[Rumour] Arizona close to announcing new arena.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I am going to predict north Scottsdale, near the 101 and Bell.

That's basically where their practice facility is if I recall. Still way out in the suburbs so no better than where they are now.

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Something in Tempe would be cool. Maybe on ASU campus, close to Sun Devil Stadium. That's a really cool spot beside A mountain. Right off the freeway, centrally located, close to the airport.

This would actually be a pretty good location, if they decide not to go downtown then this could be the next best place.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Something in Tempe would be cool. Maybe on ASU campus, close to Sun Devil Stadium. That's a really cool spot beside A mountain. Right off the freeway, centrally located, close to the airport.

This was the most-recently rumoured location that I heard.

[Lil Pedro]

Wonder if them and Suns are sharing a building

[Young_Guns]

It is all smoke and mirrors folks. Team will be moved within 2 years. Whether it is moved to Seattle or Quebec City (or a completely different city) is beyond me but I don't see the Coyotes in the Phoenix area for much longer.

Glendale wants them out at seasons end, new arena will take a few years to build. Where will they play in the mean time? Pretty sure the team is gone.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

please be north Scottsdale!

I suspect it will be just off of 101 and 202, which means on ASU property (most likely) or on Salt River land (less likely because of sovereignty issues). Both Scottsdale would be interesting, but the land is too expensive and is still not centrally located for people in the east or west valleys.

[Young_Guns]

Originally Posted by Lil Pedro

Wonder if them and Suns are sharing a building

Don't think Suns want to be splitting any revenue with the Coyotes. Wasn't that part of the reason they left downtown Phoenix to begin with? The current "owners" of the Coyotes don't have any money. Where is all the money for the proposed arena going to come from?

Leblanc is Bettmans puppet, the NHL is just trying super hard to save face here and partly waiting for Seattle to get their $h!t together because I am pretty sure they are the landing spot for this franchise.

[Young_Guns]

Leblanc was also a member of that Ice Edge group who initially inquired about purchasing the Coyotes out of bankruptcy when ultimately the league denied them and decided to take control of the franchise themselves. I honestly don't think much has changed, I believe the league likely still calls most of the shots here.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Young_Guns

It is all smoke and mirrors folks. Team will be moved within 2 years. Whether it is moved to Seattle or Quebec City (or a completely different city) is beyond me but I don't see the Coyotes in the Phoenix area for much longer.

Glendale wants them out at seasons end, new arena will take a few years to build. Where will they play in the mean time? Pretty sure the team is gone.

The Phoenix market is the 12th largest TV market in the US. The NHL wants a presence in large markets like this. If they move into a better location and average say 15k a game that's still much better for the league exposure-wise compared to say 17k sold out arenas in Quebec City.

[Young_Guns]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

The Phoenix market is the 12th largest TV market in the US. The NHL wants a presence in large markets like this. If they move into a better location and average say 15k a game that's still much better for the league exposure-wise compared to say 17k sold out arenas in Quebec City.

Yes and Atlanta was ranked 8th or 9th I believe at the time the Thrashers moved. I know those circumstances were different, but if the team has to move, I don't think the league will stop it. In my eyes, it is simply just the league trying to save face. They didn't want to shuffle around any more markets until LV was in and paid the expansion fee. Their new arena hasn't even been approved, nobody has shown cash as far as I know. It is thus far just a proposal. Besides, Seattle is pretty on par with Phoenix when it comes to TV market, I believe they are 14th or 15th on the list.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Young_Guns

Yes and Atlanta was ranked 8th or 9th I believe at the time the Thrashers moved. I know those circumstances were different, but if the team has to move, I don't think the league will stop it. In my eyes, it is simply just the league trying to save face. Their new arena hasn't even been approved, nobody has shown cash as far as I know. It is thus far just a proposal. Besides, Seattle is pretty on par with Phoenix when it comes to TV market, I believe they are 14th or 15th on the list.

I think the Hurricanes are much more of a candidate to move than the Coyotes. The league would like to establish a team in the Seattle market but that's not going to happen until there's commitment to a new arena.

[FireGilbert]

So likely Ottawa and now Arizona will have built 2 stadiums before Calgary builds one?

[N-E-B]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

I've been to the Gila River Casino Arena or whatever they call it. It's alright. It's concourses are not better than the Saddledome in any functional sense - they seem more open because there are only 10,000 people in the building.

Otherwise it's a perfectly meh arena. It's super easy to get out of though. Probably has something to do with the design.

I've been there for a sold out playoff game against Chicago. Their concourses are 1000x better than the Saddeldomes.

[puffnstuff]

I read the title as 'announced they will close the arena' which kinda made more sense then building another one.

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

I've been to the Gila River Casino Arena or whatever they call it. It's alright. It's concourses are not better than the Saddledome in any functional sense - they seem more open because there are only 10,000 people in the building.

Otherwise it's a perfectly meh arena. It's super easy to get out of though. Probably has something to do with the design.

Ya because it sucks having multiple food options on both levels and how there is not a single bad seat in the arena. Not to mention escalators getting you quickly up to the second level. I've been there when it was a near sell out and I didn't have to wait 15 mins to go to the bathroom during intermission. That alone makes it 10 times the arena we have.

This isn't even including their awesome entertainment district around the arena. I hope the arena encompasses the same idea just puts it in a better location.

[Resolute 14]

I was there for a pre-season game, with maybe 4000 people in the stands, and it was a lot like going to Rexall for an Oil Kings game with 4000 people in the stands - you had space to move, but there were still a fair number of bottlenecks. A packed stadium would certainly be better than the Saddledome, but only because it is a newer arena. I can't imagine it would be great relative to most other NHL rinks.

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

The Phoenix market is the 12th largest TV market in the US. The NHL wants a presence in large markets like this. If they move into a better location and average say 15k a game that's still much better for the league exposure-wise compared to say 17k sold out arenas in Quebec City.

Ultimately, what the NHL wants is irrelevant. The only reason the league intervened on Balsillie and Moyes' move was the fact that the bankruptcy scam represented a significant threat to the league's ability to control its franchises. At this point, the Coyotes will live or die based exclusively on the willingness of someone to own and operate a team in Phoenix.