SB Nation User Blog: cityhockeyfever

Had the Coyotes still been playing in downtown Phoenix, would it have made a difference?

cityhockeyfever — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:00:24 -0000

This might be an age-old debate. It might not. But with the future of the Phoenix Coyotes at stake, it has been a question that has been constantly weighing on my mind for a minimum of six years now.

Many Phoenix sports fans know the location of major league sports facilities across the region. Throw in the major college venues if you like, too. My question is... Had the Coyotes still been playing in downtown Phoenix, would it have made a difference? Would that have had an effect in possibly avoiding Chapter 11 bankruptcy?

I don't hear this discussed much if at all by the media and the fans these days. So I bring up some background to this.

I live in the New York City metropolitan area and some might wonder how I know about this stuff. It does help I have family connections to Phoenix and it is the out-of-town place I have been to the most in my life. Therefore, I began rooting for the Phoenix Suns and later of course the Phoenix Coyotes as out-of-town teams of mine.

Anyway, so before the Coyotes ever arrived in Arizona, US Airways Center (originally America West Arena) was built in downtown Phoenix to be the Suns' new home. It replaced the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum (which still stands, by the way) in 1992. Here was the biggest mistake of all when the plans were drawn up. Hockey was never figured into the design plans. It was just built for the Suns as a basketball venue. Four years later, that's when the Winnipeg Jets were relocated to Phoenix and the only major league facility that could financially host them was US Airways Center.

But the problem was as many Coyotes fans know, about 2,000 to 3,000 obstructed seats in the upper levels of the north end of the arena. The highest level seating sections only could see the opposite end of the ice.

At the same time, another problem for the Coyotes was a reason for why they wanted to build their own home. They were a tenant for then-Suns owner Jerry Colangelo and didn't make money on the luxury suites and I believe the parking fees surrounding the arena. In other words, the Coyotes were treated like a second class citizen.

So the team looked for a new place in the Greater Phoenix Area to play. First it was the Los Arcos Mall site in Scottsdale, about 10 miles east of downtown Phoenix. Nearly all the major hurdles to get approval for the arena project where cleared, but in the end, Scottsdale residents did pass the final referendum to give it the green light. So then it turned to Glendale and the rest is history leading to today.

Another question I have is... Had the city of Phoenix, the Suns and the Coyotes come together to either do extensive renovations to US Airways Center to retrofit it properly for NHL hockey or rebuild a new arena altogether on the site, would this have made a serious impact on the viability of the present-day Coyotes?

The problem is, it's all a moot point about arena location because the Coyotes play at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale and that won't change anytime soon should the team get to stay put.

Fans rally in Hamilton to voice their message

cityhockeyfever — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:05:28 -0000

Just over a month ago, Phoenix Coyotes fans held a rally at the Native New Yorker restaurant in Glendale, Arizona on just five days notice to voice their desire to keep their team right where it is.

Fast forward to yesterday. The Make It Seven campaign held a rally of its own called "Make It Seven Day" in downtown Hamilton, Ontario. Here, hockey fans gathered at Jackson Square, located behind Copps Coliseum to deliver their own message that they want a National Hockey League team as the seventh in Canada.

Led by BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsillie's efforts to bring a team to the southwestern Ontario region, Make It Seven put together a rally with more time to prepare than their Save The Coyotes counterparts did.

Prior to the recent Make It Seven launch, another such organization has been doing its part to rally fans together to support the same cause. Some in attendance at yesterday's rally brought printed signs for the Bring the NHL to Hamilton campaign.

"At this point in the campaign, we need those men in the NHL Board (of Governors) to know that we're are not going to be denied that it's time to sit down and talk with Mr. Balsillie because we want an NHL team here and we want to bring it home where it belongs," Bring the NHL to Hamilton rally co-chairperson Michelle Febers told CBC News: Today host Nancy Wilson.

The Bring the NHL to Hamilton campaign launched its web site on October 1, 2008 and has grown into an online destination where you can learn about the history of hockey in Hamilton as well as find news items in relation to the cause. While it is not directly linked to Make It Seven that is backed by Balsillie, they have the same message for league headquarters in New York City.

Outgoing Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 5th and in turn agreed to sell the franchise to Balsillie on the condition he is able to move it to Hamilton. The NHL has contested that Moyes was not in the authority to make such a transaction since they have been providing financial assistance to keep the Coyotes in operation. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Moyes immediately went to United States Bankruptcy Court to find a resolution to the matter. However, after a ruling by District of Arizona judge Redfield T. Baum stated that there was not enough time to resolve all issues in this case before an aggressively imposed Balsillie deadline of June 29th to close the sale, it would not be allowed to go through. Balsillie's offer had resembled the current franchise debt of $212.5 million, obviously what Moyes needs to pay off creditors in full what is owed.

As a result, this bides more time for the league to find a buyer who is committed to keeping the team in Phoenix's neighboring city of Glendale. The Coyotes will for at the very least be playing their 2009-2010 season home games at Jobing.com Arena with or without the NHL's financial backing. At this point, they're aiming to hold an auction in September and Balsillie will still be allowed to place a bid. If no buyer is found, at a later time relocation would be explored.

"Definitely we still want the Coyotes," Febers also said in her interview. "That's not gonna change. The basic line of the story is, we want the NHL to come home."

Whether the Coyotes stay in Arizona or if Hamilton gets a team remains to be seen. Either way, both locations have expressed their desire to have NHL hockey. One wants to keep it while the other wants to get it.

In the meantime, are you looking for some coverage on the rally? The Hamilton Spectator has a video clip while Hamilton radio station CMHL-AM provided interview audio soundbytes of key supporters plus the YouTube video below (courtesy of CMHL-AM).

"Make It Seven" campaign song?

cityhockeyfever — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:06:06 -0000

Sports Business Daily gave people a heads up about a brand new "campaign song" released by The GMOs in support of a seventh National Hockey League team in Canada.

It is not officially affiliated with the Make It Seven campaign, however it is a clear message in full support of it. While the exact timing of this song's unveiling seems the least bit coincidental, apparently this was another medium used to rally the Make It Seven hardcore fan base as the bankruptcy hearings take place. This comes as BlackBerry founder Jim Balsillie attempts to uproot the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton, Ontario.

Some people that watch this video (courtesy of The GMOs) may react to this message as being very nationalistic, polarizing and bound to offend Phoenix hockey fans as well as American hockey fans as a whole. There's a point to saying it's great to see Canadians are proud of their pastime, but you swear you would think this was a political campaign and not something we'd see for professional sports.

For those that are against the way that Balsillie has went about accomplishing his goal, this has angered them. The lone exception would be his very loyalist supporters, including those that are very bitter with the current state of the league and where certain franchises are located. The Coyotes are one of the teams targeted.

There are American hockey fans completely in favor of more teams in Canada. Many would support the return of NHL teams to Winnipeg, Québec City and even Hamilton. It would be great for the game. But some fans have unfortunately been sucked into a United States vs. Canada debate in regards to the viability of hockey markets in the Sun Belt region. Will this campaign song effect the verdict to the Coyotes' future in Arizona? Very highly unlikely. Again, this is just another way to rally Balsillie's supporters.

Toronto Argonauts co-owners interested in buying the Coyotes?

cityhockeyfever — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 18:33:09 -0000

[Editor's Note: Cityhockeyfever is a new contributing writer for us here at Five for Howling. He'll write when he feels like it or cover some events when I'm not availiable. For example, when your wife schedules vacation over Free Agency Day. *Note to Self: Put that in big red letters on the calendar for next year]

While at first glance when learning of where this possible purchase bid for the Phoenix Coyotes comes from, one might assume it is for the same or very similar intentions that BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsillie has made undeniably clear.

Toronto Argonauts co-owners Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon have been named in a list of four potential buyers for the Coyotes, according to Paul Waldie of The Globe and Mail in Toronto. But get this. Sokolowski and Cynamon want to keep the team in Phoenix should they be the winning bid.

That is right. They do want to do just that.

It is not what you expected, did you? When you think of any Canadian investors looking to acquire the Coyotes, they wouldn't want to keep the team where they are after the Coyotes reportedly have lost up to $316 million since they arrived in Arizona, right? Apparently, not these two men who own the most successful Canadian Football League franchise in history with 15 Grey Cup championships, most recently in 2004.

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman said the league has received a "preliminary background application" from each bidder according to court papers filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court. The deadline District of Arizona judge Redfield T. Baum set for both the league and outgoing owner Jerry Moyes was yesterday.

According to Waldie's article, an offer from Sokolowski and Cynamon would compete with Balsillie's current $212.5 million offer for the club and move it to Hamilton, Ontario.

Moyes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 5th before a reported letter of intent for the league to agree to a sale to Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf. As a part of his filing for bankruptcy, Moyes agreed to sell the team to Balsillie to recover some of the monetary losses he has suffered while he has been the Coyotes' majority owner. The NHL and Moyes have been in court for more than a month fighting for control of the struggling Phoenix franchise.

The next court hearing is set for June 9th at the United States Bankruptcy Courthouse in downtown Phoenix. The legality issue of relocation will be presented and heard. It is possible a ruling will be made to determine if either the NHL or Moyes went through the proper procedures in the sale of the club, who has the authority to do so and whether or not current NHL rules are enforcable in this case when it comes to the operation and sale of the club in its current location or if it can be moved to another city.