So with slow news, been searching the internet for inf.... I saw a graph on another site that actually broke down by %'s the numbers of fans by seating sections, from the glass to the upper bowl at GRA of East Valley or West Valley residents. I couldnt find the actual source for it, believe it was based on Seasons Ticket Holders & buyers of mini-packs, not even sure what year or season, no total numbers given.... and as the numbers weve seen over the years be it from consultants hired by the COG or the Coyotes are of a dubious nature at best I didnt post it here however.... That graph, not surprisingly, the breakdown was indeed East Valley heavy in the lower bowl, split more evenly in the upper bowl & ends between East & West but still with a greater majority of East Valley residents. The graph may have been part of the Coyotes prospectus that was presented to Worsleys' Transpo Committee. Ballparking it overall, about 75% East Valley (and ya, without ever having really marketed in the West Valley, locally in Glendale thats not all that surprising).
This was followed by comments from the public, almost entirely East Valley residents again with the major complaint/obstacle of location. Glendale. Driving time for a mid-week game. Some from places like Gilbert claiming it took them over 90 minutes one way, late for the 7pm puck-drop. "Major hassle with traffic, getting into & out of Westgate". Entirely different situation with the Cards. Mostly Sundays, 1/4 the # of games but a trip none the less. It was further suggested by many that in their opinion even if the arena was located in the East Valley or downtown that if the Coyotes werent actually Stanley Cup threats year in year out that attendance really wouldnt improve all that much as there are just way too many games to be committing to with 41 RS and then Playoffs.
Time & cost prohibitive even with the team on the East Side. Further acknowledgement by those astute enough to fully understand what it would take to make the Coyotes a perennial threat requiring that ownership spend to the CAP ceiling on talent & that they would need to spend uncapped big money on Scouting, Analytics, on their Minor Pro Team ('s), Camps & Clinics & so on & so forth.And even if they did all of that, 41 home dates with an East Valley or Downtown arena just too much of a commitment in time & money "but for sure I'd be there for the Playoffs". Unfortunately these are not the 70's, the Coyotes are not the Dynasty Montreal Canadiens with pretty much a lock on the Stanley Cup for over half a decade. The league doesnt work that way anymore. There are really no more "Dynasty's". Been sacrificed on the alter of "parity & cost certainty" and more than just a few East Valley residents certainly got all of that, understood & as such... prognostication's not good regardless of where in the Valley the Coyotes located.
There was also mutual consensus in what Ive found on my travels throughout the internet amongst East Valley residents that a shared facility with Sarver & the Suns is a total non-starter. Not unless he actually buys the franchise himself & obviously thats not going to happen. Overall, my takeaway on everything I read which only really reconfirmed & validated my existing opinions was that the problem is systemic, runs far deeper than just location from an East Valley residents/fans perspective. It speaks to way too much inventory as in too many RS Games & Scheduling, mid-week. Time commitment with traffic being what it is, just not on & that even if they were on the East Side it wouldnt improve, that really wouldnt change much. Shorter drive ya but still, too many games, too much commitment in time & money. Lack of performance & compete of course, everything weve hashed & rehashed here a 1000 ways from Sunday.
For a variety of reasons we dont really have a wide range of voices from the East Valley (or West for that matter) posting here though we did from 2009~13. I hadnt ever really scoped out the various chatboards, comments sections following reports from the broader community in Arizona on this whole issue so it was certainly edifying, interesting. Nowhere did I read anyone buying into the "magical geographical cure", Silver Bullet hypothesis put forth by ownership & the NHL. Nor was there much of anything echoing the altruistic, the sizzle being pedaled by the NHL & Barroway, about "growing the game" in Arizona. That no cost was or would be too high to realize those lofty goals. They certainly for the whole werent buying that one. There was very little empathy for the COG that I read anywhere from East Valley residents, resentment in fact for having inconvenienced them in building the arena. That Scottsdale made a mistake in not just taking Ellman at face-value, but that even then these exact same sets of problems would exist & that history wouldnt have been much different from the one that unwound.
Anyhoo... just throwing this all out there. Nothing really "new" per se'. I certainly didnt come across very many at all supportive of using taxpayer funds, providing land, sweetheart lease or whatever to this club on the East Side. Quite the opposite in fact and particularly so in light of the situation with the Suns ~ TSRA & the D-Backs. The Coyotes & their objective ranking well down the list of most peoples priorities.
But they aren't looking for a "dynasty".
That actually backed up what I was about to respond, as due to a combination of a)weather (obviously), b) Motorola (a Chicago based company, at least it was) et al, and c) Cubs spring training, an unusually high number of Illinois (read, Chicago) diaspora have taken up residence in AZ, especially EV (where the Cubs ST is) in the last 50-60 years
