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

[Jordan!]

Originally Posted by Poe969

So the oilers are the worst team because of how their hockey operations are run but I'd say the yotes are the worst franchise. It really is sad that they're in the league.

Outside of marketing, the new ownership has done an amazing job pulling in corporate $$$

It's the ####hole city they reside that is the issue

[Poe969]

They haven't made money in 19 years. The team may be getting better and the corporate $ they pull in along with the revenue they get for being so bad is keeping them afloat. There are places that would actually be helping the league make money and growing the game. The #### hole city they reside in the main issue. The hockey part of the team is fine but they just need to move

[Lanny'sDaMan]

Originally Posted by thefoss1957

Firing up "Brass Bonanza" as a goal song again?

Clearly, a move to an East time zone would mean that promises made to the Wings would have to be broken, as they would be the logical team to move back to the Central Division

As per the quoted post I had quoted, totally unrealistic with the current re-alignment, but in the immortal words of Professor Farnsworth, "A man can dream."

[dino7c]

its for the best the team has no business being there in the first place

[Resolute 14]

Anthony LeBlanc lays out the team's arguments in a radio interview. 11 minute audio:

http://arizonasports.com/?nid=244&a=312972&p&n

Summary:
- Team views it as an attempt to force a renegotiation

- Says the city interpreting the statute wrong.

- Says the statute says that a person with the city who was "significantly involved" in a negotiation cannot work for the third party who negotiated. However, LeBlanc said the lawyer in question was terminated by the city prior to the opening of negotiations, and his entire involvement in the process was to respond to a single email sent by three councilors five days before the vote on the contract, as they wanted "a second opinion from a source they trusted".

-Says the city wouldn't tell them anything ahead of time.

-Said he thought the city expected the team would "come with its tail between its legs" and cave in.

-On the use of city money to pay down team debt, he disputes that, but also says the contract had a "cure period" where the team could fix any concerns the city has, and said they did that. Evidently the concern the city raised had to do with a specific lender, which the team subsequently stopped dealing with. Not sure of broader context there.

-Says the team has no intention of renegotiating and will fight this "tooth and nail" in court. Expects Glendale will be "laughed out of court".

-Team had to bail on its bid for the WJHC in 2018 and suggested that the city has already caused "tens of millions of dollars in damages" to the team in 24 hours. Noted that this will impact season ticket renewals and sponsorships.

-Requesting injunction to block the termination of the lease. Then will sue to force the city to honour it.

-Asked what the team would do if a court sided with the city, LeBlanc hedged. "You would have to focus on 'contingency planning'." In context, I think he basically said they will go elsewhere.

[Locke]

Oh man...Glendale is so screwed.

If they win the Coyotes leave.

If they lose they're going to get sued into oblivion.

[Jacks]

Las Vegas makes so much sense IMO. I'm guessing any hockey fans in the area are already fans of, or are at least familiar with, the Coyotes. Add into that local support for a new team and tourists and they could do pretty well. Let them play in a temporary arena for a year then make the move. Not a fan of the Coyotes but what is left of their fanbase deserves a little stability.

[Zach]

Portland Coyotes

[Lanny_McDonald]

Glendale was such a bad place to build the facilities in question. The city is really small town and the City is even smaller town. The stadiums should have been built on lands available in the middle of the population centers and infrastructure grid - near the confluence of the 101 and 202 loops in Mesa/Tempe - but politics got in the way. Now Metro Pheonix is going to be left holding the bag on two white elephants that will never draw flies because of their location. Outside of NFL football neither of the facilities will be used with much regularity because no one want to make the drive out to Glendale. To put things into perspective for Calgarians, it would be like the Flames building their new stadium next to Cross Iron Mills. Location is brutal for most people. The Coyotes were setup to fail simply because of this political decision.

[FlamesAddiction]

Not having a lot of fans is one thing, but it seems like in Arizona, there are some influential people that go even further than that and actually have contempt for the team and the sport. It's hard to survive under those conditions.

I actually think Phoenix could have been a good market, but mistakes were made and now it seems like it's an un escapable downward spiral. I think it might be time the NHL leave and then revisit the market once the Coyotes are a memory.

[Eric Vail]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Not having a lot of fans is one thing, but it seems like in Arizona, there are some influential people that go even further than that and actually have contempt for the team and the sport. It's hard to survive under those conditions.

I actually think Phoenix could have been a good market, but mistakes were made and now it seems like it's an un escapable downward spiral. I think it might be time the NHL leave and then revisit the market once the Coyotes are a memory.

Like the NHL did with Atlanta?

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

Like the NHL did with Atlanta?

Or Denver.

[troutman]

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...ions/71107674/

"We have the right to exercise our out-clause now, and we're going the other way," LeBlanc said. "We're working aggressively to stay in Gila River Arena."


Daniel Dye, Arizona Summit Law School professor emeritus, said Glendale has a strong argument.

"The big question here is going to be whether Mr. Tindall was a 'significantly involved person' when Glendale was in the contracting process with the Coyotes," he said. "If he was such a person, and the Coyotes hired him as an employee ... his employment with the Coyotes would give the city the right to cancel, according to an (Arizona Attorney General) opinion."

[Jordan!]

Mayor of Phoenix has begun negotiations with The Coyotes and with the Suns.

This very well could be the best thing that ever happened to the Coyotes. The Suns have the ability to exit their lease on the current building in 2017-2018 in preparations for a new downtown arena.

[RedMileDJ]

nm

[Sport Psych]

Originally Posted by RedMileDJ

Great. Is she a taxpayer in Glendale? No, though not...

[Jordan!]

Originally Posted by Sport Psych

Great. Is she a taxpayer in Glendale? No, though not...

You need to understand the average tax payer in Glendale operates with an IQ barely high enough to tie their shoes or navigate their way out of the ghetto that city truly is.

Outside of westgate, that region is the ####### of the valley.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Bouw N Arrow

Mayor of Phoenix has begun negotiations with The Coyotes and with the Suns.

This very well could be the best thing that ever happened to the Coyotes. The Suns have the ability to exit their lease on the current building in 2017-2018 in preparations for a new downtown arena.

That is exciting news. The Coyotes are going to do way better downtown.

[Beatle17]

Originally Posted by Sport Psych

Great. Is she a taxpayer in Glendale? No, though not...

Are you? If not, why do you care whether she is, and she has apparently committed much more money to the Coyotes than just about all of us on this board.

[Coach]

If Phoenix gets ANOTHER new arena before the Dome is replaced, I'm going to lose it.

Which Monday comes first?