It's a shame because it is really a nice arena.

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https://twitter.com/PaulGiblinAriz/status/348159798153453568

 

"#Glendale spokeswoman says council hopes to have a public vote July 2 about #Coyotes."

 

https://twitter.com/PaulGiblinAriz/status/348162542532706306

 

"There is no final word coming today about #Coyotes. City spokeswoman is unsure if #Glendale's new timeline works for #NHL."

------

 

I believe the city has to give the public a 7 day notice on a vote, so if there is going to be a vote on July 2, we will hear the announcement on June 25. Doubt the NHL is happy about having to wait on a potential vote after the Board of Governors meeting. If this does get to a vote, I think they stay, if not, it will be Glendale's way of trying to shift blame onto the NHL for the deal falling through. I now think Healy was right when he said July 2 would be the deadline.

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Looks like we may get a possible Coyotes vote from Glendale on Tuesday (6/2): Source

 

Some tweets from Chris Daniels ahead of today's Board of Governors meeting:

 

https://twitter.com/ChrisDaniels5/status/350122523490398209

 

"NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, & perhaps Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, will address media after BOG meeting is complete. #coyotes"

 

https://twitter.com/ChrisDaniels5/status/350122757180231680

 

"I'm told NHL Board of Governors are scheduled to start meeting tomorrow at 8am PST. We should have clarity on #Coyotes by early aft PST."

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Been following the situation from afar, and it seems that RSE doesn't have the votes for their plan from Glendale. The two council members out of 7 who are in favor of deal are trying to 'force' a vote on Tuesday, but the vote has yet to be scheduled. The BOG has to pull the plug today. Its just a mess.

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This is a quote from Garry Sherwood, who is one of the Glendale City Council members in favor of the deal with RSE: “You can say all the deals have been pretty crappy, but this is the best deal that’s been presented of all the deals that have been presented in the past four years,” [Councilmember Gary] Sherwood said. “Not by a lot, but it’s the best deal ever offered.”" Nordiques.jpg

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I agree, the whole "force the vote" really reeks of desperation. With that said, nothing will surprise me, though I think the deciding vote will essentially come down to the mayor. There's just no way I see them pushing this deal through and not having huge problems within 5 years. I really think the best option would be for the league to pull the plug today and move them to Seattle.

Apparently the NHL wants expansion in a few years and wants to charge some extravagant fees which is one reason why they would prefer to go to Seattle as a relocation (cheaper for Seattle, better team than expansion, and helps the new arena get built) and save Quebec for expansion. If Seattle is out of the picture then I think Quebec has a strong chance to return to the NHL even if the NHL doesn't really prefer it.

That leaves the 2nd expansion city which is a toss up. Rumors of Greater Toronto Area getting a team are there but at this moment it seems kinda bleak. Markham probably won't get their arena, Hamilton has an old arena and the fanbase is there but they have no ownership group and Balsillie is blacklisted. Not too mention the Sabres and Leafs wouldn't necessarily be happy about it.

Kansas City's arena does fine without an anchor tenant and they don't want a team. Houston could be an option if the NHL found the right ownership group but it seems like a longshot. I actually think Las Vegas could work. The NHL would be the first of the big 4 leagues to move into town, it would allow them to have another American team in a non-traditional market, and MGM and AEG are working on building an arena to open in spring 2016, that will break ground next summer. Las Vegas would also help for alignment purposes.

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Barring some massive public subsidy where an ownership group is more or less getting a team for free, I can't ever see a pro team of any sport in Las Vegas.  It's not a long drive to LA and Vegas is made up of a lot of transplants that have their loyalties already.  It's also a town, obviously, where there's a ton of other things to do that are more fun that going to a hockey game, kind of like what it is in Miami, where even getting a Heat ticket is not as tough as you might expect.  And then there's the absolute huge no-no of being right smack in the middle of gambiling coming from every direction.  It's a disaster waiting to happen.

 

Maybe if the league were struggling and Bettman was looking for some kind of major gimmick.  But that's not the case.

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We finally have a hard deadline set from Bettman, no more speculating on that. From Jesse Spector:

 

https://twitter.com/jessespector/status/350349878917992449

 

"Bettman: Decision needs to be made by July 2 on Coyotes."

 

https://twitter.com/jessespector/status/350350837580709890

 

"Bettman on PHX: “We’re anticipating — or, hoping — the Glendale City Council passes the deal with the Renaissance Group.”"

 

https://twitter.com/jessespector/status/350350909928251392

 

"Bettman: “If the council doesn’t approve it… I don’t think the Coyotes will be playing there anymore.”"

 

For some insight into how the council may vote, Sonics Rising has this post on what to expect. Essentially it may break down like this in my opinion:

Mayor Jerry Weiers: Leaning No
Vice Mayor Yvonne Knaack: Yes
Manny Martinez: Yes
Norma Alvarez: No
Gary Sherwood: Yes
Sammy Chavira: Strongly Leaning No
Ian Hugh: Leaning No

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Coyotes deal in peril after Glendale's latest proposal

 

 

 

The impasse arose Friday during what was supposed to be a public workshop to discuss a proposed agreement between the council and the prospective team owner, IceArizona, an investment group headed by partners doing business as Renaissance Sports & Entertainment. The agreement is for IceArizona to use and manage Jobing.com Arena.

But council members revealed during the hearing that earlier that day they had devised a counterproposal. Specifically, they wanted a five-year out clause that mirrored provisions IceArizona executive had given themselves.

Glendale officials formally posted the counteroffer late Friday, locking in that version of the proposal for a binding City Council vote Tuesday, though minor amendments could be made.

A representative of the team investors, who was monitoring the meeting via the Internet, texted reporters covering the meeting stating that they were unaware that the city had even drafted a counterproposal.
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However, the Glendale out clause was new. The new proposal says that, like IceArizona, the city can opt out after five years or after reaching $50 million in losses.

In addition, Glendale officials sought language in the contract that prevented one side from suing the other for issues at the city-owned arena.

“We’re not going to agree to it. It is a non-starter,” IceArizona spokesman David Leibowitz said after the meeting.

“What we want the city to do is remove the out clause. That’s a deal breaker. We want the city to return to the deal framework that was negotiated previously,” he said.
---
Similarly, veteran Councilman Manny Martinez, who has supported every previous hockey deal, said he could only support the latest counter offer.

With a vote that was expected to be iffy under any circumstances, Sherwood’s and Martinez’s votes are critical for the deal to pass. Four votes are needed on the seven-member council to approve the arena management measure.

“I don’t know that anyone could have voted for what we saw yesterday in terms of the actual contract language. I don’t think that anyone could vote for it,” Sherwood said.

So even the most die hard pro-Coyotes council members weren't going to accept RSE's deal, or at the very least, the majority weren't going to. So now they are going to vote on their own counter proposal (I imagine they have the votes to pass it) but that proposal doesn't seem acceptable to RSE. Then you have this:

 

https://twitter.com/brahmresnik/status/350723191670448129

 

"If agreement approved Tuesday, RSE would have to accept within 1 week. Once in place, deal must close by Aug. 5, including @NHL sale of team"

 

If that July 2nd deadline is truly that, then I don't think RSE would even be able to agree to it within a week. The NHL may finally pull the plug at that point.

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Glendale council is about to vote in favor of getting rid of their out clause, thus passing a deal that RSE and the NHL will accept. Their will be an out clause for RSE in the first 5 years.

 

Who needs firefighters and police when you can pour taxpayer money into a team that bleeds money and can up and leave at any point in the next 5 years? Glendale council is just unbelievable.

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They voted in favor 4-3. Coyotes stay in Phoenix. Also being re-named the "Arizona Coyotes".

 

Watching that meeting was one of the purest examples of how fvcked up politics really are. I cant get over the firefighter councilmember comparing the tenacity of the ownership group to the 19 firefighters who were killed the other day. Absolutely disgusting grandstanding bullsh!t. They're also raising ticket prices by almost $5 and instituting "pay to park", and they think they're going to draw?

 

That whole meeting was ineptitude at its best. They're delaying the inevitable.

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I agree, Councilman Chavira's comments were especially **********.  This is a win for Coyotes fans but a massive loss for citizens of Glendale and their first responders. It's too bad the majority of the council would rather cater to non-citizens than those they are supposed to represent and protect. Seriously hope they don't end up with any emergency situations now that they are short handed.

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Its not over yet. If RSE defaults, the deal is kaput. I think its a safe bet that the Yotes will be in AZ this coming season though.

 

The city also doesnt have an out clause after tonight, but the team does! What a terribly sh!tty deal the city took. I actually am stunned by all of this.

 

That Chavira guy though. OMG. 

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That's very true that RSE could default or Goldwater or someone ends up fighting this. The lease agreement must be finalized by RSE by August 5. I agree, Coyotes are 100% in Glendale next season no matter what.

The out clause for RSE is 5 years or $50M in losses so we could very well be back at this point sooner than later. RSE would only have to pay any losses exceeding $6M in revenue should the team relocate, which I imagine wouldn't be a problem if/when they get a huge sale price.

 

Seattle and Quebec will have to wait and hope for expansion now. I think this is a big blow to Seattle since they won't be able to break ground on a new arena for at least a year or two, which is not a given with the NBA.

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The city gets partially reimbursed if the owners split after 5 years, though.   You could say it would be worse if the team turned it around and STAYED.

 

COG is in an awful position here with no good outcomes, which is why they keep pushing the least worst scenario, which is handing money over to keep the team there.   Otherwise it's a $220M (plus debt servicing, and as you can see in our case, principal doesn't necessarily get paid off) pile of rubble and future water park.

Edited by maxpower
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I just don't see anyway Glendale ends up benefiting from this deal whether RSE splits in 5 years or stays. Of course it's better to have an anchor tenant but it has to be with a reasonable deal.  SMG is a legitimate arena manager who had a bid in to manage the arena that was at or under the original $6M allotment. Seems like Glendale would benefit from paying an arena manager a lot less and have a chance to get a profitable result over time. Kansas City does fine without an anchor tenant, so much so that they don't want one at all.

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It's all delaying the inevitable, and the NHL should of just packed the team up and moved it. And all the statements coming out from the meeting just seem horrible. If I was a resident of the city I'd pack up and move, that's for sure. I'd have no faith in the people running the city.

 

A team doesn't belong there, unbelievable.

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I just don't see anyway Glendale ends up benefiting from this deal whether RSE splits in 5 years or stays. Of course it's better to have an anchor tenant but it has to be with a reasonable deal.  SMG is a legitimate arena manager who had a bid in to manage the arena that was at or under the original $6M allotment. Seems like Glendale would benefit from paying an arena manager a lot less and have a chance to get a profitable result over time. Kansas City does fine without an anchor tenant, so much so that they don't want one at all.

 

They may be a legitimate arena manager, but I suggest you check out Jobing.com on Ticketmaster.   One show for the rest of the year.   There's deeper problems there than an arena manager.   If they lose the hockey dates they'd be lucky to do 20 dates a year.   AEG was a legit manager and they weren't doing sh!t here.   Sprint Center is the only game in town and is dead smack in downtown KC.

 

Jobing is 17 miles from downtown Phoenix in one of the more East Jabibian areas of Metro Phoenix.   27 miles from Scottsdale via freeway.  And there's a perfectly suitable building in downtown Phoenix for events.

Edited by maxpower
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They may be a legitimate arena manager, but I suggest you check out Jobing.com on Ticketmaster.   One show for the rest of the year.   There's deeper problems there than an arena manager.   If they lose the hockey dates they'd be lucky to do 20 dates a year.   AEG was a legit manager and they weren't doing sh!t here.   Sprint Center is the only game in town and is dead smack in downtown KC.

 

Jobing is 17 miles from downtown Phoenix in one of the more East Jabibian areas of Metro Phoenix.   27 miles from Scottsdale via freeway.  And there's a perfectly suitable building in downtown Phoenix for events.

I won't dispute the idea that they should never have built the arena in that location. Of course jobing.com has had minimal events with the City/NHL fiasco going on. I really think SMG would at least make it somewhat respectable for a fraction of the price instead of having to pony up $15M/yr for 41 hockey dates in a non-hockey market. I'm sure they could find a way to get at least 41+ dates on their own. It's all under the bridge though. For Glendale's sake I really hope this finds a way to work out for them in the long run.

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