Allen
Rookie Member
Posts: 20
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Post by Allen on Feb 21, 2009 11:59:27 GMT -5
I was at the Coyotes game against the Oilers with some other Winnipeg friends on Monday the 16th. There were about 14,000 there and lots of empty seats. There were tons of Canadians cheering for the Oilers. In fact the chants for the Oilers clearly outstripped the Coyotes. It was embarrassing for the Coyote fans. My guess is there were at least 5,000+ Canadians at the game. The featured “season ticket holder of the game” was from Manitoba! Lots of Winnipeg fans there. I wore a Jets Jersey and saw a few others there. I met many Winnipeg people at the game, as they came up to talk to me about my jersey and the Jets. Even a “Go Jets GO” Chant! We paid about $36 US for 2nd level centre ice tickets. If we had waited until we got there to buy the tickets, we could have gotten them for $9 US.
The arena is not bad. The seats are cramped and the slant reminded me of the Winnipeg Arena upper deck. The eating spots around the arena were nice, with lots going on. The food at the Arena was not good however. It's kind of sad to see mostly Canadians caring about the game down there. I looked for news coverage the next day, but saw none on TV. It seems the people of Phoenix have no real interest in the team.
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Allen
Rookie Member
Posts: 20
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Post by Allen on Feb 21, 2009 12:01:41 GMT -5
To add to my last post. Bring'Em Back!
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Post by jhendrix70 on Feb 21, 2009 12:10:48 GMT -5
Thanks Allen! I'm glad you had a good time at the game & enjoyed meeting others from Winnipeg! This game was televised and although one should think it's shocking to see so many Oiler fans IN Phoenix, it's beyond that point now for each game, there is a solid 1/4 cheering for the visitors!
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Post by djk on Feb 21, 2009 12:21:03 GMT -5
Lots of Winnipeg fans there. I wore a Jets Jersey and saw a few others there. I saw you on TV. ;D (Or maybe one of the others you saw.)
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sharksphan
Veteran Member
No, I'm not a transplanted Canadian... I just play one on TV
Posts: 112
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Post by sharksphan on Feb 22, 2009 4:35:32 GMT -5
Hey, if the Coyotes can consistently fill their seats with Oilers fans, perhaps they won't have to move! ;D
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Allen
Rookie Member
Posts: 20
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Post by Allen on Feb 22, 2009 12:55:26 GMT -5
Sharksphan said-"Hey, if the Coyotes can consistently fill their seats with Oilers fans, perhaps they won't have to move! "
From what I saw there last Monday, many of the cars in the lot near where we parked were from Alberta. There was no charge for the parking. Many, many fans had Oiler jerseys at the game. The many Canadians at the game sung the Canadian National anthem and it was quite loud. The fans next to me didn't understand the game and didn't even understand why the Coyotes pulled their goalie near the end of the game! I had to explain it to them.
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Post by allthisgold on Feb 22, 2009 21:20:58 GMT -5
Everyone obviously feel free catching a game whenever you can... but for me, if I am in Phoenix, Nashville, Altanta or Florida I will not support those teams by paying money for tickets.
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Post by mcguire4 on Feb 22, 2009 22:18:37 GMT -5
Everyone obviously feel free catching a game whenever you can... but for me, if I am in Phoenix, Nashville, Altanta or Florida I will not support those teams by paying money for tickets. thank you. appreciate that.
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Post by wagner3 on Feb 22, 2009 22:20:03 GMT -5
^ you can always buy your tickets off someone outside the arena before the game starts...you might even get them below face value...
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Post by djk on Mar 4, 2009 22:22:44 GMT -5
Coyotes saying goodbye to their playoff chances by trading away Jokinen and Morris? Another write off season... can't be good.
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Post by Y2C on Mar 7, 2009 19:37:33 GMT -5
^ you can always buy your tickets off someone outside the arena before the game starts...you might even get them below face value... If that was the case they'd have to be paying you. ;D
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Post by DEATHBYPOPCORN1990 on Mar 7, 2009 19:39:07 GMT -5
Coyotes saying goodbye to their playoff chances by trading away Jokinen and Morris? Another write off season... can't be good. Bad for them, GOOOOOOD for us..............I love it, I love it!
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Post by joelzillmanwpg on Mar 7, 2009 23:14:00 GMT -5
from tsn.ca:
Coyotes tabled second offer; considered better than first Darren Dreger 3/7/2009 5:59:18 PM
The Phoenix Coyotes have been tabled a preliminary offer to buy the financially troubled team.
There are few details on the offer, however, it is considered to be much better than the one the team first received last month.
In mid-February, the struggling franchise received an offer from an investor to buy the team. Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes later confirmed, at least in part, that the organization had received expressions of interest from potential investors.
"Wayne Gretzky and I have had discussions with potential investors interested in joining us in continuing the team's presence in Glendale. I have met with Glendale city management, who expressed strong support for the team, and whose assistance would contribute to helping the Coyotes operate on a positive cash flow basis," Moyes stated through the release at the time.
Last week, Phoenix television station KPNX obtained documents stating the city of Glendale, Ariz., had been letting the team play virtually rent-free at Jobing.com Arena for seven months. According to the station's website, the break could be worth up to US$4 million over the course of a year.
The team has been struggling on the ice as well, going 3-7-0 in their last 10 games. They sit last in the Pacific Division and are 14th in the Western Conference, nine points out of a playoff spot.
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Post by djk on Mar 8, 2009 0:04:05 GMT -5
Usually misinformed comments by readers in there. One bringing up our old average attendance, as if it has any bearing. Felt obliged to point out what the average league attendance was back in those days.
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Post by shifty2007 on Apr 19, 2009 13:44:48 GMT -5
Phoenix likely staying put for 2009-10 With no buyers in sight, NHL expected to continue to bail out troubled franchise
DAVID SHOALTS
From Saturday's Globe and Mail April 17, 2009 at 9:45 PM EDT
The Phoenix Coyotes will likely survive at least one more season in the desert after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently received majority approval from the league's governors to negotiate an increase on the NHL's line of credit by almost three-fold to $190-million (all currency U.S.).
While the move is not specifically aimed at the Coyotes, it does mean the NHL would have the necessary funds to continue paying for the operation of the struggling franchise – which it began doing last fall, after owner Jerry Moyes became unable or unwilling to pay for its losses. It is thought the Coyotes could lose as much as $35-million this year.
An NHL governor, who requested to not be identified, said Bettman got approval to boost the line of credit with New York-based Citibank NA by $125-million from its existing limit of $65-million, although not all governors were in favour of the move.
Bettman still has not worked out the increase with the bank, but is expected to do so in the near future.
The increase follows similar actions by other professional sports leagues in recent months.
Leagues are able to negotiate better terms with the banks than individual teams, sources say, which makes cash available in a tight lending market in case some franchises run into trouble. The NBA, for example, recently increased its line of credit to $200-million.
A source close to the NHL's board of governors said the Coyotes owe the league between $8-million and $10-million. The rest of the club's debt, most of which is held by a New York hedge fund, is thought to be about $80-million.
It is estimated the league advanced as much as $30-million to the team during the 2008-09 season, but most of that was in the form of advances on the Coyotes' portion of the NHL's revenue-sharing money, plus league television, merchandise and other revenues. The club will also get about $6.3-million from the players' escrow account as a rebate on their salaries because league revenues did not match projections.
There was some speculation the Coyotes, whose attendance is among the lowest in the NHL, would miss a full portion of revenue sharing (which could be as much as $15-million) because the team's growth in average attendance this season would not match or exceed the league's rate.
But one NHL owner said the preliminary numbers show the Coyotes had enough growth in paid attendance to get a full share. Other sources have said the Coyotes bought their own tickets to help hit the target, which is not against league rules under certain conditions.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly declined to comment. However, a league source confirmed the governors' approval of a credit expansion, but added the NHL still does not intend to pay the Coyotes' bills for another season.
The problem is, according to sources in the NHL and the investment banking community, the Coyotes franchise is still nowhere close to being sold, despite rumours of interested parties. The latest talk, according to one league source, concerns a group from the Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz., area, although the identity of the principals is unknown.
Several potential buyers with deep pockets have looked at the club at Bettman's request, but all declined after seeing at the Coyotes' financial numbers. It is estimated Moyes has lost more than $250-million on the team since he bought it in 2001.
Despite the losses and lack of interest in owning the franchise as long as it is tied to an arena in the remote suburb of Glendale, one NHL owner said there is little risk in advancing more money to the Coyotes.
The NHL has the absolute right to revoke a franchise at any time, which supersedes agreements such as the Coyotes' arena lease, which calls for enormous financial penalties if the team leaves before it expires in 2033.
“Even if the league has to pump $40-million into the team, there is still no risk,” the owner said. “It would be an absolute last resort, but the NHL could get its money back by revoking the franchise, selling it and moving it to another city.”
Several NHL and investment banking sources say the only way Bettman could sell the Coyotes is to get the City of Glendale to rewrite the lease to include an escape clause after at least two seasons. Glendale officials are willing to increase the annual subsidy of the club, but are resisting an escape clause because the city took on $180-million in debt to build the arena and losing the major tenant would be devastating.
“It's so messy to move with the long-term lease and the debt,” one banking source said, adding no one can predict the outcome. “It's a mess. Anyone who tells you what's going on there … well, it's all over the place.”
The latest group to take a pass on the Coyotes is Sports Properties Acquisition Corp., an investment fund operated by a group of powerful businessmen and former politicians. Andrew Murstein, a New York businessman whose family owns Medallion Financial Corp., a publicly traded investment company, is one of the principals of Sports Properties, along with former New York governor Mario Cuomo and former U.S. congressman Jack Kemp.
Sports Properties is an investment fund created for the purpose of buying sports properties by selling shares. It has raised $216-million, and its declared purpose is to buy one franchise for between $250-million and $1-billion. The fund tried and failed to buy baseball's Chicago Cubs.
Murstein, who could not be reached for comment, has said they are looking at franchises in various sports.
One source said Murstein would only be interested in the Coyotes at a price in the neighbourhood of $125-million and if Glendale granted an escape clause. With reports from David Naylor and Matthew Sekeres
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Post by roosta604 on Apr 19, 2009 14:14:31 GMT -5
Well certainly I don't mind seeing articles like this....basically just more confirmation that as each year passes the NHL will slowly run out of excuses on why they should bail out this team
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Post by BigMac15 on Apr 20, 2009 8:35:39 GMT -5
I saw this article on Saturday. I agree that excuses are running thin. But I was disappointed with the unamed owner who seemed to imply the league would be willing to pour more money into Phoenix. The resolve to keep teams like Phoenix in place seems firm. I hope I'm am wrong.
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Post by allthisgold on Apr 20, 2009 12:18:45 GMT -5
Interesting. The league puts money into the team. If this amounts gets too high there may be real pressure by existing clubs to have the league revoke the franchise and sell it. This would be able to be done without triggering the massive penalty in the lease - at least that what is suggested in the article.
Sounds bad but I hope season ticket sales, luxury box sales and advertising sales go really poorly this year.
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Post by AndersUlfAndBobby on May 10, 2009 17:19:34 GMT -5
I can't wait to see the look on Bettman's face the minute he realizes he's lost the battle and the Jets (Coyotes) are coming back to Canada.
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nuje
Prime Member
Posts: 84
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Post by nuje on Jun 8, 2009 2:03:26 GMT -5
This would be able to be done without triggering the massive penalty in the lease - at least that what is suggested in the article. As far as I know, that is why bankruptcy was filed. When something like this goes to bankruptcy court, everything is re-structured from the ground up. That lease would end up being more or less useless, and it would all be up to the courts. While any team going to Winnipeg would be awesome, I'd just find it utterly amazing if the Coyotes were the ones to move back, taking back history, and even a player with them, who's been along for the ride the entire time. Even if the courts decide against relocation on Tuesday, that lease probably gets re-done, with much bigger emphasis on an easy out, and simply less rent. Then they'll drag on for another year or 2, and then leave, being sold as a moving team. In that case, do keep in mind that Bettman is getting his arse kicked by Balsillie in the public relations battle (people saw right through his Winnipeg comments seemingly). However, if the latter situation happens, and Bettman actively seeks a buyer in Winnipeg before anybody else, he will go from public enemy #1, to the guy who brought hockey back to Winnipeg. As far as if it's right or wrong, I couldn't say, but if he actually seeks a Winnipeg move as a priority for the Coyotes, then that'd be great.
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