Phoenix CIX: C IX Run, Run IX Run

[JimAnchower]

Didnt they pay them the full amount up-front in July?... And ya, Glendale just receives the sales tax, their portion thereof of every transaction, be it parking, tickets, concessions, merchandise sales or whatever in & around the building. IceAz who last year submitted somewhere around (if memory serves) $6.5M (?) to Glendale now keeps all of that so in reality over the year they'll still be raking in about $15M if they maintain last years pace & volumes. An excellent deal really as that $6.5M from Glendale is beyond generous, over 3X's what they should be paying an Arena Manager followed by a heavily incentivized back-end commission & bonus structure which would then be capped. All profits thereafter going to the city but simultaneously receiving remissions in the form of ticket surcharges, parking revenues & so on.

I have a feeling the city is going to look at those ticket and parking surcharges as "Either we keep them or nobody does." in any future deal. That probably isn't a problem for SMG, but it would be a problem for IA.

 

[Llama19]

Didnt they pay them the full amount up-front in July?...

Nope...still paid quarterly and no payment has been posted (see my previous post)...

And ya, Glendale just receives the sales tax, their portion thereof of every transaction, be it parking, tickets, concessions, merchandise sales or whatever in & around the building. IceAz who last year submitted somewhere around (if memory serves) $6.5M (?) to Glendale now keeps all of that so in reality over the year they'll still be raking in about $15M if they maintain last years pace & volumes.

For the last two years, direct arena total revenue back to Glendale has been between $12.1-to-$12.8 million (an average of $6-to-6.4 million), depending on which figures are used, the Monthly Arena Reports or the Follow Your MONEY figures...

Source: icearizona.org

And, based on this web site, the countdown continues...

 

[Killion]

^^^ Thanks Llama. So yes, they could collect including the $6.5M from the COG around $12M, $13.5M or thereabouts give or take. Does very little for the City in providing any relief short term but at least their in drivers seat. No idea why they havent posted the first 1/4 payment though. Either a clerical oversite or maybe theres sumthin goin on huh?

 

[TheLegend]

The city should have posted a $1.5 million quarterly payment to IceArizona, but hasn't...

Also, IceArizona is still paying Sales Taxes (i.e., inside arena sales) and arena fees (e.g., security), which we know is very little...

As far as ticket surcharges, etc. (per #2 Statement of Intent in the agreement) that is now all IceArizona's...

And, others think IceArizona is in a position to 'negotiate' to play/stay/collect somewhere else in Arizona...

IIRC... the new lease agreement removed Glendale's right to audit the team among removing any revenue sharing with the city outlined in the previous lease. So any "Follow Your Money" entries to measure what the team "might" be doing are quite useless at this point.

 

[Killion]

IIRC... the new lease agreement removed Glendale's right to audit the team among removing any revenue sharing with the city outlined in the previous lease. So any "Follow Your Money" entries to measure what the team "might" be doing are quite useless at this point.

Yes. I think Llamas' question though is why (?) hasnt the City posted that they've paid IA the first 1/4 installment on the $6.5M AMF on their Follow Your Money page.... perhaps TL.... youd be kind enough to drop by... 5850 West Glendale Avenue, Suite 302... Finance Department... ask em' wat up....

 

[aqib]

Might want to clean your crystal ball....

In 2008, when the Cardinals went to the Super Bowl, the Coyotes (under Gretzky) averaged 14,873 (83.6%) and were 13th in the conference.

Don't think the Cardinals are going to affect the Coyotes as much as where the Coyotes are in the standings at that point. The arena manager situation isn't going to play much either given how many years the franchise has had some sort of off-ice drama.

I should mention that the national news media has done an about-face on the Cardinals and now says that the only reason they have 4 wins is because they had a light schedule. So the Coyotes shouldn't have to worry about them once the playoffs start.

I should also mention that in Arizona, being an O6 team is not an automatic draw. Make whatever hay you wish out of that (ANOTHER NOTCH AGAINST THIS TERRIBLE MARKET BLARGHAHRARGH).

A few things:

1) its Coyotes fans who every year when attendance gets off to a slow start that it will pick up after football season ends.

2) The Cardinals have an easy division so they will have at least one home playoff game

3) As for as O6 teams being the draw that's also based on what Yotes fans have been posting over the years. Also, they have been better draws over the years.

 

[blues10]

Ya, I thought so. Thanks for confirming that Jim.



Didnt they pay them the full amount up-front in July?... And ya, Glendale just receives the sales tax, their portion thereof of every transaction, be it parking, tickets, concessions, merchandise sales or whatever in & around the building. IceAz who last year submitted somewhere around (if memory serves) $6.5M (?) to Glendale now keeps all of that so in reality over the year they'll still be raking in about $15M if they maintain last years pace & volumes. An excellent deal really as that $6.5M from Glendale is beyond generous, over 3X's what they should be paying an Arena Manager followed by a heavily incentivized back-end commission & bonus structure which would then be capped. All profits thereafter going to the city but simultaneously receiving remissions in the form of ticket surcharges, parking revenues & so on.

Is this the same parking map as last season?

Free parking is offered on Gila River Arena concert nights and Arizona Coyotes hockey game nights at Westgate Entertainment District highlighted lots.

http://westgateaz.com/visitorinfo/event-parking/

 

[JimAnchower]

Is this the same parking map as last season?



http://westgateaz.com/visitorinfo/event-parking/

There is free and pay parking.

http://coyotes.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=100588

 

[blues10]

There is free and pay parking.

http://coyotes.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=100588

Yes, so were these lots free last season and the paid parking and free lots have remained exactly the same? I have not been to the arena in 5 years.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

A few things:

1) its Coyotes fans who every year when attendance gets off to a slow start that it will pick up after football season ends.

2) The Cardinals have an easy division so they will have at least one home playoff game

3) As for as O6 teams being the draw that's also based on what Yotes fans have been posting over the years. Also, they have been better draws over the years.

A few responses:

1) It's some Coyotes fans who say that. Not all, or even a majority of them. Please don't paint us all with such a broad brush.

2) If they do, good for them. I'll be watching... on TV. I've been to exactly one game in that giant concrete turd and that's enough for me. How a stadium can be so nice on the outside and so unfriendly and cold on the inside, I'll never know. GRA is the exact opposite, IMO.

3) O6 teams do draw more than, say, Columbus or Florida, but to say they're "automatic draws" is too much of a generalization. The O6 teams that can be said to be "automatic" are teams like Detroit and Chicago, largely because of the enormous number of transplants from there - but teams like Boston, Toronto, and Montreal are not consistent year-to-year from what I've seen.

 

[Llama19]

...O6 teams do draw more than, say, Columbus or Florida, but to say they're "automatic draws" is too much of a generalization. The O6 teams that can be said to be "automatic" are teams like Detroit and Chicago, largely because of the enormous number of transplants from there - but teams like Boston, Toronto, and Montreal are not consistent year-to-year from what I've seen.

By Season (17,125 = 100%)

Boston - 17,459 (2011/12), 17,468 (2013/14), 13,114 (2014/15), 13,411 (2015/16)
Toronto - 14,476 (2013/14), 14,202 (2014/15)
Montreal - 14,138 (2011/12), 15,282 (2013/14), 14,094 (2014/15)

Source: icearizona.org

 

[Killion]

If they do, good for them. I'll be watching... on TV. I've been to exactly one game in that giant concrete turd and that's enough for me. How a stadium can be so nice on the outside and so unfriendly and cold on the inside, I'll never know. GRA is the exact opposite, IMO.

.... thats unusual TFP. UofP Stadium ranks very highly amongst fans, most giving it 4.5 or 5 Stars. The only negatives being getting in & leaving. Takes quite awhile, patience required. But with the dome, full a/c blasting away, natural grass, fabulous sightlines, tonnes of good food & beer vendors (and washrooms) Ive heard & read nothing but raves reviews. And thats from people who have been to dozens of others throughout the US.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

By Season (17,125 = 100%)

Boston - 17,459 (2011/12), 17,468 (2013/14), 13,114 (2014/15), 13,411 (2015/16)
Toronto - 14,476 (2013/14), 14,202 (2014/15)
Montreal - 14,138 (2011/12), 15,282 (2013/14), 14,094 (2014/15)

Source: icearizona.org

Well, Toronto seems fairly consistent, but Montreal has a 1000-fan swing from year to year and Boston fell off the map after 2013/2014. Those stats do fall in line with my thought on non-DET/CHI O6 teams drawing though.

.... thats unusual TFP. UofP Stadium ranks very highly amongst fans, most giving it 4.5 or 5 Stars. The only negatives being getting in & leaving. Takes quite awhile, patience required. But with the dome, full a/c blasting away, natural grass, fabulous sightlines, tonnes of good food & beer vendors (and washrooms) Ive heard & read nothing but raves reviews. And thats from people who have been to dozens of others throughout the US.

Great, good for them. Maybe I'm spoiled by college stadiums and hockey arenas. All I know is that UoP Stadium had all of the ambiance of a crypt when I saw a game there, and my kids agreed (also spoiled by hockey tho; they kept complaining about how much time they wasted between plays and how hockey players were far superior athletes... I raised them right).

 

[Llama19]

.... thats unusual TFP. UofP Stadium ranks very highly amongst fans, most giving it 4.5 or 5 Stars. The only negatives being getting in & leaving. Takes quite awhile, patience required. But with the dome, full a/c blasting away, natural grass, fabulous sightlines, tonnes of good food & beer vendors (and washrooms) Ive heard & read nothing but raves reviews. And thats from people who have been to dozens of others throughout the US.

UoP is a state-of-the-art stadium, and significantly increased, for the Bidwills, the overall value of the franchise (Forbes uses the cost of the stadium in their valuation calculation)...

However, now that Glendale has bought the (Pendergast) farm, for surface parking, the ingress/regress for games will just get worse (not that a multi-level parking garage would have been any better) coming in/out on 91st Avenue...

To quote:

"The city is required to provide 6,000 parking spaces at Westgate Entertainment District as part of the 2002 development agreement for events at the stadium, and 5,500 spaces for events, such as hockey games and concerts, at the arena.

“We’ll be able to fulfill those contracts,” [Mayor Jerry] Weiers said.

“One of the things, right off the bat, that is well accomplished, is close to half a million dollars that we’ll save in just busing people during the football games, from the brown lot [previously Hickman's Egg Farm next to Kellis High School]. That’s going to be a huge savings,” he added."

Source: http://www.glendalestar.com/news/article_3dc890d0-7839-11e5-a48d-bf06235a4db6.html

 

[TheLegend]

UoP is a state-of-the-art stadium, and significantly increased, for the Bidwills, the overall value of the franchise (Forbes uses the cost of the stadium in their valuation calculation)...

However, now that Glendale has bought the (Pendergast) farm, for surface parking, the ingress/regress for games will just get worse (not that a multi-level parking garage would have been any better) coming in/out on 91st Avenue...

To quote:

"The city is required to provide 6,000 parking spaces at Westgate Entertainment District as part of the 2002 development agreement for events at the stadium, and 5,500 spaces for events, such as hockey games and concerts, at the arena.

“We’ll be able to fulfill those contracts,†[Mayor Jerry] Weiers said.

“One of the things, right off the bat, that is well accomplished, is close to half a million dollars that we’ll save in just busing people during the football games, from the brown lot [previously Hickman's Egg Farm next to Kellis High School]. That’s going to be a huge savings,†he added."

Source: http://www.glendalestar.com/news/article_3dc890d0-7839-11e5-a48d-bf06235a4db6.html

Spend $23 million (plus paving costs) to save $500k per year (busing people less than 2 miles per game).... so it'll take them from 11-14 years to make it pay for itself. And in the process take out some prime real estate that could get them far more return if it were developed.

But then that'll be another city council's problem by then.

 

[madhi19]

Yes indeed. And since 1917, despite themselves. Problem is, theyve missed so many boats over the years, continue to do so, they couldve circumnavigated the globe well over 1000 X's if their success hadnt been & continues to be stunted by greed. As self appointed stewards of the game at the highest level & unfortunately emulated by the CHL & elite amateur, absolutely abysmal failures. What they cant handle is any serious light being shone on their activities, the webs of deceit they weave. Its then they turn into Bullies. Most people posting here are not your average fans, their the creme de la creme of fans be it by team, by league, playing the game themselves, historically, the business end of the stick etc. No time for Bullies, know how to handle them, know when their being lied to, misled, know when the NHL's messing up be it the Rules, the CBA, their own teams ownership, management, ownership or players, Toronto, Boston, Arizona or whatever wherever. And while the percentile overall might be small in comparisons to the hundreds of millions of fans of the game & the NHL worldwide, as the stewards of the league just as in any sports or entertainment property & presentation you owe it to your audience to be absolutely 110% honest & forthright in your practices & delivery. To not take any part of that audience for granted. Not even one person. Show some respect. Their paying your bills and but for about 2% not living anywhere nearly as large as most everyone earning a living, making $$$ through the NHL.



Yeah, all good points, those are the questions to which we seek answers. Not getting any. Just more smoke from LeBlanc and that aint good but whats he going to say? If he just comes right out with "yes, unfortunately we will be moving out of state at the end of this season" attendance would absolutely crater. Take a bigger bath & financial hit then they already are. All kinds of explaining to do thereafter by IA, Bettman & the NHL, get real messy. So thats the cover~story. "Were committed to Arizona & plan stay in-state". Fine. Where? "Were working on it, no further comment at this time". Theyve got 3 choices;

1) Stay at GRA, try & workout the best possible deal they can with the new Arena Manager.

2) Move downtown to Talking Stick Arena, try & work out the best possible deal they can with the Suns et al, work towards the development of a new facility either downtown or in Scottsdale.

3) Move into the old War Vets Memorial Arena, retro-fit it, fix it up, play out of that grand old barn, the original "saddledome", one time home to the WHA & IHL Roadrunners. The place they shouldve moved into back in 96. This whole mess of a situation completely avoided.

Any one of these options is going to cost them sizable amounts of money, money they dont have. They dont have that kind of wealth and unless someone comes along who's prepared to drop bails of it, those 3 options not really options at all.

To be fair it not like Leblanc got any choices or say in the matter. He was told to sit on it for a year, and that's that. So he's buying time, can't blame him for it. When fans realize it really is a lame duck year things will get ugly fast. The longer you can dance around this mess the more money you save.

 

[aqib]

To be fair it not like Leblanc got any choices or say in the matter. He was told to sit on it for a year, and that's that. So he's buying time, can't blame him for it. When fans realize it really is a lame duck year things will get ugly fast. The longer you can dance around this mess the more money you save.

In one of the radio interviews posted here after the revised AMF was agreed to he was asked by the host why he should commit to the team and LeBlanc told them if they don't have a long term deal at the end of next season he shouldn't commit.

 

[Whileee]

Yeah, all good points, those are the questions to which we seek answers. Not getting any. Just more smoke from LeBlanc and that aint good but whats he going to say? If he just comes right out with "yes, unfortunately we will be moving out of state at the end of this season" attendance would absolutely crater. Take a bigger bath & financial hit then they already are. All kinds of explaining to do thereafter by IA, Bettman & the NHL, get real messy. So thats the cover~story. "Were committed to Arizona & plan stay in-state". Fine. Where? "Were working on it, no further comment at this time". Theyve got 3 choices;

1) Stay at GRA, try & workout the best possible deal they can with the new Arena Manager.

2) Move downtown to Talking Stick Arena, try & work out the best possible deal they can with the Suns et al, work towards the development of a new facility either downtown or in Scottsdale.

3) Move into the old War Vets Memorial Arena, retro-fit it, fix it up, play out of that grand old barn, the original "saddledome", one time home to the WHA & IHL Roadrunners. The place they shouldve moved into back in 96. This whole mess of a situation completely avoided.

Any one of these options is going to cost them sizable amounts of money, money they dont have. They dont have that kind of wealth and unless someone comes along who's prepared to drop bails of it, those 3 options not really options at all.

Best option is working out a lease at GRA, and it's probably not close. They could almost certainly end up with as much of the non-hockey arena revenue as they can generate, and likely would add a tidy arena management fee, with very little or no rent.

Why would the current owners / anchor tenants at the Talking Stick want to subsidize the Coyotes when they already have an anchor tenant?

Waiting for a new arena development is pie in the sky for an ownership group that needs relocation pronto.

I agree with you, K.... I think it's all smoke and mirrors to try to disguise a lame-duck season or two. When the GRA lease was cancelled and IA decided not to bid on a new arena management agreement the writing was on the wall.

 

[Llama19]

In one of the radio interviews posted here after the revised AMF was agreed to he was asked by the host why he should commit to the team and LeBlanc told them if they don't have a long term deal at the end of next season he shouldn't commit.

If the subsidy don't fit, then you can't commit...

- LeBlusterism

 

[Glacial]

To be fair it not like Leblanc got any choices or say in the matter. He was told to sit on it for a year, and that's that. So he's buying time, can't blame him for it. When fans realize it really is a lame duck year things will get ugly fast. The longer you can dance around this mess the more money you save.

If there were more capable journalists down there, willing to dig deeper, ask tougher questions, the wizard might not be able to hide behind the curtain.

 

[JimAnchower]

Best option is working out a lease at GRA, and it's probably not close. They could almost certainly end up with as much of the non-hockey arena revenue as they can generate, and likely would add a tidy arena management fee, with very little or no rent.

Why would the current owners / anchor tenants at the Talking Stick want to subsidize the Coyotes when they already have an anchor tenant?

Waiting for a new arena development is pie in the sky for an ownership group that needs relocation pronto.

I agree with you, K.... I think it's all smoke and mirrors to try to disguise a lame-duck season or two. When the GRA lease was cancelled and IA decided not to bid on a new arena management agreement the writing was on the wall.

I don't think there is much debate that staying at GRA as the arena manager is, by a significant margin, the best option for the Coyotes. But as we stand now, the COG doesn't appear to want to engage with IA outside the RFP and IA doesn't want to participate in the RFP. Either of those positions can change, but based on the comments from both sides it is where we are at.

So if the Coyotes are going to stay in the state, as LeBlanc says, there are still a lot of questions. The biggest question is which of Talking Stick and Gila River is the better option if neither is offering a big subsidy. Talking Stick is in much more central location, but there are drawbacks. For one, the rent would be higher (Coyotes pay $500K now at GRA, Suns pay $3M at TS). The seating arrangement problems from the last time they were there still exist. One other thing is what would the Suns want to take from the game day hockey revenue that the Coyotes would generate because of those lost dates that could have been used for other events. In addition, there could also be the problem that the Suns would want first dibs on scheduling games, leaving the Coyotes playing home games on less desirable dates. GRA is probably a lot clearer for some of those questions, but the location would still be an issue.

 

[tony d]

Get me up to date here, what's the latest on the Arizona situation? Any more clearer now or what?

 

[Llama19]

Get me up to date here, what's the latest on the Arizona situation? Any more clearer now or what?

It's clear that:

- there is a two year lease between IceArizona and Glendale...
- Anthony LeBlanc will not participate in the new Arena Management RFP...
- Glendale will have Arena Management responses by December 11...
- Anthony LeBlanc wants Glendale to still 'negotiate' with him...
- Glendale does not want to negotiate with Anthony LeBlanc...
- IceArizona's days are numbered...

 

[Killion]

If the subsidy don't fit, then you can't commit...

- LeBlusterism

..... good one. morning smile.

If there were more capable journalists down there, willing to dig deeper, ask tougher questions, the wizard might not be able to hide behind the curtain.

Not just there but yes, youd think the local media would be taking a more proactive stance, asking tough questions & getting out in front of things but no. Thats always been one of the frustrations in trying to follow this story. And I mean going right back to 2008 when Bettman claimed there werent any problems with the franchise. Yet even the Globe&Mail, very recently the Ottawa Citizen, bias beyond transparent or PR pieces dressed up to be appearing as hard news. Really annoying.

So if the Coyotes are going to stay in the state, as LeBlanc says, there are still a lot of questions.

Ya, all great points, good questions and its not like this is all brand new ground & territory. We know what the situation would be like at Talking Stick, under a new arena manager at GRA; I doubt very much if even they had the $$$ to fix up War Vets Memorial on the State Fair Grounds that they'd have the time to do so nor do I believe the NHL would be permitting such. And what kind of a deal could they possibly get from the authority controlling that facility, not to mention the fact that it would appear to be an almost absurd & vindictive move when in Glendale, 10yr old state of the art arena sits there empty & barren and why? Because that farce of an ownership group, Front for the league itself cant survive without massive subsidies & then when they do receive them, get greedy, playing Meyer Lansky with the books, nickel & diming the City out of tens of millions more. Why would you even wanna do business with these guys in developing an arena or for that matter, even buying in as a sponsor?

Get me up to date here, what's the latest on the Arizona situation? Any more clearer now or what?

Pretty straight forward. The City voided the Lease & Management Agreement with IceArizona in June, who then went nuclear claiming theyd be in court the next morning, get it overturned & laughed out.... Not so much.... Long story short, they dropped their empty threats, forced to sign a temporary Agreement, 2yrs. Instead of receiving $15M they'll receive $6.5M in Arena Mgmnt Fee's this season (2015/16) and they keep the ticket surcharges, parking revenues etc....

The City however has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to secure a new Arena Manager and hope to have done so by January, about 2.5mnths away. Take over effective July of 2016. Anthony LeBlanc of IA has stated that no, they will not be submitting a bid and if they or any other NHL team (with the exception of the NY Islanders) isnt managing the facility in which they play capturing all revenues from parking to concessions, portion of the arena naming rights etc etc etc they simply cannot survive.

Whomever takes over the Management of Glendale Arena isnt going to be signing away any profits or providing subsidies to IceArizona. LeBlanc claiming they plan to stay in-state, but they dont have the money to be giving up all kinds of revenues playing out of & under the Suns thumb downtown at Talking Stick Arena; the only other building the War Vets Memorial but thats going to take a huge amount of $$$ to retro-fit & bring into the 21st Century, money & time they just do not have. Even IF the NHL allowed either option to be exercised. Talk as well of enjoining with the Suns in developing a new building that theyd jointly share in Phoenix or Scottsdale perhaps, but thats years down the road and as complicated & messed up as Seattle...

So here we are, Anthony LeBlanc stuck. Cant come right out & tell people, reporters when they ask that no, its not practicable to be trying to cut a deal with the Suns, cant or wont stay in Glendale beyond at the latest 2017, cant even afford that without the NHL financing it, so where you gunna go? He wont admit, wont use the 'R' Word with "out of state". Sponsors & fans would pull out en mass. Beyond lame duck. Carrying on as per usual, the usual Disinformation Campaign nonsense theyve been perpetrating since Day One; were staying in Arizona folks, here forever, nothing to worry about...

So no, sorry tony, about as clear as a glass of mud as per usual.

 

[EvilCoop]

..... good one. morning smile.



Not just there but yes, youd think the local media would be taking a more proactive stance, asking tough questions & getting out in front of things but no. Thats always been one of the frustrations in trying to follow this story. And I mean going right back to 2008 when Bettman claimed there werent any problems with the franchise. Yet even the Globe&Mail, very recently the Ottawa Citizen, bias beyond transparent or PR pieces dressed up to be appearing as hard news. Really annoying.



Ya, all great points, good questions and its not like this is all brand new ground & territory. We know what the situation would be like at Talking Stick, under a new arena manager at GRA; I doubt very much if even they had the $$$ to fix up War Vets Memorial on the State Fair Grounds that they'd have the time to do so nor do I believe the NHL would be permitting such. And what kind of a deal could they possibly get from the authority controlling that facility, not to mention the fact that it would appear to be an almost absurd & vindictive move when in Glendale, 10yr old state of the art arena sits there empty & barren and why? Because that farce of an ownership group, Front for the league itself cant survive without massive subsidies & then when they do receive them, get greedy, playing Meyer Lansky with the books, nickel & diming the City out of tens of millions more. Why would you even wanna do business with these guys in developing an arena or for that matter, even buying in as a sponsor?



Pretty straight forward. The City voided the Lease & Management Agreement with IceArizona in June, who then went nuclear claiming theyd be in court the next morning, get it overturned & laughed out.... Not so much.... Long story short, they dropped their empty threats, forced to sign a temporary Agreement, 2yrs. Instead of receiving $15M they'll receive $6.5M in Arena Mgmnt Fee's this season (2015/16) and they keep the ticket surcharges, parking revenues etc....

The City however has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to secure a new Arena Manager and hope to have done so by January, about 2.5mnths away. Take over effective July of 2016. Anthony LeBlanc of IA has stated that no, they will not be submitting a bid and if they or any other NHL team (with the exception of the NY Islanders) isnt managing the facility in which they play capturing all revenues from parking to concessions, portion of the arena naming rights etc etc etc they simply cannot survive.

Whomever takes over the Management of Glendale Arena isnt going to be signing away any profits or providing subsidies to IceArizona. LeBlanc claiming they plan to stay in-state, but they dont have the money to be giving up all kinds of revenues playing out of & under the Suns thumb downtown at Talking Stick Arena; the only other building the War Vets Memorial but thats going to take a huge amount of $$$ to retro-fit & bring into the 21st Century, money & time they just do not have. Even IF the NHL allowed either option to be exercised. Talk as well of enjoining with the Suns in developing a new building that theyd jointly share in Phoenix or Scottsdale perhaps, but thats years down the road and as complicated & messed up as Seattle...

So here we are, Anthony LeBlanc stuck. Cant come right out & tell people, reporters when they ask that no, its not practicable to be trying to cut a deal with the Suns, cant or wont stay in Glendale beyond at the latest 2017, cant even afford that without the NHL financing it, so where you gunna go? He wont admit, wont use the 'R' Word with "out of state". Sponsors & fans would pull out en mass. Beyond lame duck. Carrying on as per usual, the usual Disinformation Campaign nonsense theyve been perpetrating since Day One; were staying in Arizona folks, here forever, nothing to worry about...

So no, sorry tony, about as clear as a glass of mud as per usual.

They should do this one, old arenas are cool.