[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by troutman

Greg Jamison group ready to close Phoenix Coyotes sale, keep team in Glendale


http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...-close-on.html

Two sources familiar with the deal told me today that Jamison’s group will close the deal tomorrow, while another official said it will happen Thursday.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...d-last-in.html

Across town, the Phoenix Suns are seeing an attendance slide during their subpar, rebuilding campaign. The Suns are 25th among the 30 National Basketball Association teams. The Suns are averaging 14,800 fans per game this season, according to ESPN.

[this may indicate being downtown is not the most important factor]

Until you have a stable ownership situation - and one that isn't pillaging the franchise behind closed doors - I don't think recent attendance is particularly relevant as a guage of what might happen in the future.

It must be extraordinarily difficult to secure sponsorships or convince fans to commit emotionally to you if every second headline is about how you're going to take off in the dark of night.

Put the baloney behind them in a city of five million and commit to 25 years . . . . . and you'll probably start to get some traction on getting 18,000 into the building every night. As with any market like that . . . . you have to win or attendance will be more variable than it might be in a northern city.

I agree, however, having been there to a game, that Glendale is definitely not the most ideal spot to navigate to. Now that I know the freeways better, I'll try again next November when I'm down there and see how that works out. But they look like they're positioned on the opposite side of the city from the money and that's probably not a good idea.

Cowperson