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Post by ray9733 on Mar 20, 2011 0:15:33 GMT -5
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Post by jeffb on Mar 20, 2011 0:23:48 GMT -5
.Phoenix Coyotes rising above the madness once again
by Dan Bickley, columnist - Mar. 19, 2011 09:28 PM
The Arizona Republic
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Friend or foe? The playoff-bound Coyotes would like to know.
Sometimes, it's hard to tell the difference.
Attorneys at the Goldwater Institute say they're really big fans of the hockey team. Oh, sure. Online comments and message boards are filled with Canadian eavesdroppers and those openly cheering for the Coyotes to fail. The threat of relocation has spawned numerous conspiracy theories:
Did you hear the wife of the Diamondbacks owner is on the Goldwater board? Or how well-heeled Canadians are plotting a heist through secret donations to our own watchdog group? Alas, Darcy Olsen, the Goldwater CEO, did not have time Friday to respond to the latter chunk of lunacy.
This much is true: The plight of the Coyotes is being discussed in front offices of all our major professional sports teams. Among competitors in a sputtering market, what is the impact of losing an NHL team? Would it be better if it were gone? Is it better if it stays?
"We don't know if either is true," Suns President and CEO Rick Welts said. "But our belief is we are rooting for them to stay. If they leave, it will change the way people view us as a big-league market. National advertisers pay attention to that."
The Diamondbacks agree. Then again, majority owner Ken Kendrick is in a strange position. He never purposely would stand in the way of the Coyotes. He's not that kind of guy. But he wouldn't own a baseball team if not for a back-door tax, the kind of nefarious and sometimes necessary behavior his wife is now fighting. And at the moment, his team already is a drain on the city of Glendale.
The Diamondbacks' new spring venue - Salt River Fields - is the rage of the Cactus League. Cubs President Crane Kenney already has whined that his incoming facility in Mesa won't be nearly as special. And just the other day, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said the Diamondbacks are drawing fans away from the West Valley and are partly to blame for the sparse crowds at his beautiful Camelback Ranch complex.
"One of the attractions to putting this ballpark here was the plan for what was going to be built around it," Reinsdorf told the Chicago Tribune. "By now, in our third year, we were supposed to be looking at restaurants and retail and a hotel and condominiums. And the guys who were going to do that went broke. So we're sort of sitting out here by ourselves."
If the Coyotes were forced to leave, the fallout would be more emotional than financial. Some sponsorship dollars would be reallocated among existing teams. The lowest price point in the market - affordable suite deals at Jobing.com Arena - would be eliminated. Yet the impact among competitors isn't Earth-shaking, and there would be little migration of hockey fans to other stadiums across the Valley.
"We think four teams are better," Diamondbacks President/CEO Derrick Hall said. "We can easily support four teams. We don't share the same ticket holders. I think we need all four. We're a big-league city, and if we lose a team like the Coyotes, I think it's embarrassing. It says we couldn't support four teams, and I don't believe that."
Still, if the Coyotes truly are a rising power with serious growth potential on and off the ice, then the matter becomes a little more cutthroat than their competitors would like to admit. Reinsdorf told the Tribune that the future still is a good bet in Glendale, and that's why the city is clinging to the Coyotes.
"All of the projections for the Phoenix-area growth had Glendale in 10 years being the population center of the Valley, a ton of people west of here," Reinsdorf said. "And that stopped. But at some point the economy will come back. This is too vibrant an area. And when it does come back, those projections will come true."
For a more-immediate gauge, some are watching the Cardinals, where Michael Bidwill once objected to Reinsdorf's attempt to purchase the team. Would it help the NFL club if Westgate is diminished, thereby funneling all game-day business to University of Phoenix Stadium? Or does the cohabitation enhance a football fan's experience?
Currently, the Cardinals own 14,000 parking spaces at the University of Phoenix Stadium. They give 1,000 spaces per game to the Coyotes as part of an agreement. The hockey club pays for staffing and cleaning of those lots.
What happens when the Coyotes try to recoup bond money by charging excessively for parking at Westgate? Will the Cardinals play along? Or will they see an opportunity and offer cheaper alternatives across the street?
"I think the Valley teams and sports fans benefit when all of the franchises are strong and successful," Bidwill said. "We root for all of the other teams in town and hope they're fans of ours as well. We have a good relationship with our neighbors, the Coyotes, and know that this has been a trying situation for them, but (we) certainly hope for the best."
No doubt, the Coyotes are a dying breed. They are among the last in line to receive what amounts to a huge subsidy from their host city. Otherwise, the trough of public money for sports teams is just about empty. And if you look closely, the death of that golden goose is why NFL owners want concessions from their players.
From now on, they'll be paying for their own houses, too.
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Post by jeffb on Mar 20, 2011 0:25:25 GMT -5
Please follow the rules and put the title of the article as the thread subject, and copy the article into an email for everyone to read.  Tx! |
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Post by ray9733 on Mar 20, 2011 0:33:01 GMT -5
woops sorry
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mac19
Prime Member
Posts: 80
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Post by mac19 on Mar 20, 2011 0:42:14 GMT -5
this article hints at what I truly believe and have been saying on this boards - the Coyotes situtation is puting a very sharp focus on sports welfare... will be the text book case, the bench mark for other cities to measure themselves by when an owner puts a gun to a council's head. This won't just be a turning point for Winnipeg and the NHL... this is going to be a turning point for pro-sports
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Post by jeffb on Mar 20, 2011 1:15:59 GMT -5
I agree, mac. The whole Coyotes issue has put this on the map for all of North America. Lots of eyes are watching ... and the optics look terrible for the NHL.
This is the "TSN Turning Point" ...
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Post by jetman66 on Mar 20, 2011 3:49:47 GMT -5
I think Gary/Matt/CoG were trying to get this scam rammed through, before anyone read the fine print....
Thank you GWI....
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Post by enarwpg on Mar 20, 2011 9:59:52 GMT -5
this article hints at what I truly believe and have been saying on this boards - the Coyotes situtation is puting a very sharp focus on sports welfare... will be the text book case, the bench mark for other cities to measure themselves by when an owner puts a gun to a council's head. This won't just be a turning point for Winnipeg and the NHL... this is going to be a turning point for pro-sports Every major decision in government is strongly influenced by the elite and has been that way since the dawn of man. Is this about to change? I doubt it! Having said that, I do want the deal to be dead and absolutely want the return of the Jets(NHL) to Winnipeg! |
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