Phoenix LXVII; Route66 - Aftermath

[Whileee]

http://www.azcentral.com/community/...chants-cheer-return-hockey-business-abrk.html

It probably didn't help that the current "arena managers" had booked a grand total of 6 events through to next summer. I guess that the arena staff were quite busy dusting out the cobwebs at Jobing.com to get it ready for the Coyotes.

 

[sipowicz]

Really looking forward to January 17, 2013, this date will be remembered as the starting point of the "final two weeks" in the sad history of hockey in Glendale.

 

[Stanley Cup]

Really looking forward to January 17, 2013, this date will be remembered as the starting point of the "final two weeks" in the sad history of hockey in Glendale.

Wait you really think it might be the end? We still have plenty of threads ahead, if there's one thing we can learn out of this story is nothing is simple.

 

[Whileee]

Really looking forward to January 17, 2013, this date will be remembered as the starting point of the "final two weeks" in the sad history of hockey in Glendale.

I'm not so sure about that (see above)...

I won't be at all surprised if this gets dragged out in one way or another until late in the season, at which time a decision will be made. I think it is highly unlikely that the NHL will want an obvious "lame duck" season. They might need to pay off Glendale to extend the deadline in some way, shape or form (if only by bearing the burden of managing the arena without any subsidy). But I highly doubt that we'll hear an announcement on February 1 that this is the Coyotes' last season.

 

[sipowicz]

I'm not so sure about that (see above)...

I won't be at all surprised if this gets dragged out in one way or another until late in the season, at which time a decision will be made. I think it is highly unlikely that the NHL will want an obvious "lame duck" season. They might need to pay off Glendale to extend the deadline in some way, shape or form (if only by bearing the burden of managing the arena without any subsidy). But I highly doubt that we'll hear an announcement on February 1 that this is the Coyotes' last season.

Yeah your right, adding an extra $10-$15 million to the relocation fee that Quebecor will pay next June shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[Whileee]

Yeah your right, adding an extra $10-$15 million to the relocation fee that Quebecor will pay next June shouldn't be a big deal.

The point is that the NHL is committed to operating the team in Glendale this shortened season, and the COG doesn't really have any obligation to pay for the Coyotes' losses. So the NHL will want to ensure that it maximizes revenues. Announcing that it is a "lame duck" season a couple of weeks into the regular schedule does nobody any good, and there is no need. As long the COG is happy to keep quiet and let the NHL carry on in the Jobing.com without a long-term lease, there is no need to do anything but maintain the status quo, answering the occasional media question along the way.

 

[CasualFan]

Doesn't the NHL have the option to renew the AMUL monthly?

I was giving the city the benefit of the doubt that they rescinded the NHL's sole right to extension when the league indicated they desired a month-to-month term (how long ago was that now? July 2012?) But you're probably right, the NHL was probably allowed to persist the sole authority to extend in each of the successor monthly agreements.

 

[mesamonster]

I dunno. Its strange. This Lynna Jean who put together that linked 1/2 pager is a Commercial Photographer out of California. Nice work actually (the photographs), but no experience/portfolio that I can find relating to web based design services.

Then about a week ago some guy in Phoenix by the name of Max Fose who has a firm called Integrated Web Services (design etc) and is apparently doing work on behalf of Arizona Hockey Partners LLC is quoted in an article about Jamison as "working hard trying to close the sale by the end of the month" (or words to that affect).

So I checked that guy out.... Nothing in the realm of pro sports nor even a major national advertiser or whatever that he's ever worked with on his site. Just the usual palather about "fully integrated brand/product/service design" yadda yadda yadda. Did a site for the "Texas Tenors". Country music meets opera I suppose but I digress...

Now, you'd think that if someone was just 17 days away from closing what is effectively a deal worth nearly a half a billion dollars ($324M from Glendale and at least $170M+ going to the NHL) that you'd be seeing some pretty sophisticated communication, and that would just have to feature in letters writ large web based & social media communications to the people of Glendale & Phoenix, the fans, as in "Game On, Get Ready, Step Right Up & Get Your Tickets" and so on & so forth huh?

Max spent some time with Gramps in San jose, he was in charge of hot dog wrapper design and sale to the sharks! Never mind that they only serve polish and brats! So as to not appear useless he busied himself each game night searching for his wrappers. GJ also asked him to set up a web site designated to solicitation of patron advice as to how the design could be improved upon to allow the home team to sell more of the pork appendage. Max was promoted to manage the JIG web design specifically targeted at attracting potential STH from Outer Mongolia and soviet bloc cities who have KHL teams. Max claims that they should be closing on a pair of tickets to the intra squad scrimmage Wednesday, beyond that sales have been excruciatingly slow!

 

[objectiveposter]

joyce clarke tweeted this picture a few days ago

 

[Whileee]

joyce clarke tweeted this picture a few days ago

Hilarious!

 

[Major4Boarding]

Curious in a few ways...

One - How very Clark of her

Two - The check is post-dated for Jan 20th (Omen?)

Three - It's only for $300M (Edit - Sorry I forgot to take Clarkonomics Math into account, my bad)

Four - The 2nd-most staunchest advocate (Lieberman being the most) to not go thru with this deal, "endorsed" the check.

Five - Memo left blank (could easily scribble "subsidy" in there)

I know it's in good fun and all... bad day at the job and I'm feeling nit-picky / agitated

 

[objectiveposter]

the bizarre thing about that picture is that joyce is actually mocking norma when it should be the other way around. Normally you would see a picture of someone who supports the deal handing it over...the joke being the absurdity of the amount of money being handed to a hockey team. In this case, Clark is actually mocking someone who opposes the deal, basically saying haha you have to spend 300 freakin million dollars on a subsidy you dont support... so in a way Clark is actually making fun of Glendale taxpayers who have to fork over the absurd amount of money

 

[WinterEmpire]

the bizarre thing about that picture is that joyce is actually mocking norma when it should be the other way around. Normally you would see a picture of someone who supports the deal handing it over...the joke being the absurdity of the amount of money being handed to a hockey team. In this case, Clark is actually mocking someone who opposes the deal, basically saying haha you have to spend 300 freakin million dollars on a subsidy you dont support... so in a way Clark is actually making fun of Glendale taxpayers who have to fork over the absurd amount of money

Is there anything about this process that makes sense? It's bizarro world

 

[Glacial]

“The Tanger outlets probably mitigated the real sting, but it’s still not the same,†said Don Rinehart, president of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce.

Still, he said it was a relief to see the lockout end. “It’s over and hockey is back,†he said.

Tanger shoppers took the edge off the absent hockey clientele, but the out-of-town visitors who flock to watch their teams play the Coyotes generally bring more disposable cash to spend than locals, said Stephen Ratliff, general manager of Calico Jack’s Cantina.

“We definitely saw a change of clientele without seeing hockey fans,†Ratliff said.

Interesting comment here. Here is a Westgate business owner indicating much of their NHL season traffic are out-of-towners watching the visiting team. Based on that line, it would seem more of their traffic is out-of-towners (heck, out of state since they're rooting for the road team) than locals or else they would have been lamenting the lack of Coyotes fans showing up during the lockout. It seems yet another point that Coyotes fans are few and far between.

And about the tv ratings a few pages back (0.3 & 0.6 in a season which fell just short of the Stanley Cup Finals while the Suns get a 2.7 in a down year)... yikes! That's really low, like CW reruns low. If it were just the geographic issue (West Valley, long commute from the population centers), one would think the tv ratings would show a reasonable amount of support, but ratings like this suggest almost no one is watching (though I've read the Panthers had the lowest ratings. Not sure if that was 10-11 or 11-12). It's things like this in addition to attendance, the tv ratings in AZ and bits from businesses near the arena that point to what the level of support is for the team in the metro area.

BTW, I've been a lurker following this saga since somewhere around XXV to XXX (long enough to remember those Bad Luck Brian pics & send in the clowns).

 

[TheLegend]

MH had known escrow money! GJ has no money so escrow is not an option for this fraud!

Your logic is so flawed it isn't worth responding to.

 

[TheLegend]

joyce clarke tweeted this picture a few days ago

"Objectively" speaking... the photo was created and sent to her by one of her followers. It didn't originate from her.

Not too different from one's that have been circulated on this board before using different characters.

 

[aqib]

For the first time I have a serious not sarcastic question, what lease arrangement does the NHL have January and the rest of this season? I assume they had rollover options on their monthly lease.

 

[mesamonster]

Your logic is so flawed it isn't worth responding to. [/QUOTE
]

Oh really TL, so while we are all listening please tell us why you believe GJ is a more deserving owner than MH, who unlike Gramps actually DID put up real money and actually showed some real interest in the area and the team. GJ has done absolutely NOTHING other than say that he and GB are tight and that he will get this done shortly! If you really believe this nonsense you are completely naive about the real world of GB and his little puppets!

 

[OthmarAmmann]

I was giving the city the benefit of the doubt that they rescinded the NHL's sole right to extension when the league indicated they desired a month-to-month term (how long ago was that now? July 2012?) But you're probably right, the NHL was probably allowed to persist the sole authority to extend in each of the successor monthly agreements.

Oh, I missed that. Curious that came a couple months after Bettman said he expected the Jamison deal to close within weeks.

This could get interesting!

 

[Wheathead]

So where is the process at now? I haven't really followed the thread for a while. Last I heard Jamison was looking to close the sale ASAP (~2 weeks ago, how fitting) and I haven't heard anything yet and we're approaching the middle of January.

If he was as close as he indicated, wouldn't the sale had gone through not long after the tentative agreement to end the lockout was reached?

 

[enarwpg]

So, how many fans were at the "first" practice for the Dogs today. Just curious...

Headline from the Hockey News - see > http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/49321-Phoenix-Coyotes-hold-first-full-workout-in-front-of-about-100-fans-at-Jobingcom-Arena.html

"Phoenix Coyotes hold first full workout in front of about 100 fans at Jobing.com Arena

The 100-or-so fans scattered in the stands were dwarfed by thousands of empty seats reaching up to the rafters."

Not wanting to sound too negative but that's pretty pathetic considering potential investors would be looking for signs of life in the rink and fans have been waiting for someone to buy the team.... Oh well, this thing is going to come to a head real soon !

 

[berklon]

Headline from the Hockey News - see > http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/49321-Phoenix-Coyotes-hold-first-full-workout-in-front-of-about-100-fans-at-Jobingcom-Arena.html

"Phoenix Coyotes hold first full workout in front of about 100 fans at Jobing.com Arena

The 100-or-so fans scattered in the stands were dwarfed by thousands of empty seats reaching up to the rafters."

Not wanting to sound too negative but that's pretty pathetic considering potential investors would be looking for signs of life in the rink and fans have been waiting for someone to buy the team.... Oh well, this thing is going to come to a head real soon !

It's just a workout. I don't think it's a good indicator of support.

 

[enarwpg]

It's just a workout. I don't think it's a good indicator of support.

Very true, but with winning the Pacific Division title, there being no hockey the past 3 and a half months and with a few posting here how the market / fans only need an owner to make the franchise a success, you'd think fans would show up in greater numbers to show that new owner that the support is there including for practices.

Like the fans did in Winnipeg:

______________________

THE Jets were pleased to be back in front of their fans, officially, for the first time since the lockout ended, with Sunday's open practice. About 5,000 showed up on short notice at the MTS Centre. "It was fantastic," said Blake Wheeler, the team's leading scorer in 2011-12. "We all know how privileged we are to play in a market like this. To have that kind of reception... that might be some team's home game's (attendance) in the early going. It was awesome. It was great to be back and to have meaningful practices again with a direction. I've kind of had that for a little bit, but for a lot of guys this was their first real meaningful practice in a long time. It was great to be out there as a group again to start the process."

Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/so-with-further-fan-fare-186738821.html​

______________________

Makes one wonder how the Coyote players view the support.

 

[Lyotes]

Headline from the Hockey News - see > http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/49321-Phoenix-Coyotes-hold-first-full-workout-in-front-of-about-100-fans-at-Jobingcom-Arena.html

"Phoenix Coyotes hold first full workout in front of about 100 fans at Jobing.com Arena

The 100-or-so fans scattered in the stands were dwarfed by thousands of empty seats reaching up to the rafters."

Not wanting to sound too negative but that's pretty pathetic considering potential investors would be looking for signs of life in the rink and fans have been waiting for someone to buy the team.... Oh well, this thing is going to come to a head real soon !

It was at 11am. I dont know about the rest of the phx fans but I was working. I'm assuming most of them were also at work.

It really starts to get annoying when you read posts like this. Because there are great fans in phx. We are passionate about hockey, we love the game just as much as any fan. I would even go on a limb and say that we love it even more then the negative posters here on this thread. I don't think for a moment that any of you would stick with a franchise that has been through all of this. Maybe one day you could consider what we go through, we would love to have a season where we could just talk about hockey with out the lingering ownership issue in the back of our minds.

 

[ajmidd12]

It was at 11am. I dont know about the rest of the phx fans but I was working. I'm assuming most of them were also at work.

It really starts to get annoying when you read posts like this. Because there are great fans in phx. We are passionate about hockey, we love the game just as much as any fan. I would even go on a limb and say that we love it even more then the negative posters here on this thread. I don't think for a moment that any of you would stick with a franchise that has been through all of this. Maybe one day you could consider what we go through, we would love to have a season where we could just talk about hockey with out the lingering ownership issue in the back of our minds.

Yeah? Except you've had 12 seasons like that. The team has been in Arizona for 15 going on 16 years... When is it enough? What is your excuse for the other 12 years and never turning a profit?

Ohh and this is my 500th post, you should feel privileged.