General Ongoing Coyotes saga thread

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by troutman

Shootout looms: Coyotes ownership situation always at forefront


http://www.glendalestar.com/news/hea...871e3ce6c.html

John Dellapina, vice president of communications for the NHL, said the negotiations are at a standstill.

"The problem is we can't say much because it's private entities," Dellapina said

The City of Glendale has been kept out of the proceedings, according to Assistant Deputy City Manager Julie Frisoni.

"We can't talk about the aspects of the deal," Frisoni said.

The names of Jim Balsillie, Ice Edge Holdings, Jerry Reinsdorf, former San Jose Sharks President and CEO Greg Jamison and briefly, Jeremy Roenick, have been mentioned at one time or another with the hopes of keeping the team in Arizona.

Funny how the above article doesn't even mention Hulsizer.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

The names of Jim Balsillie, Ice Edge Holdings, Jerry Reinsdorf, former San Jose Sharks President and CEO Greg Jamison and briefly, Jeremy Roenick, have been mentioned at one time or another with the hopes of keeping the team in Arizona.

Funny how the above article doesn't even mention Hulsizer.

Could that be because he just bought the Blues?

[troutman]

Due diligence tripping up Phoenix Coyotes sale?

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/m...article_search

The challenge for the Coyotes sale has been that “crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s” phase. The team has been losing $20 million to $25 million a year. Prospective ownership groups have struggled over the red stains on the Coyotes' balance sheet and how to work out something related to the team’s losses with the NHL and Glendale.

One source who has direct knowledge of the Coyotes' long-running saga says prospective buyers have come in with optimism regarding their bids, only to run into stumbling blocks when investment partners see the franchise’s losses.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by troutman

Due diligence tripping up Phoenix Coyotes sale?

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/m...article_search

The challenge for the Coyotes sale has been that “crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s” phase. The team has been losing $20 million to $25 million a year. Prospective ownership groups have struggled over the red stains on the Coyotes' balance sheet and how to work out something related to the team’s losses with the NHL and Glendale.

One source who has direct knowledge of the Coyotes' long-running saga says prospective buyers have come in with optimism regarding their bids, only to run into stumbling blocks when investment partners see the franchise’s losses.

Not surprising, they come in thinking 'how bad can it be? We're a bunch of hotshots we can turn anything around' and then when they get a look at the books that bravado is replaced by a dash for the exit.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by valo403

Not surprising, they come in thinking 'how bad can it be? We're a bunch of hotshots we can turn anything around' and then when they get a look at the books that bravado is replaced by a dash for the exit.

Presumably any sports team purchase is more for "fun" than "profit", but the Coyotes numbers must be so horrific as to scare off anyone and everyone, unless Glendale is prepared to prop it up...

[valo403]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Presumably any sports team purchase is more for "fun" than "profit", but the Coyotes numbers must be so horrific as to scare off anyone and everyone, unless Glendale is prepared to prop it up...

Yeah, I imagine it's a case of buyers who are okay with a bit of a loss from year to year, maybe even looking for one for tax purposes, but they see the degree of loss and are scared off. It could also be something where they get into the diligence process and see terms in leases and other agreements that would make a turn around of any sort a near impossibility.

[Envitro]

Agreed, that's why I wouldn't imagine that anyone considers losing $20 mil per year "fun".

If you can't put bums in seats then it's not a viable city for hockey. I was shocked that when I was down there over Xmas break I couldn't find a single ticket on game night for the 'yotes vs Bruins game. So you have 1-3 sellouts per year, and the rest is all 6-8k attendance at best. Not a very tenable scenario.

And I don't really buy the whole "we are just waiting for ownership to stabilize before we start going to games again" argument. I'm sure that a certain percentage of fans feel that way, but really isn't the time to do so now? Like our Save our Flames campaign a while back, ownership demanded commitment from the fans and we stepped up.

It's really strange, my folks have owned a place in Phoenix the last 3 years and nobody that they have met have even heard of the Coyotes, and at best it was marginal knowledge of hearing something on the news or sports shows. I know, it's not much of an argument but it's kind of an indicator of interest if there's no buzz in town. Also, I can't ever find any Coyotes gear in a Target, Wal-Mart or any kind of store like that. Always D-backs, Cardinals and tons of U of Az stuff.

This market is kind of bad, and it would be worse if not for all of the snowbirds, ex-pats, and northerners vacationing down there so much.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by troutman

One source who has direct knowledge of the Coyotes' long-running saga says prospective buyers have come in with optimism regarding their bids, only to run into stumbling blocks when investment partners see the franchise’s losses.

this cracks me up - i am sure if you googled phoenix coyotes and profit you would find very few hits; while a search for phoenix coyotes and loss would yield millions of hits......

it would be interewting to see the bids and how much support they see getting from glendale.

fortunately jerry riensdorf remains interested........

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

this cracks me up - i am sure if you googled phoenix coyotes and profit you would find very few hits; while a search for phoenix coyotes and loss would yield millions of hits......

it would be interewting to see the bids and how much support they see getting from glendale.

fortunately jerry riensdorf remains interested........

You should sell this information, I bet these buyers were totally unaware of it.

Looking at the actual books would be crucial in determining where losses are being suffered and how realistic a fix would be.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

I think the realization comes when the numbers are crunched and they see that with the current prices being charged, the team would still lose boatloads even if they were to miraculously sell out every game. They need to charge more to make it work but they just can't.

[Stay Golden]

Does the NHL really have actual concrete deadline for a PHX deal. I think not. Its about as defined as drawing a line in pudding.

[Resolute 14]

It does, as Bettman has repeatedly said: the deadline is the moment that nobody is willing to consider owning a team in Phoenix. As long as people show interest, and as long as Glendale is subsidizing, the league will let the team stay.

[Vulcan]

I wonder if Bettman and potential buyers are waiting for the new NHLPA contract with a lower cap floor, lower player percentage and a better team revenue sharing deal.

[FlyingDonutz]

Move em to Quebec, getting the Nordiques back would be great! The NHL would load in the cash, just like they did with Winnipeg.

[troutman]

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/J.../NHL-RSNs.aspx

Only 6,000 households watch regional Coyotes broadcasts (what % of those are snowbirds?). That is a good measure of the true local interest. Attendance is not a great measure, as it is easy to give away tickets, and sell tickets to visiting fans. Hockey is not in the hearts and minds of most Arizonans.

[Notorious Honey Badger]

if only 6000 households watch the coyotes how are they staying on the air? how do these numbers work to sell advertising?

[troutman]

http://tvasports.ca/tvasports/hockey...03-002745.html

Speculation is rife in Phoenix, about the future of the Coyotes. Some echoes, Greg Jamison would submit a final offer to the NHL on Wednesday, so to purchase the Coyotes and keep the team in Arizona.

"That's what I heard this [Monday] morning, said the district councilor Cactus, Phil Lieberman, in a telephone interview with" Le Journal de Quebec, "Monday. For cons, I hear that kind of speculation for the past nine months, and it never turned out to be correct. I wish I could tell you it's true or not, but I could not do it. "

A note was brought to the agenda of the council in order to discuss the Coyotes, if any agreement was to take place, as is the case with every board.

As for the Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs, she simply denied the reports in the "Journal" in an email exchange.

"I've never heard of these rumors nor heard of anything about Mr. Jamison and an agreement with the NHL."

The deputy NHL commissioner Bill Daly told TVA Sports Tuesday that Jamison did not file any offer to purchase the Coyotes.

[PegCityFlamesFan]

Scruggs is a beauty...

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by PegCityFlamesFan

Scruggs is a beauty...

And a friggin' magician if she manages to keep her job next civic election.

[tjinaz]

Scruggs is not running again. She had a health scare just before the last election and is 68 years old. She has been mayor since 1990

http://www.azcentral.com/ic/communit...nouncement.pdf