Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
Where are we now?
It seems COG's argument is strong enough to make IA nervous. No guarantee, but it could be a winnable case for COG.
COG must have been confident in their legal advice. With the clock ticking, they have put a great deal of pressure on IA and the NHL.
The NHL surely does not want years of all the dirty laundry aired.
My odds:
100-1 - midnight move to Quebec
Quebec is ready for Sept 15th, but likely not enough time to pull this off. NHL would prefer to save QUE for expansion fee rather than relocation fee
30-1 - move back to downtown Phoenix
Can IA operate without $15 M AMF fee they get in Glendale? Will attendance revenues improve enough to off-set expenses? NHL likely wants to stay in the Valley, but be out of Glendale. Problem is, only Glendale was desperate enough to under-write expenses.
10-1 - IA and COG renegotiate lease
I imagine COG would accept an AMF of $7.5 M, so losses are neutralized. IA would need new cash injection to make up for that, and exisiting owners have no cash - it is all leveraged. NHL is tired of the circus in Glendale
50-1 - IA sells franchise to city other than Quebec
NHL keeps team in the West (Las Vegas, Portland, Seattle)- saves Quebec as expansion city
1000 -1 - NHL dissolves franchise
I can't think of a scenario where they would do this
100-1 - IA enforces performance of existing lease
This could be tied up in litigation so long that there is too much uncertainty.
|
I agree. When I first heard they were trying to get out of the deal, I thought the NHL/Coyotes would eat them alive. After reading the thing in it's entirety, I'm not so sure now. COG does seem to have a case.
As far as relocation fee vs franchise fee, is that really that different anymore? Winnipeg owners paid dearly to get Atlanta. More than any other team to this point I think?
Quick check says they paid 170 million! 60 of which was a relocation fee. Though I guess the 110 was the purchase price/paying off debts? Still, how many assets does a bankrupt team have? Sans building? So yeah, more than others anyway. Good markets in Canada will get hosed, cause they can pay. Shoot, the expansion fee for the second team into Ontario is looking at 500 million, and that's a much bigger cow than Winnipeg. For Winnipeg to pay a third of what a new team in Ontario would pay, that's big potatoes. Relocation or not.