Coyotes Tempe Entertainment District/Arena photos

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Jordan!

How many seats were in the Corral when The Flames were waiting on the Dome to be finished??

How embarrassing for the NHL that must have been!

Because comparing the situation in 1983 is even remotely comparable to 2022.

And it's not close to the same scenario.

The Flames (7.5k), Sentators (10k), and Sharks (10k) all played temporarily in smaller facilities as new teams to the NHL that were waiting for new arenas to be built.

In those scenarios there were finalized plans and details for that new arena to be available to the team, and construction was underway.

That's not the case in Arizona.

The Tempe deal has not been approved and IMO is not close to being a certainty. A possible renovation of the Veterans Memorial Colisseium has barely been discussed and would be years out from happening.

This isn't like the there is going to be a new rink ready in a year or two and the Coyotes would just be playing out of ASU as a stop gap.

There is no ETA. There is no planned rink. They could be playing in a rink that holds as few as 3,600 people for multiple years with no planned arena in sight.

Plus the Coyotes have been a disaster for about 20 years now, this isn't some new expansion team.

They actually have a perfectly fine rink in Glendale that was built specifically for the team but they have mismanaged and abused that relationship, and failed to ever actually attract fans to the rink.

That's why it embarrassing for Arizona.

And after 20 years of this now the NHL should just finally admit they were wrong and move the team to Houston or Quebec City who have NHL quality rinks just waiting for them.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Jordan!

How many seats were in the Corral when The Flames were waiting on the Dome to be finished??

How embarrassing for the NHL that must have been!

Expo Hall in Tampa (11,000?), Ottawa Civic Centre (10,000) and the Cow Palace in San Jose (11,000) as well. Nothing the last 30 years has fallen below Nassau Coliseum's 13,000ish though.

But if Friedman's right and NHL capacity is closer to 3,200, that'll be the lowest the league has ever had in its 100+ year history. If it's 5,000, the only regular rinks that were lower were the Hamilton Tigers 1920-25 and Philadelphia Quakers 1930-31 at 4,000 each.

[Ducay]

I know Bettman has repeatedly outlined the NHLs commitment to the Valley, but have they ever expressed rationale as to why?

They've moved franchises before with far fewer issues and better attendance. Is there some crazy market data they have access to that indicates there are a million repressed hockey fans waiting to come out of the woodwork? Is playing out of a tiny arena really worth a third/fourth attempt at turning things around there?

I know its a giant population centre, but you gave it a good college try and it didnt pan out. Time to try somewhere else, even if that's Houston.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Ducay

I know Bettman has repeatedly outlined the NHLs commitment to the Valley, but have they ever expressed rationale as to why?

They've moved franchises before with far fewer issues and better attendance. Is there some crazy market data they have access to that indicates there are a million repressed hockey fans waiting to come out of the woodwork? Is playing out of a tiny arena really worth a third/fourth attempt at turning things around there?

I know its a giant population centre, but you gave it a good college try and it didnt pan out. Time to try somewhere else, even if that's Houston.

That's what I don't get.

I can understand not moving Arizona (4.5M metro pop) to Quebec City (800k) in terms of overall market size and opportunity.

But there is no argument that would apply to Arizona that wouldn't also apply to Houston (7.0M metro pop) but without the baggage of the 26 previous years.

It's a bigger city with an actual downtown arena that can accommodate hockey.

Maybe Fertitta isn't interested anymore due to COVID, but he has previously stated publicly that his dream was to bring a hockey team to Houston.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Jordan!

How many seats were in the Corral when The Flames were waiting on the Dome to be finished??

How embarrassing for the NHL that must have been!

lol early 80s when players made under 100k

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

That's what I don't get.

I can understand not moving Arizona (4.5M metro pop) to Quebec City (800k) in terms of overall market size and opportunity.

But there is no argument that would apply to Arizona that wouldn't also apply to Houston (7.0M metro pop) but without the baggage of the 26 previous years.

It's a bigger city with an actual downtown arena that can accommodate hockey.

Maybe Fertitta isn't interested anymore due to COVID, but he has previously stated publicly that his dream was to bring a hockey team to Houston.

I doubt anyone is eager to make the big commitment during Covid.

[Locke]

They should just relocate the Coyotes to the Klingon Penal Colony on Rura Penthe.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

They actually have a perfectly fine rink in Glendale that was built specifically for the team but they have mismanaged and abused that relationship, and failed to ever actually attract fans to the rink.

The team was never going to be successful in Glendale, it's too far from where the hockey fans are. Have you ever tried to drive from Mesa to Glendale for a 7pm puck drop? Kiss an hour of your life good-bye. It's complete horsefeathers.

You put that rink in Tempe or Scottsdale and it's full from November to March. Schedule a road trip to start the season every year and you are golden.

Saying the rink is fine ignores the basic facts of the situation.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

That's what I don't get.

I can understand not moving Arizona (4.5M metro pop) to Quebec City (800k) in terms of overall market size and opportunity.

But there is no argument that would apply to Arizona that wouldn't also apply to Houston (7.0M metro pop) but without the baggage of the 26 previous years.

It's a bigger city with an actual downtown arena that can accommodate hockey.

Maybe Fertitta isn't interested anymore due to COVID, but he has previously stated publicly that his dream was to bring a hockey team to Houston.

When Fertitta says something publicly you can be sure it is for a purpose, and not to be transparent about his intentions. Meanwhile he took the ice plant out of Toyota Center about a year ago and replaced it with a VIP lounge area.

I have no inside knowledge of what he is thinking but I have seen nothing from his actions that leads me to believe he thinks owning an NHL team in his arena is a good idea. IMO he would do it of the price was right and that's going to be tricky with the latest expansion fees. He wanted no part of that.

And let's remember that NHL franchise moves are exceedingly rare. It has happened once in the last 25 years.

[powderjunkie]

I wonder how much the stubbornness goes back to the Balsillie shenanigans?

Wouldn't it be funny if the end-result ends up with the Coyotes in GTA?

[PegCityFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

I wonder how much the stubbornness goes back to the Balsillie shenanigans?

Wouldn't it be funny if the end-result ends up with the Coyotes in GTA?

Who has lost more money: Balsillie and BlackBerry or the Coyotes.

[powderjunkie]

[powderjunkie]

Geographically Kansas City makes tons of sense...just about equidistant between DAL/COL/MIN and obviously a bit closer to STL.

7/8 teams would be in Central Time Zone...ARI is essentially in Pacific time for the winter months of the season - being 2 zones apart from 6 teams in the division is probably another new annoyance for those teams, and also not great for the Coyotes fan.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

The team was never going to be successful in Glendale

bUt ThE cArDINALS ArE in THE samE loCATIOn and HaVE No proBlEMs!

[SuperMatt18]

If the team was actually good and they didn't have ownership issues for their entire existence they would have been fine in Glendale.

Somehow Glendale being 22 minutes west of downtown Phoenix is too far out of downtown, but Mesa is 22 minutes east of downtown, and Tempe is 18 minutes away from downtown.

Sure Tempe would be a better location, and a downtown rink would be ideal, but saying that the problem for the last 20 years for the Coyotes was that the rink was in Glendale is masking over a lot of the problems with that organization.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

If the team was actually good and they didn't have ownership issues for their entire existence they would have been fine in Glendale.

Somehow Glendale being 22 minutes west of downtown Phoenix is too far out of downtown, but Mesa is 22 minutes east of downtown, and Tempe is 18 minutes away from downtown.

Sure Tempe would be a better location, and a downtown rink would be ideal, but saying that the problem for the last 20 years for the Coyotes was that the rink was in Glendale is masking over a lot of the problems with that organization.

Downtown Phoenix isn’t the measuring point. This is more about Scottsdale.

[Jordan!]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Downtown Phoenix isn’t the measuring point. This is more about Scottsdale.

This Tempe location is ideal.

-one exit from the airport (Great for visitors to get hotels in a future Entertainment district)
-close to mill ave/ASU = instant $$$
-Close to old town
-Close to paradise valley
-MOST Canadian snowbirds reside in the East Valley
-Reasonable distance from IMO, the best suburbs in the Valley: Chandler/Gilbert/Mesa who actually love hockey and have money
-Close enough for West valley fans to make it to games

Everything depends on the Tempe deal, the payoff is massive for the owners

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Downtown Phoenix isn’t the measuring point. This is more about Scottsdale.

This is about access to the east valley, not just Scottsdale. Scottsdale has money, but so does Chandler and Gilbert. The hope to build the game and future fans is in the east valley where facilities are being developed. Scottsdale is an older market with money, but the southeast portion of Phoenix is the market the Coyotes need to target for long term health of the franchise. Tempe is the best location possible as it is the convergence of all roads in metro Phoenix.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by Jordan!

This Tempe location is ideal.

-one exit from the airport (Great for visitors to get hotels in a future Entertainment district)
-close to mill ave/ASU = instant $$$
-Close to old town
-Close to paradise valley
-MOST Canadian snowbirds reside in the East Valley
-Reasonable distance from IMO, the best suburbs in the Valley: Chandler/Gilbert/Mesa who actually love hockey and have money
-Close enough for West valley fans to make it to games

Everything depends on the Tempe deal, the payoff is massive for the owners

Looking at the history of Yotes ownership over the years, you know they're going to screw it up. It's not going to happen.

And even if it is a go, the team should be excluded from revenue sharing if they end up playing in a large shed for 4 years.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

Austin is a defund the police and skyrocketing homicide rate city.

Go check the murder rate in Dallas and find a new way to confirm your narrative.