[News] UPD: City of Glendale to vote on new arena agreement with Coyotes

[spetch]

Originally Posted by InCoGnEtO

Isn't there a rule in the NFL that an owner can only own 1 other sports franchise? ...........


Not sure Paul Allan would sell the Seahawks or TrailBlazers for an NHL team.

I think you answered your own question. He also has stakes in MLS I believe.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

It seems like everyone wants an NHL team in Seattle.... except people in Seattle.

I wouldn't say that. It seems they've studied the situation pretty well and the response has been good.

As luck would have it, I conducted a survey about a month ago and asked the following question: If Seattle were to get an NHL team, how many miles would you be willing to travel (drive, public transit, etc.) to a game? To my surprise, a majority of respondents said they would travel over 15 miles (red box in dashboard below). Here is the break down by county:

Here's an in depth article with income levels distribution etc. of Seattle.
The mayor is also on record that he wants the arena in Seattle and not in the suburbs (Tukwila and Bellevue).

http://nhltoseattle.com/

If we isolate just the people that live in Washington State, the Purchasing intent is very strong with close to 30% of respondents saying they are interested in Season Tickets.

Although smaller overall numbers, I was a little surprised about how many people were interested in Full Season Tickets from Kitsap County. Similar to Seahawks, the appetite for the NHL in Seattle is across the state as lots of folks indicated they will go to more than 5 games a year.

[Hockey Fan #751]

In before the 1000th post of this thread.

[The Fonz]

Seattle is so fetch.

Stop trying to make "fetch" happen.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

It seems like everyone wants an NHL team in Seattle.... except people in Seattle.

Same climate as Vancouver and Vancouver seems to reluctantly be a hockey market only because they're Canadian.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Same climate as Vancouver and Vancouver seems to reluctantly be a hockey market only because they're Canadian.

Without going into details overall I think Seattle would be a better market than Vancouver.

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by Geeoff

So we can keep teams in cities that don't want them? That's definitely worth destroying the credibility of the sport for.

Isn't that exactly how Crosby landed in Pittsburg? To bring excitement to a broke and failing franchise. For all the money and time wasted in keeping a team in Arizona, bringing the next phenom there could be the catalyst required.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

Isn't that exactly how Crosby landed in Pittsburg? To bring excitement to a broke and failing franchise.

The Penguins were broke and failing because they were playing in an ancient arena with all the atmosphere and revenue-generating capability of a bomb crater. The viability of Pittsburgh as a hockey market was never in question. The problem was finding the money for a new building.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

The Penguins were broke and failing because they were playing in an ancient arena with all the atmosphere and revenue-generating capability of a bomb crater. The viability of Pittsburgh as a hockey market was never in question. The problem was finding the money for a new building.

Exactly, and if they built the new building 40 miles outside of Pittsburgh they would still be in trouble.

[ernie]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

Here's why the draft should been rigged this year. Epic fail NHL. ..

So we've now gone from "the lottery is complete BS as it's just rigged anyways" to "it's not rigged but it should be!".

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by T@T

Exactly, and if they built the new building 40 miles outside of Pittsburgh they would still be in trouble.

The Coyotes have lost money every year they've existed, even when they were downtown.

[badger89]

They should move back downtown. Is the US Airways Center capable of hosting hockey?

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by badger89

They should move back downtown. Is the US Airways Center capable of hosting hockey?

I guess they could, then again, the Suns are either trying to build a new building or make major renovations with the current building they play in right now. It's one of the oldest buildings in the NBA.

The way the Coyotes have been handled for the past few years have been disappointing. When they got a new owner, I thought they'd move to a different location for them to play in, but instead they just renewed their freakin' deal with Glendale. Won't be shocked if we don't see them in the next couple of years.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

It seems like everyone wants an NHL team in Seattle.... except people in Seattle.

Seattle has very low hockey "avidity" ratings.

http://m.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Dai...arborough.aspx

Expansion or relocation has recently been a hot topic for the NHL, with several markets being floated. One market in particular has been Seattle, but data from Scarborough Sports Marketing shows that fan avidity for the NHL in the market is well below other U.S. markets. Providence, R.I., has the highest level of avidity among U.S. markets without an NHL club, with data showing that 25.2% of sports fans in the market are very or somewhat interested in the NHL. The Providence market actually ranks No. 6 overall among all U.S. markets, including those with NHL clubs. Seattle ranks No. 57 among all U.S. markets for NHL fan avidity, well below other markets that have been mentioned for expansion/relocation. Las Vegas ranks No. 23 among all U.S. markets, while Hartford ranks No. 27. K.C. actually ranks behind Seattle at No. 58. Listed below are the top U.S. NHL markets in terms of fans that are somewhat or very interested in the league, along with top non-NHL markets and where they rank.

[Hockey Fan #751]

Originally Posted by troutman

Seattle has very low hockey "avidity" ratings.

http://m.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Dai...arborough.aspx

Expansion or relocation has recently been a hot topic for the NHL, with several markets being floated. One market in particular has been Seattle, but data from Scarborough Sports Marketing shows that fan avidity for the NHL in the market is well below other U.S. markets. Providence, R.I., has the highest level of avidity among U.S. markets without an NHL club, with data showing that 25.2% of sports fans in the market are very or somewhat interested in the NHL. The Providence market actually ranks No. 6 overall among all U.S. markets, including those with NHL clubs. Seattle ranks No. 57 among all U.S. markets for NHL fan avidity, well below other markets that have been mentioned for expansion/relocation. Las Vegas ranks No. 23 among all U.S. markets, while Hartford ranks No. 27. K.C. actually ranks behind Seattle at No. 58. Listed below are the top U.S. NHL markets in terms of fans that are somewhat or very interested in the league, along with top non-NHL markets and where they rank.

That could be a reason to go into Seattle, though. To try and increase the number of avid NHL fans in the area.

I'm sure places like Nashville and Tampa Bay didn't have high levels of avid fans before they received teams. And with Seattle's northern location that makes them even more likely to embrace hockey when it does get there, in my opinion.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

The Coyotes have lost money every year they've existed, even when they were downtown.

But some of those Downtown years they didn't lose as much, so that's bascially the same as making money in they eyes of the NHL.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

The way the Coyotes have been handled for the past few years have been disappointing. When they got a new owner, I thought they'd move to a different location for them to play in, but instead they just renewed their freakin' deal with Glendale. Won't be shocked if we don't see them in the next couple of years.

There was no chance the Coyotes were ever going to play anywhere in the Phoenix area other than Glendale.

They didn't renew their deal, they renegotiated it. The old deal had them locked into Glendale for 30 years to pay off the arena, with severe penalties for leaving early. Now, they're at a point where Glendale wants to get rid of them.

I've never understood why that keeps getting overlooked. If Balsillie's ploy had worked years ago and the League had allowed the Coyotes to move, they'd probably still be fighting lawsuits from the City of Glendale for breaking what was a pretty ironclad lease.

[Jets4Life]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

Worst location for a building. No one wants to make the 1 hour-1hour and 30 minute commute to a hockey game, let alone a season ticket holder. Would have been better off downtown or more on the Eastern side by Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler area.

Incidentally, the Florida Panthers have the same problem.

Location, location, location.

[Jets4Life]

Originally Posted by getbak

There was no chance the Coyotes were ever going to play anywhere in the Phoenix area other than Glendale.

They didn't renew their deal, they renegotiated it. The old deal had them locked into Glendale for 30 years to pay off the arena, with severe penalties for leaving early. Now, they're at a point where Glendale wants to get rid of them.

Sounds like Atlanta, part II.

In the words of Don Cherry: "Quebec City......GET READY!"

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Jets4Life

Incidentally, the Florida Panthers have the same problem.

Location, location, location.

And wouldnt you know it, so do the Ottawa Senators.

Maybe saving a few bucks on land value and property taxes by having your rink out in the sticks might not be entirely worth it?

At the end of the day though, the City of Glendale promised to underwrite the Coyotes' losses in exchange for damned near nothing.

They couldnt have signed a dumber, less fair and more one-sided contract at gunpoint.