News Article: Coyotes Announce Proposed Arena Location (UPD: Spiked by ASU)

[rt]

Quebec is the best non-Phoenix area option.

 

[Sinurgy]

Meh that's just Dreger giving his opinion, nothing about that says insider knowledge.

 

[Plub]

Eh, it's the worst for the fans of the team. Dealing with the ******** obnoxious dults that are inevitably going to think they know more about our team than we do because they are from QC.

Just not worth putting up with. Whoever the casters/announcers are likely to be will inevitably **** on us that have stuck with this team any chance they can. I don't expect them to show the respect we did to former Jet fans when the team moved here.

 

[Sinurgy]

Quebec is the best non-Phoenix area option.

I really hope they don't end up in Quebec, that will suck so bad.

 

[Coyotes2000]

The only thing Dreger is right about is the team moving East

 

[Summer Rose]

I wouldn't mind Quebec at all, because I speak French. They'd instantly become fun to hate even though I've been boycotting the Habs after the Subban trade.

 

[WrinkledPossum]

Dreger, Friedman, and McKenzie know a great deal more than they will ever publicly let on. For him to transition straight to Quebec after invoking the Coyotes is very telling. The question didn't involve either ("What's going to happen next? A team relocating or a 32nd team being added? Who is most likely to be relocated.")

He transitioned to the only vacant NHL ready arena in North America. Not hinting at anything special. Anybody can figure out what he said.

There's a team that's future is questionable.
Where is there an NHL ready arena?
Quebec.

That's it.


And Quebec would be the worst option for the team to relocate. Fans there are the most disrespectful/annoying out of any of the potential relocation spots that have rumored over the years. After how many of them have acted I'd love to see their fancy new arena funded by western Canada deteriorate with only ever having a QMJHL team play in it.

If the team moves I'd like for them to stay in the west. Fans from Seattle haven't been hostile, they've dealt with losing a team before.

 

[XX]

He transitioned to the only vacant NHL ready arena in North America. Not hinting at anything special. Anybody can figure out what he said.

Quebec isn't the only city able or even wanting to take a team this summer, not even counting Vegas. Don't think you've been paying attention.

The only thing Dreger is right about is the team moving East

Hot air doesn't fund new arenas, unfortunately.

 

[RemoAZ]

This arena drama just drains the desire to spend money on the team for me (which could very well be their plan to justify the move). I don't have season tickets anymore but I still have continued to spend a lot on tickets and gear. Bought a new cap and shirt right after Christmas but I canceled my plans for tickets tomorrow and next Saturday even though next Saturday was to have some fun on my bday. I doubt I'll watch any more hockey after they move and my love of sports will dwindle even more. I pretty much only watch NHL and NFL anymore as it is.

 

[Matias Maccete]

This arena drama just drains the desire to spend money on the team for me (which could very well be their plan to justify the move). I don't have season tickets anymore but I still have continued to spend a lot on tickets and gear. Bought a new cap and shirt right after Christmas but I canceled my plans for tickets tomorrow and next Saturday even though next Saturday was to have some fun on my bday. I doubt I'll watch any more hockey after they move and my love of sports will dwindle even more. I pretty much only watch NHL and NFL anymore as it is.

I'd give asu hockey a shot. College hockey is great, the asu games at GRA were very very entertaining.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

The only thing Dreger is right about is the team moving East

I really hope you're right. I've been going to games for almost 20 years and there'd be a big hole in my life if they left. That said, this is once again a case of "Show me the money." The West Valley politicos in the Legislature will torpedo any attempt to get a tax district going for the Coyotes, and they ought to know that by now. That leaves our friends the Native American nations. I know that the Gila River Community has no love for Phoenix, so maybe they build an arena.

 

[WrinkledPossum]

Quebec isn't the only city able or even wanting to take a team this summer, not even counting Vegas. Don't think you've been paying attention.

What other cities are there that have a possible owner in place and an arena that is ready? Seattle? No arena. Portland? Is there an owner? Hartford? No arena.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

Quebec is the best non-Phoenix area option.

If the NHL had any interest in Quebec, they would have a team by now. Given the CDN, I doubt that they want another Canadian team.

 

[RemoAZ]

If the NHL had any interest in Quebec, they would have a team by now. Given the CDN, I doubt that they want another Canadian team.

The good thing about them getting a team though is we will never have to hear how much Quebec deserves a team again. That would be wonderful.

 

[XX]

What other cities are there that have a possible owner in place and an arena that is ready? Seattle? No arena. Portland? Is there an owner? Hartford? No arena.

Paul Allen would own the team in Portland and has been wanting one for awhile. He has even attempted to get the Coyotes before. It all depends on the price. Seattle has a very moneyed group that would acquire the team and put them in a transitional facility, because the MOU for a new arena includes an NHL team. Houston may be interested at the same price of Portland. Kansas City. Hartford is actively pitching the league.

There's more than one landing spot for the Coyotes. Your "counter point" was wrong.

If the NHL had any interest in Quebec, they would have a team by now. Given the CDN, I doubt that they want another Canadian team.

The CAD is why Quebec is likely to take a team like the Coyotes rather than ever pay the expansion price.

 

[_Del_]

Quebecor doesn't want to spend $500M US for an expansion team with this exchange rate. That doesn't mean they don't want a team. I would assume there is mutual interest. And if the league decides to end this charade and solve two problems at once, they'll be gone in June.
There are other locations that could take the team as well.
It really depends on how likely the NHL thinks a new arena is, and how long IA and the NHL decide to wait. Also, the way this is all playing out makes me reevaluate the 5-yr out-clause conspiracy theories. Placeholder owners funded by the NHL LOC let's the league stand firm on expansion fees and cash out that way keeping the Coyotes off the table until that dust settles and then they can reevaluate relocation options against staying.
My guess is that the NHL actually wants to keep the market, but they don't want to break the precendent of taxpayer's fronting new arena costs as they've been doing for decades. So if the numbers say they can't survive the wait for Glendale to grow out, and they can't get public money for another arena, a relocation fee and washing LeBlanc from the roster of NHL ownership probably starts looking pretty attractive as an alternative. And forcing these guys out is probably as easy as closing the LOC and denying them market relocation. They aren't deep enough to find an alternative to a sale.

 

[_Del_]

The CAD is why Quebec is likely to take a team like the Coyotes rather than ever pay the expansion price.

Exactly. I think the league would prefer soaking them for an expansion fee, but it's also a ready made out if they decide to move the Coyotes.
Lots of places have pitched teams. They just don't like the league's valuation. The Coyotes' value is artificially inflated by the NHL LOC. If they decide to bail on AZ, IA will have to deal in real dollars not wish dollars. That's why I think the NHL would prefer to keep the market. The valuation affects other teams' values as well.
Maybe IA "settles" for retaining ownership of the AHL franchise and selling the NHL franchise if the league closes the door on the market. They've made out well no matter how this plays out.

 

[WrinkledPossum]

Paul Allen would own the team in Portland and has been wanting one for awhile. He has even attempted to get the Coyotes before. It all depends on the price. Seattle has a very moneyed group that would acquire the team and put them in a transitional facility, because the MOU for a new arena includes an NHL team. Houston may be interested at the same price of Portland. Kansas City. Hartford is actively pitching the league.

So just Portland then?

Seattle isn't close. The aren't even approved to build a new arena. They're still having to go through government crap. It sounds like their mayor doesn't want it. And Key Arena is also a mess. No way a team could be there for next season.

Hartoford isn't happening anytime soon. Their current arena is junk, and they're at least 3 years away from a new one.

And Kansas and Houston are the typical tier 2, non serious relocation spots that always get floated. Really doubt anything happens there. Surprised you didn't also mention Halifax and Saskatoon...

 

[Bonsai Tree]

The CAD is why Quebec is likely to take a team like the Coyotes rather than ever pay the expansion price.

Good point.

 

[cobra427]

The NHL, which is really the NHL owners, want a new market to pay 500 mill+ for the next team. They won't screw that up by letting the coyotes move. The NHL, which is effectively 30 owners, could lend the Coyotes 30 mill a year for the next 3 years, or 1 mill per owner to keep the Coyotes in the Phoenix area. In the next 3 years, maybe less, the NHL will collect another franchise fee of 500-600 mill. 600 mill divided by 30 owners is 20 mill each.

The math for an existing owner: Do I lend 1 mill per year for the next 3 years to support the Coyotes in Arizona? In 3 years, I have 3 mill in debt, but I pocket 20 mill from the next franchise sale. If the Coyotes move now for free, it could kill the 20 mill I would get for the next franchise, and decrease the value of my NHL team. My team value would go down by way more then 20 mill if this happens.

If the Coyotes have to move in 3 years once any expansion is over, I will be in a first position with my 3 mill in debt, so I get paid back.

It is a pretty safe loan for each owner and this is why, in my opinion, it makes sense to keep the team in Arizona. 30 NHL owners are making this decision as to if and when the Coyotes are moving, not IA or any interested buyers in other markets.

 

[WrinkledPossum]

The NHL, which is really the NHL owners, want a new market to pay 500 mill+ for the next team. They won't screw that up by letting the coyotes move. The NHL, which is effectively 30 owners, could lend the Coyotes 30 mill a year for the next 3 years, or 1 mill per owner to keep the Coyotes in the Phoenix area. In the next 3 years, maybe less, the NHL will collect another franchise fee of 500-600 mill. 600 mill divided by 30 owners is 20 mill each.

The math for an existing owner: Do I lend 1 mill per year for the next 3 years to support the Coyotes in Arizona? In 3 years, I have 3 mill in debt, but I pocket 20 mill from the next franchise sale. If the Coyotes move now for free, it could kill the 20 mill I would get for the next franchise, and decrease the value of my NHL team. My team value would go down by way more then 20 mill if this happens.

If the Coyotes have to move in 3 years once any expansion is over, I will be in a first position with my 3 mill in debt, so I get paid back.

It is a pretty safe loan for each owner and this is why, in my opinion, it makes sense to keep the team in Arizona. 30 NHL owners are making this decision as to if and when the Coyotes are moving, not IA or any interested buyers in other markets.

Yeah I don't see the team moving soon. Especially after this season. After next? It could be a possibility. But I think the NHL will tell IA to keep re-upping the lease with Glendale. I could even see them becoming owners again and starting the whole ownership search saga again..

 

[XX]

Yeah I don't see the team moving soon. Especially after this season. After next? It could be a possibility. But I think the NHL will tell IA to keep re-upping the lease with Glendale. I could even see them becoming owners again and starting the whole ownership search saga again..

Quebec likely won't ever pay the expansion price. Probably not Seattle either. Instead of lending money, the owners can mint a top 10 in revenue team overnight and solve one of their headaches for good. It also removes one potential available franchise from circulation, making expansion more realistic for the remaining markets where they could potentially cash in.

There are cheap owners that don't want to lend a dime to AZ and resent sharing revenue in the first place. There was even a bit of a fuss over who got to use the NHL's LOC. Arizona is a novelty and that's not enough to save the Coyotes from relocation just because. There needs to be a plan and a business case. If every potential partner ices you out and you can't get legislative support for special funding, you're toast. The NHL can't dig up a billionaire that wants to keep the team in AZ. Guys own teams as toys, and there's few teams with less cache than the Coyotes, and most of them don't bleed upwards of 30 million a year.

There's no magic potion here unless the Salt River tribes suddenly have a change of heart and the league is okay with the challenges that come with tribal land.

IA is not a group that can lose "alarming amounts of money" for long.

I'll take Leblanc at his word that they're discussing "things" since the Tempe arena fell through and those things are how to navigate a sale to another market with the NHL being made whole with their chunk of the debt.

 

[Jakey53]

The only thing Dreger is right about is the team moving East

I agree.

 

[cobra427]

Yeah I don't see the team moving soon. Especially after this season. After next? It could be a possibility. But I think the NHL will tell IA to keep re-upping the lease with Glendale. I could even see them becoming owners again and starting the whole ownership search saga again..

The NHL just landed a 500 mill expansion fee for a team 300 miles away. The NHL had to give Vegas assurances that the Coyotes were not for sale and if they ever were for sale, they weren't leaving the Phoenix market any time soon. They would be screwing Vegas and any chance of a future franchise fee in the next 5 years if they let the Coyotes move. When you do the math, the Coyotes are not moving, it doesn't make sense for the other owners.

 

[CrashBartley]

The NHL just landed a 500 mill expansion fee for a team 300 miles away. The NHL had to give Vegas assurances that the Coyotes were not for sale and if they ever were for sale, they weren't leaving the Phoenix market any time soon. They would be screwing Vegas and any chance of a future franchise fee in the next 5 years if they let the Coyotes move. When you do the math, the Coyotes are not moving, it doesn't make sense for the other owners.

I'm not disagreeing with you and you're obviously closer to the situation than I am, but where did you hear/see that? I don't remember hearing those assurances.