1454 replies to this topic

[grwingfan]

If Glendale actually files a lawsuit then you know that the Coyotes life in Phoenix is done and they are leaving at the end of this season.

[CaliWingsNut]

If Glendale actually files a lawsuit then you know that the Coyotes life in Phoenix is done and they are leaving at the end of this season.

how? or is that just your opinion?

[toby91_ca]

If Glendale actually files a lawsuit then you know that the Coyotes life in Phoenix is done and they are leaving at the end of this season.

Well, I think if they don't file a lawsuit, the Coyotes are done. They may be done anyway.

[cusimano_brothers]

From Yahoooo / NHL:

...
“I don’t anticipate a lawsuit brought by Glendale (to the extent one is filed) will ultimately have any impact on how the franchise issue plays out,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an e-mail Monday, when asked how long the league could wait for a legal battle to be resolved.
...

Any publicity is good, right Bill?
I heard yesterday that the figure connected to the proposed suit is five hundred million dollars.

[vladdy16]

Not so fast. Negotiations continue, so suit has not been filed. The article states it will only be a few days, but I see this dragging on even longer. This soap opera should have been canceled long ago.

[WizardOfOz30]

So Glendale is already paying all this money out for a team that is losing money and now they want to waste spend more money on a lawsuit? I love hockey but if I lived there I would be very concerned about all that money being spent on the team instead of the city's needs. I do not know the financial state of the city, but I can only guess that they are struggling as many cities are all over the US. I would not be happy if they were making cut backs to services to the citizens because they are claiming they don't have the money in the budget but they have committed all this money to the team.

[drwscc]

You're right. An empty arena with nothing in it that the city spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a few years ago is exactly what the city and businesses around the arena need.

[F.Michael]

A portion of the Goldwater Institute's response: "There is an easy solution to this problem. If Glendale and Mr. Hulsizer believe that parking revenues will be sufficient to repay the bonds, then it is Mr. Hulsizer, not the city, who should guarantee any revenue shortfall. That would prevent serious harm to the taxpayers and place the financial responsibility where it should be: with the owner of the team, rather than on taxpayers’ shoulders. Taxpayers should not be asked to take a risk that the prospective owner is unwilling to take with his own money."

The entire response here.

[schulzte]

The city of Glendale has two options right now

Option 1. Sell bonds to the general public to the tune of $100 million to be repaid with arena parking revenue. The city would hand that $100 million to Matthew Hulsizer to subsidize the total $170 million purchase price of the team. Hulsizer would only be bring $70 million to the table, plus I think he would cover this season's losses too.

The conservative Goldwater Institute (like a local version of the Heritage Foundation or something) is going around town threatening to raise hell with businesses and institutions willing to purchase these bonds, saying that it is a $100 million illegal "gift" from the city to the prospective owner, because the city already owns the parking rights anyway. This interference is raising the interest rates on the bonds that the city is trying to sell, because there are less buyers interested. That is where the lawsuit comes in, the city would be suing the Goldwater Institute for interfering with the bond sale. The NHL actually has no problem with such a lawsuit.

Option 2. Give in to the Goldwater Institute, fail to raise the $100 million, and waive goodbye to the Coyotes. Now you have a $180 million arena that you owe money on for many, many years sitting rather empty most nights in a city with a struggling economy and a more successful arena downtown. So imagine a new arena that is unpaid for losing it main tenant and competing with an existing arena which is in a better, centralized location for concerts and shows.

Hulsizer has tremendous leverage here, and has used it. The city of Glendale is stuck between a rock and a very hard place. Option 1 is ugly, expensive and perhaps not even legal, but this is less ugly and expensive than option 2 going forward. The city of Glendale built the arena for the Coyotes, so I feel the NHL has a responsibility to give the city a very long leash here to get a deal done. But, even that leash has to be tightening, this has gone on for quite some time now.

New Olympia Stadium

Edited by schulzte, 08 March 2011 - 10:16 AM.

[CaliWingsNut]

So Glendale is already paying all this money out for a team that is losing money and now they want to waste spend more money on a lawsuit? I love hockey but if I lived there I would be very concerned about all that money being spent on the team instead of the city's needs. I do not know the financial state of the city, but I can only guess that they are struggling as many cities are all over the US. I would not be happy if they were making cut backs to services to the citizens because they are claiming they don't have the money in the budget but they have committed all this money to the team.

Don't know how much money your city has... but keeping a 1 billion dollar shopping/entertainment complex working properly would be a priority if I was mayor.

[WizardOfOz30]

You're right. An empty arena with nothing in it that the city spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a few years ago is exactly what the city and businesses around the arena need.

I agree that's a bad option. I understand the city financing the area to get the team there, but after that the NHL and owners should be responsible for the expenses and upkeep. Yes the city still needs to be involved because they need to count on that income, but they shouldn't be financing a business that is constantly losing money. I'm sure the NHL came in and promised them big profits, so it should be on them to take the loss not the city.

Don't know how much money your city has... but keeping a 1 billion dollar shopping/entertainment complex working properly would be a priority if I was mayor.

I understand the need to keep all that business within the city. But I was thinking about our city, we keep make cuts to the services to the citizens and keep giving all these tax breaks to bring in new businesses. People and the government need to learn how to spend money based on what they have for income, not what's projected and promised that may never come to be. I know it's easier said than done, but the more you get yourself in the hole the worse off you'll be when you can't get yourself out.

[F.Michael]

Don't know how much money your city has... but keeping a 1 billion dollar shopping/entertainment complex working properly would be a priority if I was mayor.

No shopping complex at the arena (or in the area) in Glendale that I'm aware of - unless you're referring to the sales of beer/nachos/t-shirts

[WizardOfOz30]

No shopping complex at the arena (or in the area) in Glendale that I'm aware of - unless you're referring to the sales of beer/nachos/t-shirts

There is a fairly large shopping complex right there. It's called Westgate, they've got bars and restaurants, shops and a movie theater. It really is a great area.

[CaliWingsNut]

No shopping complex at the arena (or in the area) in Glendale that I'm aware of - unless you're referring to the sales of beer/nachos/t-shirts

http://www.westgatecitycenter.com/

[F.Michael]

There is a fairly large shopping complex right there. It's called Westgate, they've got bars and restaurants, shops and a movie theater. It really is a great area.

Ah - gotcha.

Must be somewhat new; wasn't anything for miles when I was at a game back in 2006.

[WizardOfOz30]

Ah - gotcha.

Must be somewhat new; wasn't anything for miles when I was at a game back in 2006.

There's a picture that was posted in the GDT from Saturday.

[F.Michael]

There's a picture that was posted in the GDT from Saturday.

Wow - looks nice; like an oasis in the middle of the desert

None of that was there back in 2006 - except the football stadium was under construction.

[HankthaTank]

Looks like a damn UFO landed out there and a few parking garages for it. If you look at it on google maps, there is literally nothing for miles. I say keep the team in Glendale! The Wings need another West Coast, home away from home type building to go to in the winter

[CaliWingsNut]

Looks like a damn UFO landed out there and a few parking garages for it. If you look at it on google maps, there is literally nothing for miles. I say keep the team in Glendale! The Wings need another West Coast, home away from home type building to go to in the winter

Glendale is a mostly residential suburb of Phoenix.... However, the complex is just off one of the two loop freeways in the Phoenix area (they're like a giant mastercard logo on top of phoenix's perfectly laid out grid of streets).

[chrisdetroit]

The city of Glendale has two options right now

Option 1. Sell bonds to the general public to the tune of $100 million to be repaid with arena parking revenue. The city would hand that $100 million to Matthew Hulsizer to subsidize the total $170 million purchase price of the team. Hulsizer would only be bring $70 million to the table, plus I think he would cover this season's losses too.

The conservative Goldwater Institute (like a local version of the Heritage Foundation or something) is going around town threatening to raise hell with businesses and institutions willing to purchase these bonds, saying that it is a $100 million illegal "gift" from the city to the prospective owner, because the city already owns the parking rights anyway. This interference is raising the interest rates on the bonds that the city is trying to sell, because there are less buyers interested. That is where the lawsuit comes in, the city would be suing the Goldwater Institute for interfering with the bond sale. The NHL actually has no problem with such a lawsuit.

Option 2. Give in to the Goldwater Institute, fail to raise the $100 million, and waive goodbye to the Coyotes. Now you have a $180 million arena that you owe money on for many, many years sitting rather empty most nights in a city with a struggling economy and a more successful arena downtown. So imagine a new arena that is unpaid for losing it main tenant and competing with an existing arena which is in a better, centralized location for concerts and shows.

Hulsizer has tremendous leverage here, and has used it. The city of Glendale is stuck between a rock and a very hard place. Option 1 is ugly, expensive and perhaps not even legal, but this is less ugly and expensive than option 2 going forward. The city of Glendale built the arena for the Coyotes, so I feel the NHL has a responsibility to give the city a very long leash here to get a deal done. But, even that leash has to be tightening, this has gone on for quite some time now.

New Olympia Stadium

Ok. I'm not a lawyer but in my mind this is really simple. Why would anybody want to buy the Phoenix Coyotes? There is a very good chance that the owner will lose lots of money every year. Second question, why would the city of Glendale want to subsidize a hockey team that does not attract enough fans to make money?

Why is it taking so long to figure this out? It's because Bettman is more inclined to flush more of the leagues money down the toilet than admit that he was wrong when he put a hockey team in the middle of the fricking desert.

I can't believe that the 29 other owners have let this go on for so long when it's the money that their teams have made that is paying for this circus.