So, how’s it going with last week’s rumored plan by Arizona Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo to have his team play at Arizona State University’s 5,000-seat arena for the foreseeable future after having gotten themselves evicted by Glendale after the city decided it wasn’t worth paying the team $5.6 million to play there? Really, really, badly!
- A bunch of NHL team executives anonymously told The Athletic that they absolutely hate the idea, because the reduced team revenues will hurt not just the Coyotes but the money they share with the rest of the league. “Just a nightmare all around,” said one executive; several called it “embarrassing”; one noted that the Coyotes would likely be limited not just in ticket sales but in things like in-ice and video-board ad sales. (Others, though, pointed to internal league figures showing that much of the Coyotes’ current reported average 11,575 attendance is free ticket giveaways, so being limited to 5,000 seats might not be that big an issue.) The NHL players’ union also won’t be thrilled, since less league revenue means a lower salary cap, but it’s not clear if the union has any standing to object under the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
- PHNX’s Craig Morgan reports that NCAA rules would prohibit the Coyotes from using ASU’s locker rooms, meaning Meruelo would have to build his own, at an estimated cost of $15-20 million. He cites “sources” as saying ASU won’t pay for any part of that, and will require pre-payment of three years of rent, which is probably a good idea given Meruelo’s past record with paying his bills.
That’s an awful lot of money to be spending/losing just to because Meruelo didn’t want to suck it up and agree to a lease in Glendale where he would actually pay rent instead of being paid to play there, but I guess he sees it all as a loss leader toward getting a new arena built in Tempe, assuming this spring’s city council elections tip the balance of power away from its current anti-Meruelo majority. If that doesn’t work out, though, the Coyotes’ annual $15-30 million losses could balloon even larger, and the NHL could finally be forced to let the team consider moving to another city with both an already-existing arena and already-existing fans, as The Athletic also reported:
“I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point the league had to bite the bullet and force the current ownership to make a move or sell,” one team executive said. “They’ve botched the situation with Glendale. What’s to say anyone believes they’ll actually get something done in three or four years?”
And at least one team exec says that the Coyotes should be excluded from revenue-sharing payments while playing in their teensy arena, arguing, “Why should they be rewarded? My owner is pissed about it, other owners are pissed about it. I’m sure the players are also pissed about it.” You know what they say: If you’re pissing off everybody, you must be doing something right! Or something.
The Coyotes are going to play on their Scottsdale practice arena lol
With the news that the team will have to construct it’s own locker rooms and other player facilities, along with the loss of ticket revenue (even I don’t believe that this basketcase franchise is only selling 4500 tickets per game) I’m beginning to wonder if this isn’t Meruelo’s poison pill play.
If the league refuses his ‘enforced’ temporary option what other avenues are available?
Moving, even temporarily, is unlikely to be considered acceptable. Can they force him back to Glendale (and would Glendale accept the team back, even if the NHL agreed to pay the full year’s rent and other costs up front)?
They could compel him to sell (either to a new found owner that would almost certainly want to move the team immediately, or to the league itself again).
Or they could revoke his franchise (which is essentially what they did to Moyes, although they waited too long and Moyes put the business into bankruptcy court before they could serve him with appropriate paperwork).
How close is Meruelo to having manoeuvred the league into a position where they have to approve any move or sale he can (probably hastily) propose?
I doubt there’s much appetite for the league taking them over again given the fact that the other owners had to eat most of the $100m in operating losses and legal costs they incurred last time they did this.
They may not want a team in Houston or Quebec City. I’m pretty sure they didn’t want a team back in Winnipeg either… but when there was no-one left willing to own the team in Atlanta, that’s what happened.
Poison pill play, I like that reasoning.
Glendale will not take them back, under any scenerio.
I see a group, not unlike the Seattle Kraken and recent Pittsburgh Penguins sale, occurring for the Houston market.
If I understand Meruelo’s business history accurately, asset stripping is not a foreign concept to him. I believe they have already said they were going to “move to profitability” by reducing player and other costs… which really doesn’t work all that well in a competitive sports environment… IE:”come see our semi pro calibre team play for just 70% of what we used to charge for NHL games!”
Given what he paid for the franchise and what NHL portables are now notionally worth, who knows? He may end up making out like a bandit despite mismanaging the team badly in the short period he owned it.
He wouldn’t be the first…
Houston is ready, willing, and able to support an NHL franchise.
I’m just not so sure that we’re interested in a clown like Meruelo running the show.
Meruelo would not be running the show, as there would be a different majority owner within the group. That will be the only way this will happen and Meruelo gets his money back.
Houston’s fans might be ready, but it doesn’t seem to have an owner and arena ready to go. If it did, it probably would have a team by now.
It appears that the Rockets neither want to share their arena with a hockey team as a tenant nor buy one at the going rate.
New owners could maybe build an arena, but that takes a while.
No doubt the league is trying to make something happen in Houston, either to move the Coyotes or to serve as a threat against Ottawa and Florida.
But the plan doesn’t seem to be fully cooked yet.
The Coyotes should have been relocated to Hamilton. Gary Bettman resign alreadly
Time for some “outside the rink” ideas!
I love this story! The Coyotes have been wandering in the desert for what, 25 years now? Another 15 years and Moses will lead them to… who knows where The Promised Stadium will be found?
From the AZCentral article (https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2022/02/03/group-campaigns-against-coyotes-nhl-arena-tempe/6650197001/), here is the link to the form from the CASE group: https://forms.caseactionaz.com/a/nhl?ms=6
I think the emergency situation would have AEG sell their stake in the King’s to the guys who bought their share in the Lakers. Buy the Coyotes and relocate them to Kansas City, they own the T-Mobile Center. I think Florida moving to Quebec is a real possibility too.