OT: Pull the plug and be done with it.... (Coyotes)

[Whiskeypete]

Jamison's attempt to purchase the Coyotes falls apart......again. the "tenuous lease agreement" he hashed out with the city is being voided. seriously this has to end at some point. it's bad for the hardcore faithful down there, but this is to the point of ridiculous now.

the city and most fans don't give two ***** about the team. all one has to do is see the stands during a game to determine that. it wouldn't surprise me if some WNBA teams can outdraw the Yotes.

it was a noble effort and try to keep the team there and truly establish hockey in the market. i am certain there is a growing hockey atmosphere in the area, that in years down the road will help to truly establish a franchise in the area.

it's time to look at relocation. either to Seattle or back to Quebec. personally i would like to see the Nordiques back in play. i am also skeptical that both SEA and VAN could support two teams in such proximity (150 miles). i dont know much about the market and atmosphere up there so i may be wrong. i know there are several Jr teams in the market other than that i dont know squat about it.

any move is also going to have to bring the question of realignment into immediate discussion and most importantly - resolution. we can't have WPG still playing in the east conf - SE division.

Click to read more...

 

[kingsfan]

Considering the entire sharing of revenues concept, I'm surprised the NHLPA isn't pushing to have the Coyotes moved.

I REALLY don't get Bettman's fetish with keeping Phoenix going. Move them to Seattle/Portland, Quebec, Toronto, or Vegas.

 

[Whiskeypete]

Considering the entire sharing of revenues concept, I'm surprised the NHLPA isn't pushing to have the Coyotes moved.

I REALLY don't get Bettman's fetish with keeping Phoenix going. Move them to Seattle/Portland, Quebec, Toronto, or Vegas.

imo it comes down to his ego. it would mean having to admit the move to PHX was a mistake. nothing more, nothing less.

TOR doesn't need a 2nd team. they have a decades old mess with the Leafs now. why add a second team to the misery? i would much rather see another Canadian city gain a team, than Toronto adding a 2nd one.

Vegas i think would turn into another PHX situation. not to mention the major sports leagues don't want to set up shop in America's gambling capitol

comes back to what i said earlier between the other two.

 

[Bandit]

While I agree that the end for Phoenix is nigh, I hate to see fans lose their franchise. You can say "what fans" but there are some. If you were the only kings fan, imagine how you'd feel if the team was suddenly moved to Nova Scotia. Sucks for them...

 

[Fat Elvis]

You'd think the NHL would prefer them to stay in the west. Not sure what makes sense, KC, OKC, Portland Ore, Seattle, San Antonio. Not too many sexy choices there.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I REALLY don't get Bettman's fetish with keeping Phoenix going. Move them to Seattle/Portland, Quebec, Toronto, or Vegas.

I think it's been because the league knew they were going to have an even bigger issue in Atlanta, and only one city ready for a team. That ownership group didn't want the Thrashers in the building they own. The Thrashers were going to have nowhere to play. At least the Coyotes have a building to play in. So if you move the Coyotes first, do the Thrashers just fold? Suspend operations until a new city is ready? That looks worse for the league than if they just prop the Coyotes up for years.

Figures, just when the Kings finally get an actual rival in this division, they'll probably be gone before too long. Anaheim has felt forced more than anything, San Jose has usually been on a different level than the Kings, and Dallas doesn't want to be, and shouldn't have been, in the Pacific division.

 

[Sydor25]

I thought this thread was going to be about Penner.

 

[kingsfan]

TOR doesn't need a 2nd team. they have a decades old mess with the Leafs now. why add a second team to the misery? i would much rather see another Canadian city gain a team, than Toronto adding a 2nd one.

Vegas i think would turn into another PHX situation. not to mention the major sports leagues don't want to set up shop in America's gambling capitol.

Toronto has been a mess on the ice. Off of it they are arguably the best thing for hockey. Isn't their networth like $1 billion now? Having a second Toronto team would be a financial boon to the NHL's coffers.

Vegas will have a major pro team at some point, gambling or not. I'd rather see the NHL roll into it first than be the last one to the trough. Build up your fanbase before the competition arrives.

While I agree that the end for Phoenix is nigh, I hate to see fans lose their franchise. You can say "what fans" but there are some. If you were the only kings fan, imagine how you'd feel if the team was suddenly moved to Nova Scotia. Sucks for them...

Considering I'm planning on moving to Nova Scotia eventually, I'd be ok with it

 

[Reclamation Project]

Just end it already...

But did Jamison actually have the funding to close this deal, ahead of a Jan. 31 deadline for the current lease agreement?

No, he didn’t, according to multiple reports. Craig Morgan of Fox Sports Arizona cites multiple sources is reporting that Jamison has been “unable to assemble the money and investors” to close the deal, and that his bid to buy the Coyotes could be over when the deadline passes.

 

[Whiskeypete]

While I agree that the end for Phoenix is nigh, I hate to see fans lose their franchise. You can say "what fans" but there are some. If you were the only kings fan, imagine how you'd feel if the team was suddenly moved to Nova Scotia. Sucks for them...

i understand that completely, but at some point you have to move on. when a team isn't financially feasible it has to be done. this was one of the issues the lockout was over. revenue sharing and essentially teams having to support the likes of PHX. to have a healthy league this can't continue.

You'd think the NHL would prefer them to stay in the west. Not sure what makes sense, KC, OKC, Portland Ore, Seattle, San Antonio. Not too many sexy choices there.

well Seattle makes the most sense here obviously. Dallas has had problems drawing fans the past few seasons, so adding another team to the state likely wouldn't be a good choice. granted the two cities are far apart, but in football mad TX its obvious hockey will remain behind when it comes to fans spending money.

i never hear Salt Lake being brought up. the city has had the Golden Eagles for decades and i know the amateur presence has grown considerably. i live there back around '80 and played. at that time there were 3 rinks to play on and one was the old Salt Palace the Jazz and G Eagles played in. now they have numerous rinks, Jr teams and an actual high school league for puck. the city keeps growing, the game has obviously grown and the only team there is the Jazz.

I thought this thread was going to be about Penner.

that is coming sooner than later if Dustin doesn't pull it together

Toronto has been a mess on the ice. Off of it they are arguably the best thing for hockey. Isn't their networth like $1 billion now? Having a second Toronto team would be a financial boon to the NHL's coffers.

Vegas will have a major pro team at some point, gambling or not. I'd rather see the NHL roll into it first than be the last one to the trough. Build up your fanbase before the competition arrives.

Considering I'm planning on moving to Nova Scotia eventually, I'd be ok with it

revenues and coffers be damned. i am looking at it from the point of the team moving to an area that appreciates, loves and can sustain a team for the long term. yes TOR could, but they've got a team. move the team to another market that would love to have its own NHL team

 

[Stupid Sexy Flanders]

NHL ought to encourage more municipally-owned teams in unique locations. The Green Bay Packers model.

 

[TonySCV]

The fact that an NHL-owned team had a 1 in 4 chance of winning the Stanley Cup last year should spur the NHL to sell or move the team ASAP. The media circus around that event if it ever were to occur would be off the charts.

 

[CNS]

They've needed to be moved for years now. It's pathetic that Bettman won't move it. To me, I think he was so receptive to Atlanta moving because Atlanta had a team before and lost it so he could blame that failure on the city saying that he tried to go back again and it just didn't work. With Phoenix, that was all him and it flopped hard. Move them to Seattle, QC, Markham, Kansas City, or wherever the **** will take them.

 

[Jason Lewis]

Quebec
Seattle
Portland
Toronto-Area


In that order.

 

[kingsfan]

revenues and coffers be damned. i am looking at it from the point of the team moving to an area that appreciates, loves and can sustain a team for the long term. yes TOR could, but they've got a team. move the team to another market that would love to have its own NHL team

While as a fan I agree with you, as a realist it makes a ton of sense for the NHL and NHLPA to want Toronto to get another team. If the fact we've had roughly 150 regular season games and one full playoff canceled under Bettman's watch say anything, it's that the owners and players care a lot more about the dollars than what city would love to have a team.

Quebec
Seattle
Portland
Toronto-Area


In that order.

I agree with this list, though Markham has to be tossed into the consideration now given their new arena deal. Hamilton is also on the backburner. That is of course, unless you were including Markham and Hamilton as Toronto-area, in which case I retract that.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

Seattle or Portland. Wouldn't mind Quebec City. But I'm American first, so I want the sport to continue growing in the country.

How about Kansas City or Houston?

 

[kingsholygrail]

Who has even expressed interest in having the team?

 

[TonySCV]

Quebec
Seattle
Portland
Toronto-Area


In that order.

I'd rank Portland and Seattle equally. Just look at how popular Soccer in Portland became. Soccer of all things. It filled a void of professional (non-NBA) sports in that city.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/s...us-army-of-fans-embraces-its-soccer-team.html

 

[Hatter]

I thought this thread was going to be about Penner.

I feel so bad for that guy and i have a hard time pinpointing why but I feel terrible for him.

 

[Whiskeypete]

KC i say shouldn't be a top candidate. it may make sense geographically, but they had a team decades ago and it folded. '74-76 expansion with the Caps. sold and moved to become the Colorado Rockies.

i was to young to remember at the time so, "The Scouts suffered from inflated player costs, undercapitalized ownership, an economic downturn in the Midwest, poor performance on the ice and poor attendance. The Scouts drew an average of just 8,218 fans during their two years in 17,000-seat Kemper Arena (at a time when the league average was approximately 13,000). The team's 37 owners, buried in debt, mounted a season-ticket drive to raise more revenue. However, when only 2,000 people bought tickets, they concluded that the Scouts were not a viable venture and opted to sell". FROM WIKI

to me this is Atlanta all over again, so its up to me the NHL doesnt go to KC.

 

[Wildturkey12]

i am also skeptical that both SEA and VAN could support two teams in such proximity (150 miles). i dont know much about the market and atmosphere up there so i may be wrong. i know there are several Jr teams in the market other than that i dont know squat about it.

I think the Seattle soccer team draws close to 40k a game. I dont think they would have a problem with drawing for hockey. Its a pretty under rated sports town.

 

[Ron*]

I've been saying for 60 days now that Jamison was never going to have the money to purchase that team.

Who hides their investor list? I mean, this wasn't the purchase of a pornography distributor, where the investors may not want their name out there.

This was the purchase of a hockey team. Jamison hid his investor list because there were never any investors. I am not sure what the idiot was thinking, that he was going to be able to assemble enough simpletons to actually invest in a team that at best fills their arena with two-thirds capacity night in and night out.

Hell, the stock market has been taking off the last two months. Why invest in a hockey team bleeding green profusely when you can simply cast your line in the NYSE?

Anyway, I feel bad for Coyote fans. Having lost a team I loved (the Rams), I know how it feels. And in particular, the Kings and Coyotes were developing a true rivalry. This is indeed a loss for the NHL, as well as Phoenix fans.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

I don't feel bad for Coyotes fans at all. They have a state-of-the-art arena that will last for a very long time. Add to the fact that they've had a competitive team for over 2 years now. This isn't a Sonics or Sacto Kings situation, in which arena problem was to blame.

 

[Jason Lewis]

Seattle or Portland. Wouldn't mind Quebec City. But I'm American first, so I want the sport to continue growing in the country.

How about Kansas City or Houston?

I think the NHL experiments into the South are over. This is just my opinion though.

Dallas is barely above water. Florida and Tampa Bay, despite solid seasons in recent years and marketable players (Stamkos) can't seem to stay relevant. Atlanta had to relocate.

North is probably a better shot right now at making money and growing the sport.

The Oregon/Washington area is a good place to start if you want to see American hockey grow. I mean, Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Thunderbirds, the Everett Silvertips, Tri-City Americans...they all do very well for junior teams in the area in terms of attendance and interest.

 

[DeeMeck]

You'd think the NHL would prefer them to stay in the west. Not sure what makes sense, KC, OKC, Portland Ore, Seattle, San Antonio. Not too many sexy choices there.

It won't matter where they place them. Re-alignment is on the horizon. Winnipeg is already a team that should be in the western conference.

Phoenix goes east. Winnipeg to NW division, and Colorado or Vancouver comes to the pacific.

Winnipeg will be out of the SE division soon.