I feel sorry for the residents of Glendale, Arizona. Yes… I know they voted for this bunch of faithless city council members, a city council that has willfully violated an agreement legally negotiated, voted on and executed, but they could not know that the council they were voting on was simply this stupid. Yes, I know there are budget issues in the city, but you don't fix them by negatively impacting your tax base.
Stupid... That’s a strong word I know, but in the immortal words of Forest Gump, “stupid is as stupid does” and make no mistake, what the City of Glendale did last night, in a hastily called meeting that smacks of “sneak this through before anyone notices,” was incredibly, certifiably stupid.
Here’s why… the Coyotes will move and the City of Glendale will be stuck with an arena with no major tenant and no one with any kind of experience to run it. There will be expenses that will not be offset by 43 home dates a year, the tax base will be severely impacted as the business that sprung up around the Glendale arena will be hit… hard. Yes they will still have ten dates for the Arizona Cardinals... but that is not enough to sustain a business, which will lessen tax revenue to the city and will put the city in even worse financial shape than it is right now.
Why is this stupid? Here is another reason… The Coyotes were in the process of bidding for an upcoming World Juniors tournament, bringing millions of dollars and thousands of hockey fans to Glendale… the action of the city council effectively killed that. Look up the definition of stupid in the dictionary and there is a picture of the City of Glendale’s government.
Want another reason? The City of Glendale is still on the hook for millions of dollars in annual bond payments for the arena, it will also be on the hook to maintain it, pay for the electric, water, gas... oh... and pay another company to try and get people to come out for concerts, shows, etc... the losses will be staggering, and make the current losses look tame by comparison.
Psst... hey Glendale... If you would like an example of how to do it right… look right here in Nashville. The relationship between the city council and the Predators hasn’t always been a smooth one, but instead of having an empty arena in the middle of downtown, Bridgestone Arena is one of the busiest arenas in the world, the tax revenues are flowing, the team is actually turning a profit and on an upward trajectory. The team operates the arena and both hockey attendance and non-hockey attendance is through the roof. So much so that Pollstar Magazine has named Bridgestone Arena their “Arena of the Year.” Oh, and by the way… the 2016 All-Star Weekend will be right here. This is in the seven years past the bad old days of the sale and the Vulture and the nightmares of potentially losing the team. This could've been your future Glendale... but now, your city council, acting like a spoiled child, has ruined the chance to make this situation work.
Here is the crux of what is going on in Glendale. An attorney for the City of Glendale went to work for the Coyotes. The rest of this is from the Arizona Republic…
In November 2013, then-Councilman Phil Lieberman filed an ethics complaint with the State Bar of Arizona regarding Craig Tindall, a former Glendale city attorney. Lieberman alleged that Tindall went to work for the Coyotes in 2013 while still being paid a severance by Glendale.
Tindall relinquished his duties with the city when his separation agreement went into effect April 1, 2013, three months before the Glendale City Council approved the agreement with the Coyotes. Tindall was paid his full salary through September 2013.
He was hired by the Coyotes on Aug. 20, 2013.
The State Bar of Arizona last summer found that there was no merit to Lieberman's complaint.
That is the deal… one hiring of one lawyer and the Glendale City Council thinks it can renege on the deal. It reeks of manipulation, and the Coyotes are having none of it. Inside the council chambers, Coyotes attorney Nick Wood was very blunt with the recalcitrant city officials, "If you decide to go forward, you will lose and it will cost taxpayers millions of dollars."
That it will… considering the city council is attempting to use this as a leverage point to renegotiate more favorable terms and considering the city has no leverage… you have to wonder who’s paying for this from the outside.
So, it is my belief that the upshot of all this hoohah is that the Coyotes will move… but before my friends in Quebec, or Vegas or Seattle begin the celebration… it
is my belief that the Coyotes will move, but they will move back downtown and share an arena with the Suns until a new arena downtown or in Scottsdale is built. It will be more convenient for Coyote fans, considering the majority of their fanbase is located on the opposite side of town and ticket sales will go back to the near capacity numbers this team posted in the late 90’s and early 00's… right up until the time they moved to Glendale.
Frankly… the City of Glendale’s stupidity will ultimately be to the Coyotes and their fans benefit as I believe a move back downtown will be the one that maintains hockey in the desert, it already has a history behind it.
I would love to see the Coyotes do it... and do it fast. This is what you've asked for Glendale... so what are you going to do when you get it?
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Random Notes
- Last night’s podcast is posted … it features the first woman to ever suit up in an NHL preseason game, who’s life is about to be documented in a new movie called “Between the Pipes” – former Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Manon Rhéaume. We talked to the former head coach of the Ducks, Capitals, Sharks and Maple Leafs, recently named head coach of the Team USA U20 team for the upcoming world juniors, Ron Wilson and the hosts of Sirius/XM’s Hockey This Morning on NHL Network Radio, Mike Ross and Mick Kern. Give it a listen…
- Adam Vingan is reporting in today’s Tennessean that Matt Cullen does want to play next year but his agent says it probably won’t be in Nashville.
- The Blackhawks expended another life last night, surviving a poor performance and winning game four. Not good news for Tampa, they should be going back to Florida with a 3-1 lead, but they could not finish.
- The saga of Ben Bishop continues, scratched last night but head coach Jon Cooper says he will return in this finals series.
- The goaltending saga in Minnesota continues, the Wild don’t want to let Devan Dubnyk go, but they have quite a bit of salary looked up in Darcy Kuemper and Nick Backstrom… this one bears watching.
- The St. Louis Blues have informed Barret Jackman that he would not be re-signed. Adds a fascinating free agent to UFA day…
- Another great read on the Arizona situation - http://www.fiveforhowling.com/2015/6/10/8762175/arizona-coyotes-lease-glendale-nightmare-gila-river-arena
- Great quote from Commissioner Gary Bettman – he said he is “really not concerned about the Coyotes. If I lived in Glendale, I would be concerned about my government."
- Save the Date – Saturday June 20th… it’s a SlapShot Radio Field Trip! All the info you need is on a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/SlapShot-Radio/250363451666986">the SlapShot Radio Facebook page … come join us for a night of baseball and fun with your hockey family!
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