Quote:
Originally Posted by dissentowner
I still think the only smart play here is regardless on if they win the bid they need to relocate the team after next year. Arizona can be at the top of the expansion list but even if they win the bid they are 3-4 years at minimum from getting the arena finished. So are the other owners in a revenue sharing league ok with a team playing in a 4000 person arena for possibly another 4 years? It makes no sense. The league would be much smarter to pivot to SLC and then when the arena is ready in Arizona you open up expansion again.
|
I don't think Meruelo has the money for an expansion team (though I'm also guessing the NHL would be perfectly fine with a totally different owner, but if Meruelo owns that land you're tied to him a bit).
My personal theory is Meruelo is just delaying and delaying because he knows the longer he waits, the more the franchise value is going up since franchise values are booming. If he sold this team two years ago, for example, he's probably getting $400 million but now it's probably upwards of $700 million. Then Salt Lake would likely top it up with a relocation fee that makes it $1 billion.