A disclaimer is in order. I neither support nor reject the current RSE bid to manage Jobing.com Arena. I cannot make an informed decision until I have had the opportunity to review the proposed lease management agreement and that document is not yet publicly available.

Boy, thanks to SRP, leave a person without power…or the Internet…or air conditioning… for not just a day but 5 hours on the first day and 10 hours on the second day can make a person very grumpy and very testy. In an effort to play “catch-up” on today’s Coyotes’ news I was sent a link to KTAR radio’s Karie Dozer opinion piece entitled Final Word: Phoenix Coyotes aren’t the economic engine Glendale needs posted on June 25, 2013. Here’s the link: http://ktar.com/100/1644653/Final-Word-Phoenix-Coyotes-arent-the-economic-engine-Glendale-needs?fb_action_ids=566353163423827&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B504510449622426%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.recommends%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D#

Dozer, Dozer, mmmm, that name sounds awfully familiar. Is Karie Dozer the wife of Rich Dozer, one of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ former Presidents?? I think so. I am sure Ms. Dozer is an expert on baseball, especially the Arizona Diamondbacks but an expert on anything hockey related?? I don’t think so. She made some amazing statements that certainly warrant comment. One was, “Look, I like hockey. What great fun, especially in Phoenix, IN JUNE, to go into an ice palace for sports. But I don’t like it enough to pay for it.” Of course she wouldn’t like hockey enough to pay for it. It is a sport in direct competition for your sports entertainment dollar with her husband’s business, the Arizona Diamondbacks.  If she were to attend any sports event you can bet it would be baseball. Does she get the best seats in the house? Are they free of charge? Could there be a conflict of interest on her part?

In an effort to show genuine concern for the residents of Glendale and her perception of the drastic loss of services because of hockey she goes on to say, “This in a city where 911 service was at risk last year.” What bunk. As a councilmember until January of 2013 I can tell you that the city’s 911 service has NEVER been at risk. Chief Black spoke at several council meetings in the past few months reassuring everyone that police service and most specifically, 911 service (especially Priority One calls involving imminent bodily danger or loss of life), would remain at the same level of service that Glendale’s residents have enjoyed for years.

She then opines, “I know, a lot of people’s jobs depend on the Coyotes. Shops at Westage (sic) and security jobs all could go away if the Coyotes leave.” First, it’s WESTGATE, not Westage. Second, how about a minimum of 1600 jobs in the immediate Westgate area (restaurants, hotels and retail)…and that does not include the almost 2,000 jobs at Tanger Outlet Mall, Cabela’s or Humana. Throwing 1600 jobs out the window doesn’t seem to bother her but what the heck, she’s got a radio hosting job.

Lastly, she said, “I think sports teams CAN be a great economic engine. This one just isn’t.” Really, Ms. Dozer? Of course she thinks sports teams are a “great economic engine.” She appears to enjoy the financial benefits of one of those “great economic engines.” To say that the Coyotes are not  shows her lack of history or knowledge about the Coyotes since they came to Glendale in 2003. For she would know that the team, through circumstances not of its own making, has never had the opportunity to demonstrate its ability to become a “great economic engine.” Stick to baseball, Ms. Dozer.