Glendale and Ice Arizona Agree on New Lease - City Council Passes It.

[Matias Maccete]

It's not. The Suns are getting a new arena with or without the Coyotes. With the Salt River tribe ready to take the team should Sarver not get what he wants, the city of Phoenix can lean on the Suns to help the Coyotes only so much. There is no reason for Sarver to cut the Coyotes in on the action unless he gets something in return, most likely of which is a reduced or eliminated construction equity cost to him. The present value of this favor would have to exceed the expected value of all the usual revenue streams over the life of the building that he'd lose by welcoming another major tenant*.

the tl;dr is that Phoenix would have to give the Suns one hell of a deal to even open the door for the hockey team.

Given that, there is a much better (but still remote) chance that Sarver shows interest in or is offered the hockey team, or a majority stake, in the interest of streamlining revenue. Most buildings do not have two major tenants that happily coexist unless they are owned and operated by the same entity. Dallas is an exception, and could be the model, but the Coyotes do not have exceptionally wealthy owners, so their ability to pick up construction costs as the Stars did is very limited, if nonexistent.

The NHL, for their part, can ease the debt obligations of the team and make it an attractive purchase to keep it in the valley. Or they could do nothing and turn a profit on the team by allowing it to move. The City of Phoenix can talk about the Coyotes all they want, but it is just talk. They do not have the finances or the political capital with the Suns to make it a slam dunk. Sarver currently has no interest in owning the hockey team and diluting his revenue share. No building is slated to be built in the near future - the future where the Coyotes can definitely exist. A new building is more likely to be five or more years away, not two, requiring even more maneuvering for the transition plan should Glendale kick the Coyotes out.

The Coyotes have to fix or find a solution to all of the above in less than two years.

I guess there exists the possibility the Coyotes do baller business, give Glendale no reason to become arena manager, and negotiate a nice extension. How likely this is in the shadow of relocation and with the likely performance of the team on and off the ice, is up to how much of an optimist you are.



It's only easier if the Coyotes have construction money to offer. They don't. So they can offer a majority ownership stake as collateral, diluting IA's position, so that the Suns and the Coyotes become one and the same. That really only comes into play if Sarver is interested in what Phoenix will offer in exchange + the team itself.

It gives us another pipe dream at least. I'll put it this way, if there's nothing announced arena wise phoenix isn't an option at all, if it is it's on the table. Maybe not likely, but possible.

 

[Matias Maccete]

How good is Talking Stick for hockey on a temporary basis (2-3 years)? Is that workable in terms of how much ticket revenue that can be generated with the seats that are not obstructed?

I've gotta think 2 to 3 years would be very rough. One year stopgap maybe.

 

[The Grocery Stick]

It wasn't good in '96 and it certainly hasn't improved with age. And if the Coyotes are there for two or three years then it's going to be a BIG hit on their finances.

Honest question here because I probably don't understand all the particulars and there was obviously a reason they left AWA but wouldn't 16,000 seats in Phoenix be sufficient capacity (at least temporarily) for the 13,000 on average showing up in Glendale? Is there any analysis around how much the attendance would be bumped if the team was downtown again? First 3 years of existence attendance was around 15,500. Wouldn't 2,500 additional people a game times the price of admission mean a financial gain?

 

[XX]

Honest question here because I probably don't understand all the particulars and there was obviously a reason they left AWA but wouldn't 16,000 seats in Phoenix be sufficient capacity (at least temporarily) for the 13,000 on average showing up in Glendale? Is there any analysis around how much the attendance would be bumped if the team was downtown again? First 3 years of existence attendance was around 15,500. Wouldn't 2,500 additional people a game times the price of admission mean a financial gain?

It's more about access to to revenue than the capacity itself.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Honest question here because I probably don't understand all the particulars and there was obviously a reason they left AWA but wouldn't 16,000 seats in Phoenix be sufficient capacity (at least temporarily) for the 13,000 on average showing up in Glendale? Is there any analysis around how much the attendance would be bumped if the team was downtown again? First 3 years of existence attendance was around 15,500. Wouldn't 2,500 people a game times the price of admission mean a financial gain?

It's not a question of capacity. Talking Stick has a higher seating capacity than Gila River Arena even with the obstructed seats. But the attendance - assuming for the moment that moving downtown automagically adds 2,500 fans per game, which is certainly debatable from an objective point of view - is only one part of the equation.

The biggest red light is that at Talking Stick the Coyotes would be renting from the Suns and would have no control over any revenue streams outside of ticket sales (and who knows what kind of surcharges the Suns would add). The team lost millions of dollars the last time they shared a building with the Suns, and this time the Suns would have the Coyotes over a barrel.

People have to understand that this miraculous option of partnering with the Suns at some bright new palace of sports in the Promised Land is nowhere near as simple as packing moving vans and moving to Valhalla.

 

[kihekah19*]

Sorry doom & gloomer's.... 6.25 million is chicken feed, in the overall scope of things.

So what if the COG is stupid enough to hire a new manager, after a year the team will be in a great position to negotiate as a 40 plus date anchor tennant.

 

[AZviaNJ]

Sorry doom & gloomer's.... 6.25 million is chicken feed, in the overall scope of things.

So what if the COG is stupid enough to hire a new manager, after a year the team will be in a great position to negotiate as a 40 plus date anchor tennant.

Excellent point. Leblanc just said on Burns and Gambo that they're losing money as the Arena Mgr. Also said, if he had to guess, they'd be playing in Glendale in 3 years.

 

[kihekah19*]

Excellent point. Leblanc just said on Burns and Gambo that they're losing money as the Arena Mgr. Also said, if he had to guess, they'd be playing in Glendale in 3 years.

I would guess the same.

 

[ClassLessCoyote]

Does this deal hurt or help or chances at getting the ASG?

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Does this deal hurt or help or chances at getting the ASG?

We're not getting anything from the league - draft, ASG, stadium series, etc. - so long as this short-term situation stands.

 

[Howler Scores]

GRR. They are talking about trying to get a new deal in 6 months. More Glendale meetings...fun

 

[mouser]

This deal is clearly lopsided in favor of COG. I can only assume IA has some plan in the works or their legal case was much worse than was popularly believed. The explanation that this two year deal will remove the cloud of uncertainty doesn't pass the smell test.

IMO the biggest factor may be that the current CoG council mix is now hostile towards the Coyotes. If I were IA I wouldn't be that excited about a long term agreement with a hostile council.

 

[Murf]

If they have to wait for a new stadium, they should play at the Coliseum, go all retro uniforms, have the players grow 70's porn staches, serve Schlitz and High Life. It would seat about as many people as are showing up to the games now, but would be a full building.

 

[RemoAZ]

If they have to wait for a new stadium, they should play at the Coliseum, go all retro uniforms, have the players grow 70's porn staches, serve Schlitz and High Life. It would seat about as many people as are showing up to the games now, but would be a full building.

Solid! They could sell the crap out of mullet wigs too.

 

[RemoAZ]

If you haven't listened to LeBlanc's Q&A, Here it is:
http://video.coyotes.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=1154&id=832667&lang=en&navid=DL|ARI|home

Have to agree when he said if they wanted to leave, the city made it easy to do this year. They chose not to. His comment about the marketing staff being great is BS though. They still have no clue how to market this team to Arizona fans.

 

[jacobhockey13]

Solid! They could sell the crap out of mullet wigs too.

Dylan Strome grows a mean mullet.

 

[XX]

Have to agree when he said if they wanted to leave, the city made it easy to do this year. They chose not to.

The league has to allow them to move, which clearly they weren't going to do, given what is at stake during expansion. Now, it's wide open.

 

[Jakey53]

Excellent point. Leblanc just said on Burns and Gambo that they're losing money as the Arena Mgr. Also said, if he had to guess, they'd be playing in Glendale in 3 years.

I would guess the same.

That is probably how it will unfold. I still think it could work with the Suns, when they get a new arena.

 

[DesertDawg]

I would be extremely happy at either location.

I wonder about ASU, weren't they considering building a smaller arena? Maybe they could work something out to make it a 17,000 seat hockey arena.

I thought about that too, maybe as an arena for the pups (if smaller). I still think Greyhound Park would be an ideal place for the new arena.
Maybe for ASU Lacrosse too!

Sorry doom & gloomer's.... 6.25 million is chicken feed, in the overall scope of things.

So what if the COG is stupid enough to hire a new manager, after a year the team will be in a great position to negotiate as a 40 plus date anchor tenant.

I can't help but think if the CoG pulls this **** then the team is as good as gone.

 

[Jakey53]

If they have to wait for a new stadium, they should play at the Coliseum, go all retro uniforms, have the players grow 70's porn staches, serve Schlitz and High Life. It would seat about as many people as are showing up to the games now, but would be a full building.

That's funny. The good old days.

 

[Jakey53]

I thought about that too, maybe as an arena for the pups (if smaller). I still think Greyhound Park would be an ideal place for the new arena.
Maybe for ASU Lacrosse too!



I can't help but think if the CoG pulls this **** then the team is as good as gone.

Greyhound Park is centralized, but man, what a crappy area.

 

[awfulwaffle]

I thought about that too, maybe as an arena for the pups (if smaller). I still think Greyhound Park would be an ideal place for the new arena.
Maybe for ASU Lacrosse too!



I can't help but think if the CoG pulls this **** then the team is as good as gone.

If I remember, the new arena manager has to allow the coyotes to play for no rent right? Can a new manager say "no you have to pay rent" - or is that in the clause that the coyotes have to play if they sign on to be the arena managers?

 

[rt]

If they have to wait for a new stadium, they should play at the Coliseum, go all retro uniforms, have the players grow 70's porn staches, serve Schlitz and High Life. It would seat about as many people as are showing up to the games now, but would be a full building.

Hipster college students would flock. They'd just dump all of their monies into it. Mostly bit coins and peer to peer PayPal. But still...

 

[rt]

Greyhound Park is centralized, but man, what a crappy area.

The surrounding entertainment district would serve as revitalization.

 

[rt]

Dylan Strome grows a mean mullet.

He never should've cut his hair or shaved. He looked awesome like a hillbilly meth cook slash moonshine distiller.