no13matssundin said:
The Yotes will stay, but live in the real world: Phoenix Arizona is not a hockey market at all... unless youve figured out a way to make Ice form naturally in the open desert and are keeping it from us all.
I find this statement foolish.
In all 30 of the NHL markets, how many of them have "ice form naturally in the open" from mid-September to late June?
What a joke.
People don't realize it, but Phoenix has been a hockey market for many years no doubt to the snowbirds that come. While the Coyotes were the only game in town now, there have been numerous other hockey teams in the past, minor league of course, dating back 30 years. The biggest problem for Phoenix is the lifestyle, because there is too much to do and people don't have to go to the arena to spend their time. The market is split in many divisions of entertainment and leisure, and you can make the same comparison in Florida and California really.
It's pretty simple, the system works. If Phoenix can't sustain a hockey team, and the team moves, then they are not a professional hockey market.