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Originally Posted by Textcritic
Where do the Phoenix Suns play?
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The Suns play in Talking Stick Arena, which is where the Coyotes used to play. The arena was designed for basketball and concert events. It is really bad for hockey. I saw a few Coyotes games when they were in that area and it was terrible experience.
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Originally Posted by Enoch Root
No, they play in a football stadium that is right next door to the hockey arena.
And attendance is just fine.
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A team that plays eight home games a season in a one a week league is hardly comparable to a team that plays 41 home dates on every day of the week. Football is setup to make an event of going to a game. Tailgating is part of the experience and you make a day of going to game. Not the same as the NHL.
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Originally Posted by Enoch Root
The Glendale arena isn't ideal. No question.
But blaming the lack on fans on the arena location does the situation an injustice, IMO. If the Yotes won once in a while, there would be more fans.
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Winning does indeed help, but the location is oppressive. Glendale is just a brutal location as it is not in the areas of the metropolis where the money is. Mesa really screwed the pooch, and the hockey team, when they let the liquor license issue drive the football and hockey areas to Glendale, who bent over backwards to get those facilities. The football and hockey facilities were supposed to be at the confluence of the 101 and 202, providing great access to the east valley where the money in town is. Unfortunately the Mormon Church influence wouldn't support coughing up the land, which instead when to a shopping center. The other location is now where the Cubs complex is, so they ended up giving on the issue in the long run,
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Originally Posted by Enoch Root
It's also right off the highway, and thus pretty easy to access, unlike downtown rinks like Calgary, where it's like a parking lot trying to get to the rink. It takes me as long to get to a game in Calgary as it does in Phoenix, and I am as far away from the arena as anyone in the greater Phx area (northeast Scottsdale).
Also, with Calgary (and most downtown arenas), you have to park farther away and it is a longer walk to the arena. In the cold.
Finally, Glendale has multiple restaurants right beside the arena, so you can have a burger and a beer on a patio before the game.
I find it much, much easier and more enjoyable to go to a game in Phx than in Calgary. And like I said, I am further away than pretty much anyone in the valley.
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Please acknowledge you're visitor who doesn't have the same commitments people who live here full time have. It's really different when you have a family and a job that you have to drag your butt out of bed to deal with after game night. Plus, try doing that 41 times a season.
On travel, the city has pretty good infrastructure to get around, but those in Scottsdale have it fairly easy, even those in the farthest reaches. Unless you live out at Tonto Verde the drive isn't that bad. Anthem to the arena is 30 minutes. North Scottsdale is 35 minutes. South Scottsdale is 35 minutes. Cave Creek is 40 minutes, and this is far away as you can get in the NE part of town. The rest of the east valley has a little bit more of a challenge. NE Mesa is 45 minutes. SE Mesa is 50 minutes. East Gilbert is 55 minutes. Chandler business district is 45. Chandler Heights is 60 minutes. Superstition Mountain/Gold Canyon is 55 minutes. The bedroom communities are hurting. Maricopa is 55 minutes. San Tan is 65 minutes. That's a big commitment to make to get to a game here and there. That's brutal if you want season tickets. If that site were at the 101/202 location that is a saving of 10-25 minutes on most commutes.
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The attendance problems have nothing to do with the location of the arena, and everything to do with a franchise that has had NO success from which to build a fanbase.
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The location of the arena is a huge problem. This is why the team wants to move to the central core. They know where their bread is buttered and they have a better chance of success by having a central arena. It's a big enough problem that they are looking at every single option, even though the deal they have with Glendale is very beneficial to them. The problem is still they can't draw to that out of the way location.