Alex Meruelo the new owner of the Arizona Coyotes

[mouser]

Click to read more...

 

[Flukeshot]

May this usher in a long term of stability for the Coyotes.

Obviously Phil Kessel was the final piece to ensure the deal happened.

 

[rt]

Woooooooohooooooo!!!!!!

 

[HisIceness]

Congrats Coyotes fans! Very happy for you guys and I hope this guy can be for you what Dundon has been to Hurricanes fans

 

[TheLegend]

As noted in the previous thread.

Press conference to introduce Alex Meruelo as the new majority owner of the Arizona Coyotes will be held on Thursday, August 1st, at 1:00pm (PDT) at Gila River Arena.

 

[CBJ goalie]

Is.....is this going to be the final thread after a decade?
I believe so.

 

[Fenway]

Is.....is this going to be the final thread after a decade?
I believe so.

 

[HisIceness]

Arizona style

I only have one question regarding this party.

Who is bringing the tacos?

 

[rt]

I only have one question regarding this party.

Who is bringing the tacos?

Alex f***ing Meruelo is bringing the goddamned tacos, that’s who!!!

 

[IPreferPi]

It's morning in Arizona again for us long-suffering Yotes fans.

 

[awfulwaffle]

Curious about the finances and debt setup now after this.

 

[Grimes]

As a fan, things very very different but in a positive way for once.

 

[Fenway]

As of now, the mega thread is closed

HOWEVER @mouser @Llama19 - There is still the continuing question of the arena.

The Suns and Coyotes need to do what happened in Chicago with the United Center - where both teams are full partners.

Atlanta followed the Chicago blueprint with the then Phillips Arena as did Philadelphia with the Sixers and Flyers but then Atlanta failed when Time-Warner had to sell off their sports properties because of the disastrous merger with AOL.

 

[BnGBear1970]

As of now, the mega thread is closed

HOWEVER @mouser @Llama19 - There is still the continuing question of the arena.

The Suns and Coyotes need to do what happened in Chicago with the United Center - where both teams are full partners.

Atlanta followed the Chicago blueprint with the then Phillips Arena as did Philadelphia with the Sixers and Flyers but then Atlanta failed when Time-Warner had to sell off their sports properties because of the disastrous merger with AOL.

That and getting a concrete plan to fortify their STH base are going to be critical for Meruelo. I can’t help but feel like this is going to be a better situation for the team than at any point since coming down from Winnipeg if he gets those right.

 

[GuelphStormer]

Congratulations!

 

[neelynugs]

congrats coyotes fans. hopefully the new arena gets put in the right place.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

As of now, the mega thread is closed

HOWEVER @mouser @Llama19 - There is still the continuing question of the arena.

The Suns and Coyotes need to do what happened in Chicago with the United Center - where both teams are full partners.

Atlanta followed the Chicago blueprint with the then Phillips Arena as did Philadelphia with the Sixers and Flyers but then Atlanta failed when Time-Warner had to sell off their sports properties because of the disastrous merger with AOL.

Pretty sure the Sixers rent.

 

[Grudy0]

The Suns and Coyotes need to do what happened in Chicago with the United Center - where both teams are full partners.

Atlanta followed the Chicago blueprint with the then Phillips Arena as did Philadelphia with the Sixers and Flyers but then Atlanta failed when Time-Warner had to sell off their sports properties because of the disastrous merger with AOL.

Pretty sure the Sixers rent.

There was a difference between the "Chicago" model and most else being described...

United Center in Chicago was a partnership between separate owners of the Blackhawks (Wirtz) and the Bulls (Reinsdorf). The same actually applied in Dallas as well with the Stars (Hicks) and Mavericks (Cuban).

Philadelphia was different as the Flyers were owned by Comcast and Snider and the Sixers were paying rent in the old building and did not have any skin in the game for the new building. It wasn't until Katz sold the Sixers to Comcast/Snider that both teams had a "partnership".

Atlanta's situation was that the NBA and NHL teams were owned by the same folks when building the arena. It seems to be easy to do when both the NHL and NBA teams are owned by the same folks - MSG has been that way forever with the Rangers and the Knicks; Pollin owned the Wizards and Capitals when partnering with DC to build the now Capital One Arena.

 

[Prarievarg]

Big ups to mr Barroway for making this happen.

 

[Agalloch]

Saw the sale price is 300m... that's low.

Alex Meruelo May Get The Arizona Coyotes For Roughly $300 Million

Alex Meruelo purchase of Coyotes finalized, making him NHL's first Latino majority owner

 

[Mightygoose]

Saw the sale price is 300m... that's low.

Alex Meruelo May Get The Arizona Coyotes For Roughly $300 Million

Alex Meruelo purchase of Coyotes finalized, making him NHL's first Latino majority owner

And that 300 million is mainly debt. Granted I'd like to see a second source from the Forbes report.

Considering no sale price has been mentioned yet after both the approval and the closing announcements is saying something by saying nothing.

 

[rt]

And that 300 million is mainly debt. Granted I'd like to see a second source from the Forbes report.

Considering no sale price has been mentioned yet after both the approval and the closing announcements is saying something by saying nothing.

Yep. It says the Coyotes have been sold. To Alex Meruelo.

 

[Tawnos]

Here's hoping he puts some real money into local marketing... and I don't just mean standard marketing in the local market, but marketing that's specifically geared towards the local market.

Personally, I would love to see that include a return to the original logo with an updated uniform scheme, but I don't know how the existing fans feel about that.

 

[rt]

Here's hoping he puts some real money into local marketing... and I don't just mean standard marketing in the local market, but marketing that's specifically geared towards the local market.

Personally, I would love to see that include a return to the original logo with an updated uniform scheme, but I don't know how the existing fans feel about that.

The existing fans support overwhelmingly a return to the original uniforms. They wear them on Saturday nights for home games. Fans, players and the team have acknowledged how popular they are. Fans are often asking for a full switch, even some players have chimed in and the team has hinted that the message has been received and a switch might be made when eligible.

As far as local marketing goes, one of the defining themes of Alex Meruelo’s career has been outreach to Hispanic communities. Turning the struggling pizza company into a Hispanic themed one and making it a success. The casino he bought is now targeted at catering to Latinos.

There is a lot of speculation that the only way a new arena gets built is with a tribal partnership. If the team can embrace native tribes and the local Hispanic population, while also moving the new arena just the other side of the freeway from Scottsdale, I think that’s a long way to gearing marketing toward the real local market.

I would absolutely love to see the team sponsor youth hockey for tribal kids (on and off the reservation) as well as kids in other underprivileged areas (demographically often Hispanic). I would love to see this ownership change result in not only stability for the team, but as a significant step forward in diversity of the game. I want to see a kid from the Rez get a scholarship to Michigan. I want to see an ESL kid get a full ride to BU. Or even better, stay here and raise ASU up to the level of those other programs.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Congrats Coyotes fans! Very happy for you guys and I hope this guy can be for you what Dundon has been to Hurricanes fans

We need to find an analogue to "Bunch of Jerks" in Cuban slang so that it's ready for Don Cherry's inevitable attack on us on "Coach's Corner."

I only have one question regarding this party.

Who is bringing the tacos?

Welllllllllllll, it will more likely be a "taco pizza" from his Hispanic-flavored pizza chain, but it'll be Meruelo. I'm really interested in trying his chorizo pie.

The Suns and Coyotes need to do what happened in Chicago with the United Center - where both teams are full partners.

I was going to say that you're more likely to see the Coyotes sold to a billionaire who wants to keep the team in Arizona long term than you would be to see Robert Sarver want to make any sort of partnership deal with the Coyotes, but... well...

That said, TSRA is not a good arena for hockey, not even after the renovations. And Sarver, if by some miracle he ever decides that a partnership is attractive, would likely default back to the same awful deal the Coyotes had the first time they were downtown, which was tremendously lopsided against them. The conditions as they stand simply don't favor the two teams sharing a barn.

Here's hoping he puts some real money into local marketing... and I don't just mean standard marketing in the local market, but marketing that's specifically geared towards the local market.

Personally, I would love to see that include a return to the original logo with an updated uniform scheme, but I don't know how the existing fans feel about that.

That's what we all (or most of us) hope - on both counts. Phoenix is just under half Hispanic, demographically speaking (I think I read 42% in a recent story), and it's a hell of an untapped market. Having a Hispanic owner with a history of making a fortune by simply recognizing that demographic bodes well for the future, at least in theory.

As for the uniform, we all want the Kachina back. I love the black Kachina uniform personally, but I'd also love to see something local, like maybe a copper-colored sweater with some turquoise and black accents.

Honestly, though, they could play in short shorts and wife-beaters and I wouldn't care as long as they stay here without any drama for a few years.