miller76 463 Report post Posted March 27, 2009 I know this has been fairly beaten to death here. But it looks as if they are staying put. I am actually in favor of this. Mostly because it's one more place within driving distance that I can see my Wings twice a year. Though I doubt their performance on the ice will change for the better any time soon. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=415584 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Electrophile 3,554 Report post Posted March 27, 2009 If the team is not economically viable in that market, it would make sense from a money standpoint to move them someplace else. I don't know what their attendance rates are like, but if they're reduced to giving away tickets to people who buy vodka, that's a pretty decent sign that you can't put butts in the seats on the strength of the team alone. I say move them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cern 0 Report post Posted March 27, 2009 There's definately a market for some sunshine teams, but Phoenix sure isn't one of them. Though given the crazy lease they have on their arena I'm not sure how viable it would actually be to afford to plant them somewhere else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
j.hoop 64 Report post Posted March 27, 2009 keep em here a few more years is what i voted. ive been to alot of wings-coyotes games and each year i noticed more and more coyotes fans. its just gonna take a little more time to build a fan base, and IMO hire a new coach who can get them at least a .500 record to start. they arent terrible on paper, the gretz was just a better player than coach. besides i only get to see the wings twice a year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miller76 463 Report post Posted March 27, 2009 I also voted for the third option, in giving them a couple more years. They have some real good young prospects, that could possibly help this team crack the playoffs eventually. But stability at the top with ownership and the city of Glendale is where it has to start. And now thats starting to come around. I really hope they make it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Shoreline Report post Posted March 27, 2009 I also voted for the third option, in giving them a couple more years. They have some real good young prospects, that could possibly help this team crack the playoffs eventually. But stability at the top with ownership and the city of Glendale is where it has to start. And now thats starting to come around. I really hope they make it. They've been at the bottom for several years already. I can agree though that if they can't turn these great picks around they need to be elsewhere, regardless of Bettman's visions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xBrave_Heartx 0 Report post Posted March 27, 2009 team has potential to be competitive.. just need some stabillity and a new coach. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878 Report post Posted March 28, 2009 I think they should stay. The more teams the better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joshy207 156 Report post Posted March 28, 2009 Phoenix's on-ice performance is not the determining factor in whether or not they stay there. Attendance/local fan interest, corporate support, and ownership stability are the important things to look at. Ownership can't continue to lose millions upon millions of dollars and continue to operate the franchise. From what I've heard, the Coyotes aren't really on most Phoenix-area residents' radar. I have no idea what the corporate support picture looks like. Basically, if they're still struggling this badly after 13 years, I think it's time to pull the plug. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike 0 Report post Posted March 28, 2009 (edited) This story was also on CBS Sports and a Coyotes fan commented on it. People that aren't familiar with the situation won't understand the true nature of the problem. It's not that there aren't thousands of Coyote fans here, indeed driving around town you see as many if not more Coyote bumper stickers than Dbacks and Suns (and especially Cardinals until their little miracle run this year). The problem is geographic - when the team was winning in the late 90s and the stadium was centrally located (even if it had a couple thousand obstructed view seats), attendance was fine. But now that they haven't made the playoffs in 7 years, and located their stadium out on one corner of the metro area...it's just really hard to convince the 1 million people in the east valley to drive 40-50 miles at rush hour out to Glendale. Maybe in 10 years the west side will have grown enough, or the team will have improved enough to make up for that, but until that happens there will be a lot of empty seats. The support is there though, witness the sellouts for the whiteout days and most recently for Brian Boucher's shutout streak. People don't want to waste their time and money watching a s***ty hockey team. Phoenix needs to management and new coaching. Phoenix was once competitive and can be again. Edited March 28, 2009 by Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Shoreline Report post Posted March 28, 2009 (edited) This story was also on CBS Sports and a Coyotes fan commented on it. People don't want to waste their time and money watching a s***ty hockey team. Phoenix needs to management and new coaching. Phoenix was once competitive and can be again. I'm not sure if you agreed with the commentary you posted or are just posting something else, but the commentary you posted suggests the playoff problem is only small potatoes, and the larger problem is the Coyotes' arena location, out in Glendale, rather than being centrally located. Though, where I disagree is they say there are equating people who buy bumper stickers to those who buy tickets, and one cannot compare the $2 bumper sticker to $20 - $100 tickets. I'm not inherently inclined to believe that just because people in the Phoenix area buy bumper stickers, they'll then buy tickets. Edited March 28, 2009 by Shoreline Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike 0 Report post Posted March 28, 2009 (edited) I'm not sure if you agreed with the commentary you posted or are just posting something else, but the commentary you posted suggests the playoff problem is only small potatoes, and the larger problem is the Coyotes' arena location, out in Glendale, rather than being centrally located. Though, where I disagree is they say there are equating people who buy bumper stickers to those who buy tickets, and one cannot compare the $2 bumper sticker to $20 - $100 tickets. I'm not inherently inclined to believe that just because people in the Phoenix area buy bumper stickers, they'll then buy tickets. He's not saying that bumper sticker sales lead to ticket sales. What he is saying is that there is a large fans base for the Coyotes, but the management moved the arena away from that fan base. Since the product is bad, those fans don't want to spend the money to travel 40-50 miles in rush hour traffic. If the product is good, fans will buy tickets. Edited March 28, 2009 by Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Shoreline Report post Posted March 28, 2009 He's not saying that bumper sticker sales lead to ticket sales. What he is saying is that there is a large fans base for the Coyotes, but the management moved the arena away from that fan base. Since the product is bad, those fans don't want to spend the money to travel 40-50 miles in rush hour traffic. If the product is good, fans will buy tickets. I won't disagree with that. Bad teams have trouble getting full seating. But that's small potatoes, as the team hasn't even been in Phoenix that long (comparable to the Jackets who can still do damn well even in their horrid seasons). The biggest problem that I've heard Coyotes fans complain about is akin to this commentary you posted and that is the location. Losing teams tend to sell off season tickets cheaply, increasing demand. I remember being offered for years season tickets to the Sharks at a major discount rate even though I told the box office that I'm a Wings fan, and they had little trouble bringing fans into the tank. If fans are better equipped to go to a game, they will. San Jose was always the perfect example of why, being in the heart of San Jose, and having two major rail stations right across the street from the HP where a ton of people (for business and leisure) go by. If it's out in the middle of nowhere, it gets no exposure. So the commentary IS right about in the future if there's an expansion into Glendale by the population that it won't have problems selling tickets anymore. But the question is if the team can continue incurring losses at this rate and survive until then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
