Post by Douggy-D on May 2, 2011 20:32:36 GMT -5
"Another week goes by and still we have no resolution towards retaining the Coyotes hockey club in Glendale and Jobing.com Arena. Our elected leaders have taken a backseat to the ideological wishes of the Goldwater Institute. I’m beginning to question why we have elections at all if the attorneys at GWI can simply threaten a lawsuit and watch the council bow to their wishes. What kind of precedent are we setting here? Anytime an interest disagrees with our elected leaders’ wishes, why not just decide to inject itself into the scene with a quiet donation to a “watchdog group”.
While I cannot determine who is funding the GWI, since they don’t have to disclose it, I have some probable guesses just based on financial motivations. The TNSE group in Winnipeg has extremely deep pockets and their vocal population evidently feels that their team was “stolen” and moved to a “non-traditional” market. How dare the NHL try growing their amazing game in a place where kids aren’t born next to a frozen pond. If only we could figure out a way to cool water here in the desert, or make the summer tolerable in our houses somehow. Pardon my sarcasm.
What about the jilted Moyes group? Once a highly respected businessman and Glendale darling, Jerry tried an end around the city and chose to engage in legal trickery to get out of a 30 year lease with Glendale. Perhaps a small donation to the GWI might stick a couple of thorns into the backsides of the city leadership.
The Canadian group from RIM may enjoy smearing some egg on the NHL’s face. Unhappy with the league undoing their third attempt at “hostile ownership” takeover, why not send a few bucks to the local gun-for-hire.
Heck, I’m so jaded at this point, if I was a bond buyer and thought a couple of thousand to a “non-profit” could garner me a couple of extra points on an interest rate over 30 years, why not?
All of that aside, let’s think about what exactly we will lose with the Coyotes. Tax revenue from the team, revenue from the Westgate businesses, the entire local economy based on having a professional NHL team.
The Phoenix Coyotes charities, how will those millions be replaced? In a down economy more than ever, the amount raised by the team for wonderful causes is not going to be raised by the Ice Capades.
Can Westgate survive without an anchor tenant? My opinion is, about as good a chance as an ice cream cone on my roof in August. The businesses there would never be able to survive without the foot traffic generated by 41 regular season games plus pre-season. Jobing.com Arena will still have to compete with all of the other arenas for concerts, shows, and other events. How exactly will you replace those dates in this economy? Answer, you won’t.
This deal needs to happen for Glendale. This team has an amazing amount of fans after all of this uncertainty for the last two years, do you know why? Because the product is amazing and the trajectory of this team in the future is incredible. In spite of all that has happened with the bankruptcy, the Moyes letter to season ticket holders, all of the negative press from the Canadian media, the wishy-washiness from Glendale, and the team has still managed to maintain a steady base of diehard fans. Yes, the team needs more, let’s say, not-so diehard fans. Those folks who like to go out and watch something new, something exciting, and make a night of it. Isn’t that what Glendale needs for the Westgate Center to survive? Isn’t bringing in someone like Matt Hulsizer to team up with Glendale just what is needed to make the area grow?
I can’t be the only one who sees this very possible scenario next year: No Coyotes, no Cardinals, no more Fiesta Bowl, and a giant Casino across the street from a ghost town called Westgate. Yeah, that sounds like a big win for GWI, congratulations.
We will be paying for Jobing.com Arena no matter what happens. We cannot afford to let the Westgate center fail, and it won’t be the Goldwater Institute who will pay the price for that failure, it will be the taxpayers living in Glendale, Arizona."
While I cannot determine who is funding the GWI, since they don’t have to disclose it, I have some probable guesses just based on financial motivations. The TNSE group in Winnipeg has extremely deep pockets and their vocal population evidently feels that their team was “stolen” and moved to a “non-traditional” market. How dare the NHL try growing their amazing game in a place where kids aren’t born next to a frozen pond. If only we could figure out a way to cool water here in the desert, or make the summer tolerable in our houses somehow. Pardon my sarcasm.
What about the jilted Moyes group? Once a highly respected businessman and Glendale darling, Jerry tried an end around the city and chose to engage in legal trickery to get out of a 30 year lease with Glendale. Perhaps a small donation to the GWI might stick a couple of thorns into the backsides of the city leadership.
The Canadian group from RIM may enjoy smearing some egg on the NHL’s face. Unhappy with the league undoing their third attempt at “hostile ownership” takeover, why not send a few bucks to the local gun-for-hire.
Heck, I’m so jaded at this point, if I was a bond buyer and thought a couple of thousand to a “non-profit” could garner me a couple of extra points on an interest rate over 30 years, why not?
All of that aside, let’s think about what exactly we will lose with the Coyotes. Tax revenue from the team, revenue from the Westgate businesses, the entire local economy based on having a professional NHL team.
The Phoenix Coyotes charities, how will those millions be replaced? In a down economy more than ever, the amount raised by the team for wonderful causes is not going to be raised by the Ice Capades.
Can Westgate survive without an anchor tenant? My opinion is, about as good a chance as an ice cream cone on my roof in August. The businesses there would never be able to survive without the foot traffic generated by 41 regular season games plus pre-season. Jobing.com Arena will still have to compete with all of the other arenas for concerts, shows, and other events. How exactly will you replace those dates in this economy? Answer, you won’t.
This deal needs to happen for Glendale. This team has an amazing amount of fans after all of this uncertainty for the last two years, do you know why? Because the product is amazing and the trajectory of this team in the future is incredible. In spite of all that has happened with the bankruptcy, the Moyes letter to season ticket holders, all of the negative press from the Canadian media, the wishy-washiness from Glendale, and the team has still managed to maintain a steady base of diehard fans. Yes, the team needs more, let’s say, not-so diehard fans. Those folks who like to go out and watch something new, something exciting, and make a night of it. Isn’t that what Glendale needs for the Westgate Center to survive? Isn’t bringing in someone like Matt Hulsizer to team up with Glendale just what is needed to make the area grow?
I can’t be the only one who sees this very possible scenario next year: No Coyotes, no Cardinals, no more Fiesta Bowl, and a giant Casino across the street from a ghost town called Westgate. Yeah, that sounds like a big win for GWI, congratulations.
We will be paying for Jobing.com Arena no matter what happens. We cannot afford to let the Westgate center fail, and it won’t be the Goldwater Institute who will pay the price for that failure, it will be the taxpayers living in Glendale, Arizona."