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A Visitor No Sports Team Wants
The NHL won’t speak about it. It’s too embarrassing.
At a time of the year when the spotlight shines brightest on hockey the last thing the league needs is more dire news headlines to dim the lights.
My guess would be that someone will have to speak about it soon after Lord Stanley has been awarded to its champion.
The topic is the fact that the operation of one of the NHL’s most struggling teams has been placed in the hands of the league itself. Unprecedented. The Phoenix Coyotes have hit rock bottom, unable to pay their bills, make the playoffs, or draw flies. Now the NHL has put the franchise on life support, covering anything from payroll to lease payments to the city of Glendale. A real shocker? Nope.
This last happened in pro sports with the Montreal Expos of MLB. And we all know what happened to them soon after. The hard reality of this situation is the bigger picture. The Cactus Jets are just part of the house of cards that is about fold into itself. One might think this hopeless situation in Phoenix is exactly what Winnipeg needs to regain (its former) team. After all, league control may very well mean a reasonable sale price under desperate circumstances and receivership. I would agree. But as ironic and Cinderella as that may sound, the fact is the legalities of this mess could drag on for a while. There is no easy way to up and leave, however it is now inevitable that they will indeed relocate.
Before you cry for the state of Arizona, read through Dan Bickley’s recent column in the Arizona Republic about how little the Coyotes would really be missed. It is a saturated market full of sporting options that rank far higher than hockey in most people’s minds and that take far less time to travel to.
So if not the Coyotes that Winnipeg preys on, then who? Well there is still a considerable list of candidates that are in worse shape than Phoenix, only they are managing to pay their debts. For now.
We are about to embark on a very interesting off-season in 2009. The mix of bad market and bad economy has finally brought several teams to the brink of collapse and Winnipeg, a good market and far less damaged economy will be there to pick up the pieces. When the bell tolls, Winnipeg will step up and answer the call.
Our time could be fast approaching. We’ve waited and we are ready. We have the arena, the fans, the corporate support and an ownership group well poised to sustain such an investment. An investment that will mean the world to people in this province and put Winnipeg back on the map again.
Get ready, the NHL could look very different inside of two years. It’s about time, too.
.
In Winnipeg...
Darren Ford
Founder
Return of the Jets Campaign
www.JetsOwner.com
Some Other Articles That You May Enjoy:
Winnipeg: Hockey Central
Phoenix Coyotes
NHL Favours Winnipeg For Relocation Destination
Coyotes Snap Losing Streak: Look To Get on a Roll Against Canucks
Coyotes Return Home for Showdown with Red Wings
Coyotes Become Chum: Lose 2-0 and Reinprecht
We hope you enjoyed this post. As always, leaving a comment below is both appreciated and encouraged. Thanks!
And the worst part is, sports fans in Arizona have no excuse. The new arena is *gorgeous*. Tickets are cheap. Wayne Gretzky is at every game.
The location? Please. People come to Arizona Cardinals games, which is in a stadium located right beside Jobing.com Arena.
The team is bad? Right. I’m sure *if only* the Coyotes had made the playoffs the last few years consecutively, this would be a profitable organization, with overflow crowds at the arena. I think not.
I won’t feel sorry for the citizens of Arizona when the Coyotes relocate- and neither should anyone else on the planet. There’s so much to see and do in Phoenix and the surrounding communities from September- April — not to mention the NFL, MLB, NBA, and College Teams which all have a huge following there. They’ll still be there!
The NHL needs to be in more markets where not only is there little to no competition for citizens disposable income sports-wise, but also a city where hockey is King. #1 by a mile- both in terms of coverage and interest by fans. A place where you don’t have to “create” brand-new fans.
That location is Winnipeg.
One thing about Dan Bickley is that he has something against the Coyotes and always has. He has consistently written bad things about the team and it is no surprise that he is doing it again. The NHL worked in Phoenix before and it can work again. Unfortunately Phoenix is a very fair weather city when it comes to sports meaning a team must be winning for people to go and see them.
Just because Wayne Gretzky is at games does not mean anything at this point. Personally I think he needs to get out from behind the bench because he is holding the team back in terms of development. They have the talent but no system to implement it in.
Also, it has not been confirmed that the team is under league control as the Coyotes are still reporting to Jerry Moyes.
Can you be any more Delusional??
You’re using Bickley as a resource?? Did you not see Darren Pang on OTR?
Funny stuff buddy.. keep up the futile effort
Chris: You state that “The NHL worked in Phoenix before”.
Care to elaborate on that?
Look, their tenure at America West Arena in downtown Phoenix (now called US Airways Center) was always doomed simply because the venue was never designed for NHL hockey and there were something like 4,000 obstructed view seats (kinda like the old Winnipeg Arena).
Once the team moved into Jobing.com arena, there really is no excuse for their failure. Blame the team’s performance all you like; but a poorly playing team never discourages fans from attending games in any of the 6 Canadian cities or in Minnesota.
I went to games at the old America West Arena when the team first started playing and what i mean is that the place was always pretty well attended. That can happen again in Phoenix but because Phoenix is not a place like Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, or Minnesota they have to be winning for people to attend.
Good to see Minnesota included as if it’s part of Canada!
Considering how many ex-Minnesotans live in Phoenix, I’m actually surprised the Coyotes aren’t doing better – at least the two games a year the Wild come to town. If you want to see what I’m talking about, watch a Vikings – Cardinals game in Phoenix. Half the stadium is wearing purple.
I really don’t see any teams moving. In Phoenix, the politicians who decided to build the $180 million arena as well as Garry Bettman would have to admit defeat. As much as I love to see the NHL back in Winnipeg I am getting more and more pessimistic. Winnipeg isn’t very hard on the NHL priority list.
Well peg_city you have just been proven wrong. Coyotes declare chaper 11 and Balls Silly gets to move the team to S. ontario. I’m all for another Canadain team, but Wpg deserves a shot first beofre another S. Ontario team. Both would work out great, but I have a hard time seeing my old Jets as a team in Hamilton or K-W.
The Bettman experiment has failed miserbaly, and now the first card has dropped. Florida and Atlanta are next.
If the Coyotes move, I’d much rather see them in Winnipeg than Southern Ontario.
National Hockey League Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly issued the following statement regarding the Phoenix Coyotes:
“We have just become aware of today’s Bankruptcy Court filing purportedly made on behalf of the Phoenix Coyotes. We are investigating the circumstances surrounding the petition, including the propriety of its filing. We have removed Jerry Moyes from all positions of authority to act for or on behalf of the Club. The League will appear and proceed before the Bankruptcy Court in the best interests of all of the Club’s constituencies, including its fans in Arizona and the League’s 29 other Member Clubs.”
there you go chris hoeler
Ballsillie is going to screw it up. He’s apparently made a $200+ million offer to move the team to S. Ontario. AS IF! Bring back my JETS!
1. There are 2 NHL teams within a 1 hour drive of Hamilton (Toronto and Buffalo- who I can’t imagine being in favour of a Hamilton team). There are no NHL teams anywhere *near* Winnipeg.
2. If the NHL wanted a team in Hamilton, it would have put one there in the early 90’s when Hamilton had the new Copps Coliseum and applied for a franchise. They were turned down in favour of Ottawa, who didn’t even have an NHL-calibre arena at the time.
3. If the NHL wanted a team in Hamilton, they wouldn’t have blocked Balsillie from buying the Penguins. Or the Predators. But they did block it.
4. If by some miracle the NHL awarded Balsillie the Coyotes to move to Hamilton, they would need a new arena sooner, rather than later. Do you have any idea how hard it is and how long it takes to get a new professional sports facility built in Canada? Take a look at our crumbling CFL stadiums. And would Balsillie pony up the $200 million CDN to build a new arena- in addition to the $212 million he’d pay to buy the Coyotes?
There’s enough to go around here. Other teams may move, and if the Coyotes kick it off by moving to Ontario, someone else will become available for Winnipeg.
Hamilton is problematic, but would it be a workable compromise for all sides if the team moved to Hamilton temporarily but with a commitment to eventually build a permanent arena somewhere in SW Ontario, a bit further away from Toronto? No one city in SW Ontario is very big, but there are a number of medium-sized cities not too far apart from each other, and the region combined is 2.3 million. Toronto and Buffalo would be impacted less. And Hamilton fans could still root for the team – it would be a less convenient for them but going to Toronto isn’t that convenient for them either. Everybody wins.
When those who hail Winnipeg as a home they fail to mention the nights in Winnipeg in the mid 1990’s when there would be 10-11 thousand in the Winnipeg Arena and tickets could be had for $20-$45. I can remember walking up to the window and buying tickets when the hated Maple Leafs were in town and that was a half hour before game time.
Like most cities, a losing lacklustre team will struggle to attract fans.
Winnipeg has the Moose. Enjoy what we have. The NHL isn’t coming back. The question is are you a hockey fan Darren or just someone who needs the NHL in your town to consider yourself worthy?
Dan M: Typical “let’s settle for medicrocy” Winnipegger.
It’s not 1990 in Winnipeg anymore. Our new team will not be playing at the Winnipeg Arena. Or be run by Barry Shenkarow. The team will not have the same players as 1990.
Pretty much everything is more expensive than it was in 1990. And i’ve found that the people who complain about what NHL tickets might cost at the MTS Centre for an NHL team aren’t even the type to go to big-league sporting events anyways. I’ve been to a few NHL hockey games in previous years. Didn’t hear any fans around spend the game whining about the price they pay for their ticket. In fact, it seemed they enjoyed themselves quite a bit.
Winnipeg is an NHL city. WInnipeg has an NHL-calibre arena (for once). We deserve the best. The city needs less people that fear change and settle for “2nd best”.
This situation is becoming eerily similar to 1983 when the St. Louis Blues were consistently losing money and a deal was cut to sell the team to an ownership group from Saskatoon. The NHL did not see Saskatoon as a viable market long term (even though they did get a nice new arena built, something Winnipeg couldn’t do for two more decades), and Board of Governors voted against the sale and killing the move. This prompted lawsuits from the old owners, accusations of anti-trust violations, countersuits from the NHL, and the team essentially shutting down operations before going under NHL control. The Blues even forfeited their picks in the 1983 draft while the mess was beign sorted out. It took a couple of years before the lawsuits were settled out of court but in the meantime the NHL found a new owner more to their liking to keep the team in St. Louis, revoked the franchise from the old owners and issued a new one to the new owner.
Obviously the current scenrio differs in one key respect in that a team in Southern Ontario has to be more attractive than one in Sasktaoon circa 1983. However, the point is that if the NHL does not like a particular buyer and/or relocation, they can put a stop to it by a simple vote that has stood up to legal challenges in the past. Also, the NHL seems very adept at coaxing new ownership groups out of the woodwork or convincing a big-time owner in another sport or market to purchase a struggling team and keep it in its current market. As long as this continues, these teams won’t be going anywhere and there will be an ongoing cycle from season to season of four or five different teams who happen to be playing poorly in a bad market and losing money for a couple of years until play picks up and the crowds return only to have a different team descend into red ink.
Based on the past experience with St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Nashville, it seems very unlikely that Phoenix will be relocating. That might not be what is best for the league in the long run but it seems to be what the NHL wants at the moment, and what the NHL wants it will get as they are the ones running the show.
I thought this would interest you:
http://backtowinnipeg.blogspot.com/
It’s a petition to have the Coyotes move to Winnipeg if they end up relocating.