Arizona Coyotes players told team is moving to Utah
Arizona Coyotes players told team is moving to Utah
I feel bad for the fans in Arizona, but I think it's time. I also think the NHL will be back at some point. They'll give it another go like in Atlanta, and who knows, maybe they'll be more successful.
I feel horrible for the Arizona fans who have been loyal through ineffective ownership. The fans deserve better.
The whole thing seemed like nobody planned it. Let's build a new stadium 50km from everywhere. Couldn't imagine how that can fail. Extensive market research shows that javelina and scrub bushes are core hockey fans!
I guess they figured they could be an "entertainment district" with the Cardinals like how the Suns and Diamondbacks play like 1km apart... but those facilities are downtown, on the light rail, and don't involve a 3 hour round trip or an expedition through the Land of The Dead (Sun City) to attend a game.
So they moved to Mullet Arena (disapoointingly, the naming rights were not bought by the hairstyle) and figure they'll make more money at a smaller, worse facility. Why not go the whole nine yards of sarcasm and rent out Veteran's Colliseum? At least parking there is less of a nightmare than at ASU, and you can probably get it for $6 per night if you clean out the rats.
I think that phase of it was just hoping someone woukd blink and write them a cheque for a new stadium, and I'm sort of pleased nobody did. Go grift Utah if your shiny expensive toy in Glendale wasn't good enough.
I think the fact the owner skipped out on paying taxes that he owed the city probably made it hard for anyone to be interested in building a stadium for him. Good riddance