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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Jun 24

23

Don’t count on Meruelo

Posted by Joyce Clark on June 23, 2024
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City of Glendale • City of Phoenix  | Tagged With: , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

The Coyote fan base was surprised, to say the least, to learn that the state land auction for a parcel that Meruelo wanted to buy had been cancelled. It comes as no surprise for several reasons.

Why would Phoenix want to give massive tax breaks to facilitate a venue that would be in direct competition to other concert venues located within the city? It would not. It would be safe to assume that the ‘powers that be’ in Phoenix had several conversations with the ‘powers that be’ at the state Land Department.

This recent action by the Land Department puts the ball in Phoenix’s court and I doubt Meruelo will get those tax breaks that he covets. Without those, Meruelo’s incentive to build will evaporate. Meruelo received a boat load of money by selling the team. There is simply no incentive on his part to try to get something in place in the Phoenix area in a few years, as required by the NHL.

He has no credibility left with Valley fans or former employees. He has treated both shabbily. The team’s sudden departure for Utah left fans stunned and demoralized. His treatment of his former employees by giving one month’s severance was uncaring and demonstrated how little he valued them.

Meruelo’s reputation is shot. Valley fans no longer trust him. Anyone who chooses to work for him does so at his/her peril.

If fans ever expect to see another team in the Valley it will be resurrected by someone other than Meruelo. It will have to be someone that truly values the sport of hockey; someone that will reach out to fans to develop a strong base; and someone that has the political savvy to work through local government to secure support.

In this case it was all about the Benjamins…and Meruelo got his. Sometimes a person’s greediness stuns all.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Apr 24

30

Will the Coyotes return? Maybe…maybe not

Posted by Joyce Clark on April 30, 2024
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City of Glendale • Phoenix Metro issues  | Tagged With: , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

I feel badly for Coyotes fans. They have been treated horribly by Alex Meruelo and crew. It appears the owner knew he was working on a deal to sell long before it occurred. To drop that bombshell at the last minute, eroded fan loyalty and trust.

Now, I was never a rabid fan, but I was a fan. I enjoyed watching the Coyotes play until things went south. Steve Ellman seemed to be the only owner that seemingly cared about the Coyotes until he let Jerry Moyes buy his interest in the team. That was the beginning of the end. Moyes wanted to declare bankruptcy and the NHL took over the team to the tune of Glendale paying $50 million to keep the team in the Valley. Don’t ever tell me Glendale was the problem.

According to renowned economist Elliot Pollack Glendale will be the geographic center of the Valley. We are seeing that come to pass with all the new residents and development in cities like Buckeye, Surprise and Peoria. A whole new crop of hockey fans is descending upon the West Valley.

The NHL, seemingly desperate, sold the team to a series of apparently sleezy owners. I won’t go through the list. We all know who they were. Which brings us to the latest and least great owner of them all.

I no longer have any insider knowledge but just as the fans are speculating, so shall I. If fans are counting on Meruelo winning a bid for state land their hopes may very well be misplaced. Meruelo announced what he was willing to pay for the property, but he is willing to go higher? How much higher? I would bet there are developers just waiting to outbid Meruelo on this piece of land. If he is unsuccessful in acquiring this land, there is no backup plan.

Where is Xavier Gutierrez? He just announced his own sports consultancy and marketing firm. Has anyone heard from him or seen him in his Coyotes role since the sale?

Fans have hoped that Wayne Gretzky can put together a consortium of investors to resurrect the team. The costs would be enormous. Meruelo will command a sky-high price. Then there is land acquisition, navigating through layers of local government regulation and the investment required for building a facility. It may be more than anyone is willing to take on.

In essence, the Coyotes have vanished.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Mar 23

29

Slapshots

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 29, 2023
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City of Phoenix • City of Tempe • Phoenix Metro issues  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

This week the publicity about the Coyotes has been nothing but awful. Slapshot number 1 was the media blitz earlier this week about Andrew Barroway. Barroway was the majority owner of the Coyotes until he sold most of his interest in the team to Alex Meruelo in 2019. Barroway, to this day, remains a minority owner. He was arrested March 23,2023, on domestic violence charges in Colorado after allegedly assaulting his wife. As a result, the National Hockey League has suspended Barroway.

Slapshot number 2 is the Phoenix Business Journal article posted today announcing that Sky Harbor is suing Tempe over the proposed Arizona Coyotes arena project. As was stated in the article, Phoenix has no problem with the commercial aspect of the project – arena, shops, etc. Their objection is to the 2,000 proposed high-rise apartments which they claim is a breach of the 1994 Agreement between Phoenix and Tempe.

The Coyotes’ response ignores the basis of the suit which is the construction of the 2,000 apartments and instead uses smoke and mirrors to focus on Phoenix’s sports/entertainment venues saying if Phoenix can build them close to Sky Harbor, then they should be allowed to build their entertainment venue close to Sky Harbor.  “While it is OK for Phoenix to build a baseball stadium, a basketball arena, and a soccer stadium in the flight path of Sky Harbor Airport, somehow, it’s wrong when Tempe attempts to convert an old polluting landfill into a new sports and entertainment district.”

They deliberately missed the point and are trying to divert attention away from their planned 2,000 apartments. So, it will go to court. It’s doubtful the issue will be decided before the Tempe election on the issue.

However, the intended result of the suit has already occurred by muddying the waters even further for Tempe voters. I suspect many voters will decide why bother with this whole Coyote mess and hopefully, vote ‘no’.

It will also have the effect of further extending the timeline for the proposed construction of the development, should it pass in the Tempe election. Remember, to a developer, time is money.

I also ran into a small, news snippet online stating that a group of NHL owners were unhappy with the Coyotes shenanigans perhaps leading to some new marching orders for Gary Bettman, CEO of the Hockey League. This was before news of Barroway or the Phoenix suit. I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided that they’ve had a belly full of the Coyotes. Bettman has always protected the Coyotes but how much longer will he be able to do so?

Would a third slapshot spell a death knell for the Coyotes? Stick around and watch. Just when you think it can’t get any worse for the Coyotes, it does.

© Joyce Clark, 2023     

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Feb 23

7

Don’t Puck with Tempe, part I

Posted by Joyce Clark on February 7, 2023
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City of Tempe  | Tagged With: , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

Even with the disclaimer above, I want to emphasize that this blog reflects my personal opinion as a resident of Glendale. It in no way reflects the public position of the Glendale City Council (of which I am a member) or any official position of the City of Glendale.

All the information cited in this blog is publicly available information acquired through various public internet search engines. No proprietary or private information is used.

This blog is directed specifically to the voters of Tempe. On May 16, 2023, Tempe will hold a Special Election consisting of three ballot propositions. These propositions, if approved by voters, will allow the Tempe City Council to finalize a development agreement with Bluebird Development, the entity created by the National Hockey League’s Coyotes and its majority owner, Alex Meruelo. If defeated by voters, Tempe City Council will reject the deal.

I would hope that Tempe voters defeat all 3 propositions.

It is a complicated issue, and there is much to consider. Hence the decision to divide the information into two blogs. Part I will focus on Mr. Meruelo’s and the Coyotes’ finances. Part II will tackle elements of the deal.

Meruelo holds business interests in banking, real estate, media, restaurants, food, casinos, and professional sports. He is the owner of Meruelo Group, as well as Meruelo Media, which owns five radio stations and two television stations in Los Angeles—KWHY-TV and KBEH-TV and radio stations KLOS, KLLI, KPWR, KDAY and KDEY-FM.

In addition, he is the owner of Fuji Food, two casinos, the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada and the Sahara Las Vegas in Las Vegas.

The Meruelo Group has, among other entities, a construction and real estate development firm and has ownership of Neal Electric Corp, Select Electric Inc., and Doty Bros within the Southern California area.

The group also owns the Commercial Bank of California (CBA), which Meruelo co-founded in 2003. It was reported by PRWEB in November of 2022, that the National Merchants Association released an update about its ongoing lawsuit against CBA, a California chartered bank owned by the Meruelo Group, in the Superior Court of California, LA County, case number 21STCV44674 and JAMS Reference No. 1210038694.

In December 2021, NMA filed a seven-count suit against the Commercial Bank of California for various alleged violations, including, inter alia, breach of written agreement, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment and unfair business practices, among other issues.

NMA is suing for $280M. The trial is scheduled to take place in February 2023. The alleged unethical and unfair business practices include:

  • Taking NMA’s proprietary processes and information
  • Freezing assets for months at a time, resulting in vendors and partners not receiving payments
  • Misinformation about merchant risk reserves

In June 2017, the Meruelo Group purchased the SLS Las Vegas (formerly the Sahara Hotel and Casino) in Las Vegas. In May 2019, SLS brand owner SBE Hotel Licensing, LLC filed a lawsuit alleging that Meruelo’s Las Vegas Resort Holdings, LLC had failed to pay at least $450,000 in licensing fees since November 2018.

Meruelo owns the following private properties valued collectively at approximately $33 million:

  • A 8,500-square-foot, $7.05 million house at 36 Indian Creek Drive in Miami
  • A $10.79 million penthouse in The Langham, New York.
  • Colom Island in Spain for 3.2 million euros
  • A 22,000-square-foot, $12.1 million house in Paradise Valley, AZ.

The observation for every Tempe voter should be, why is this guy demanding that Tempe pay anything to help him develop the property?

One of Tempe’s councilmembers publicly shared the Dun & Bradstreet Financial Analytics of these Meruelo related entities. This information should have been a warning shot to the Tempe City Council:

How are the Coyotes doing under Meruelo’s leadership? The team looks like it’s a financial disaster. The Coyotes are running pretax cash losses of about $50 million a year. The team also has some $300 million of debt—$200 million from Frank McCourt’s MGG Investment Group at an annual interest rate of somewhere around 9% or 10% and another $100 million of NHL credit-facility debt.

According to Forbes, for yet another year, the Arizona Coyotes are considered the least valuable team in the National Hockey League. It listed the Coyotes as No. 32 at a $450 million valuation as of December 2022. It cites that Meruelo paid $300 million for the team in 2019. The valuation breakdown, according to Forbes is:

Currently the team is playing in ASU’s 4,600 seat Mullet Arena. The tickets are pricey. I have heard from others that as many as 2,000 tickets have been “comp’d” for games. Even in that case, it is said that not all the comp’d ticket holders show up.

The team seems to be bleeding money while it promises to pay Tempe for a lot of things to pursue their development becoming reality including footing up to a $250,000 bill to cover the cost of the May Special Election. They seem to be desperate and realize this is their last opportunity to remain a viable entity in Arizona.

Keep in mind that just last year the team owed $1.3 million in taxes to the State of Arizona including $250,000 to Glendale. That’s in addition to the previous year when the team owed Glendale at least $500,000 in back rental payments.

The team has promised that nothing like this will ever happen again…until the next time it does. Tempe City Council are you listening yet?

As Laurie Roberts said in one of her past Arizona Republic op-ed columns, “A business forgets to pay $1.3 million in taxes, dating to June 2020, due to an ‘unfortunate human error’? Anybody buying that?” It seems the Tempe City Council really, really wants to buy it and appears to be using this Special Election as cover.

Not to be forgotten are vendor and contractor complaints made over the years. Meruelo’s habit and pattern appears to be to stall paying them or disputing bills by threatening to go to court. Most of these entities are small and cannot afford the expense or time to fight in court. So, they end up settling for pennies on the dollar to at least salvage some payment from the job.

What can be learned about Meruelo and the team? Dun & Bradstreet considers all Meruelo associated entities as a moderate to high risk. The lowest amount of borrowing capacity resides with the Ice Hockey Arizona (the Coyotes) in an amount of $5,000; the highest amount of borrowing capacity is with Meruelo Enterprises at an amount of $1.4 million. That’s a far cry from the $2.1 billion plus needed to develop this project.

Team officials have assured Tempe that Meruelo has the real estate and financial bonafides to make this deal happen. But the only way it works is if Tempe will give a portion of city sales and bed taxes generated at the site to pay $230 million plus of the cost. This is from a guy who assured the public that he could generate the investor financing to cover the entire cost of this development.

© Joyce Clark, 2023  

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Sep 22

9

Another commentary on the Coyotes saga

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 9, 2022
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City Council Actions • City of Glendale • Gila River Arena • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

Today a friend sent me a link to an Arizona Republic Opinion column published on September 9th and written by State Representative Athena Salman. Representative Salman represents State Legislative District 26 which encompasses north Tempe and includes the area of the proposed Coyotes’ arena. Here is the link: https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2022/09/09/arizona-coyotes-entertainment-district-raw-deal-tempe/8017122001/ . The title of the opinion column is, Arizona Coyotes gave Glendale a raw deal. And Tempe wants to repeat it?

In her column Representative Salman reiterates much of what I have already said about the proposed Coyotes deal. Here are some excerpts from her opinion piece:

  • “What they don’t share so openly is that they’re also requesting either a 30-year and an 8-year government property lease excise tax (GPLET), to the tune of more than $649 million in tax abatements, or a 65-year and an 8-year GPLET that would total over $1.1 billion in tax abatements.”

What this means to the Tempe taxpayers is that the Coyotes are seeking a handout valued at $649M to $1.1B in tax forgiveness. In other words, this represents a loss of money earned for Tempe taxpayers that could be used for all kinds of projects and programs for citizens. This belies their repeated mantra that they are financing the project totally.

Representative Salman goes on to say,

  • “And then there’s the Coyotes’ dishonorable fiscal track record under current owner Alex Meruelo, who took over the franchise in July 2019.”
  • “Is this really the kind of corporate behavior the city of Tempe wants to be rewarding for the next 30 to 65 years?”

This is a fair question.

Another issue Representative Salman did not mention is the intensity and height of construction, especially the apartment buildings and their effect on Sky Harbor’s operations. There is a 1994 agreement between Tempe and Phoenix designed to ensure both cities mutually protect the integrity of Sky Harbor. Phoenix has publicly stated that the Coyotes’ proposed project is in violation of the 1994 agreement which could result in court action.

I agree with Representative Salman’s take on the proposed Coyotes deal. She is merely saying what many others have said. There’s the adage, those that do not study history are doomed to repeat it. I suspect the Coyotes deal appears to be irresistible to some on Tempe’s city council. Are there enough councilmembers to approve the deal? I have no idea, but I hope they take the time to learn valuable lessons from Glendale’s experience.

There are a few avid fans who regularly feel compelled to berate me because I dare to write about the Coyotes. I guess it’s easy for them to forget that I was involved with the Coyotes in Glendale from the very beginning. I was at one time, heavily invested in the team and fought hard to keep them in Glendale through some very trying and turbulent years. After some time, it gets old when there are musical chairs regarding ownership, each successive owner with his own agenda that often did not coincide with that of Glendale. Why shouldn’t I blog about them?

I ‘ve earned the right to do so.

© Joyce Clark, 2022      

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Dec 21

10

The Arizona Coyotes are a hot mess…still

Posted by Joyce Clark on December 10, 2021
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Gila River Arena • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Phoenix Metro issues  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

On December 3, 2021, the State of Arizona’s Department of Revenue (DOR) filed a tax lien against the Arizona Coyotes in the amount of $1.3 million with approximately $250,000 being owed to the City of Glendale for unpaid taxes. The tax lien states the team owes taxes as far back as June 2020 (that’s a year and a half). In the City of Glendale letter sent to Xavier Gutierrez, President and CEO of the Arizona Coyotes, advising the organization if payment on back taxes as well as monies owed to ASM Global, manager of the Gila River Arena, were not paid in full by close of business on December 20, 2021, not only would the organization be locked out of the building, but their Glendale business license would be terminated. See the correspondence below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This latest development should come as no surprise if you had read Katie Strang’s Athletic story, Dysfunction in the desert: Finger-pointing, fear and financial woes roil the Coyotes organization published in February 16, 2021. Here is the link: https://theathletic.com/2390146/2021/02/16/arizona-coyotes-investigation-toxic/ . Be forewarned, you must subscribe to the Athletic to read the full article.  It is well researched,   in-depth and a fascinating read. Ms. Strang also provides strong coverage of the organizations’ structural disfunction. Excerpts from her story referring to the organization’s past financial issues include the following:

  • “Meruelo’s acquisition of the Coyotes was supposed to portend a new era for the team. Instead, people within the organization and across the NHL are now wondering if the league erred in approving his purchase.”
  • “In April, the team announced it was furloughing half of its staff due to pandemic-related financial issues. In May, the Arizona Republic reported that promises to pay the arena’s part-time and hourly staff members had not been met. The team and arena management company, in response to the report, said they would ‘finalize our support plan that will be executed within the next 30 days’.”
  • “In September, The Athletic reported that a handful of players did not receive their signing bonuses on time.”
  • “The Athletic identified and spoke with eight vendors with whom the Coyotes had outstanding or past due balances or negotiated their debt to a lower amount.”
  • The Seyfarth Shaw law firm has been retained to investigate various allegations associated with the organization. “Among them, Seyfarth Shaw representatives have asked about:

           The accuracy of financial documents provided to third parties, such as banks and private  lenders, required to meet specific loan obligations. The accuracy of financial reports the organization sent to the league, which reflect team revenues and can potentially impact player salaries and the salary cap.”

It was Ms. Strang who broke the December 8, 2021, Athletic story regarding the Coyotes’ unpaid taxes. Here is the link: https://theathletic.com/news/coyotes-could-be-locked-out-of-home-arena-by-city-of-glendale-for-unpaid-arena-charges-delinquent-tax-bills/ArAVPFTj0LId/ . I imagine Garry Bettman’s (President of the National Hockey League) call to Mr. Meruelo, after the story broke about unpaid taxes was short and sweet…Pay those @#$%&* taxes now!

On December 9, 2021, the Coyotes organization issued the following statement saying they have launched an investigation to determine “how this could have happened.” In their press release they state, “Initial indications are that it appears to be the result of an unfortunate human error. Regardless, we deeply regret the inconvenience this has caused. We will make sure that by tomorrow morning, the Arizona Coyotes are current on all of our bills and owe no state or local taxes whatsoever. And we will take immediate steps to ensure that nothing like this can ever possibly happen again.”

If this sounds familiar, it should. According to Katie Strang’s February 16, 2021, article, when asked about paying players, “Gutierrez described both of these snafus as ‘process’ failures.”

Once again, Gutierrez seems to be pointing the finger at “process failures” implying it wasn’t deliberate but rather a glitch in the system. Maybe if it had happened once and in isolation with no background of financial questions it would be accepted as a plausible answer but there seems to be an ongoing pattern of “process failures.”

It is also no small matter to possibly lose the organization’s business license. It’s not just a matter of possibly being locked out but without a business license even if an alternate venue were found, it couldn’t be used without having a license to do business.

Today, December 9, 2021, the media is reporting that a short while ago, the Coyotes wired the entire amount to the State DOR. We do not know if they have also paid their arrears with ASM Global. I would advise Glendale to double check and to make sure all unpaid amounts are now current. One would expect no less considering the avalanche of negative publicity they generated yesterday and today.

I suspect there is more to the Arizona Coyotes’ story that will have to unfold shortly. Right now, the most pressing issue is meeting the NHL’s schedule deadline to submit the team’s play dates and their location to the League by a January, 2022 date. This early date is because the League has to juggle all teams’ schedules and craft a League schedule that satisfies all.

Forget the possibility of a new arena in Tempe. The immediate and most critical question is where will the Coyotes play while waiting 3 to 5 years for a new arena? That is, IF Tempe accepts their RFP. The only word coming out of Tempe is that they are doing extensive due diligence.

I have found over the years that a deal is best crafted when both parties can trust each other. That may be the most seminal question that Tempe will have to decide. Can they trust the Coyotes to be good, reliable financial partners?

Let me make clear, the City of Glendale is done with the Coyotes. Their absolute refusal to negotiate a long-term, 20 year lease simply made the City’s decision clear. They will not be playing in Glendale for their 2022-23 season or in any future season. That door is closed.

While Glendale has no interest in where they play in the future, I think it’s fun to speculate and the rest of this blog is pure speculation. It is not based in fact or any insider knowledge.

The only viable location is the Arizona Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum. Keep in mind pursing this location as a temporary venue is dependent upon Tempe’s awarding the RFP to the Coyotes. Then it would make some sense to pursue a lease of the Coliseum. My guess it’s a 50/50 proposition as to whether Tempe accepts the Coyotes’ RFP. What if Tempe declines to award the Coyotes an RFP? For many that is an unthinkable outcome, but it is possible. If that were to happen, there would be no need of a temporary location and I would imagine a sale of the team would be imminent. This is the only play the Coyotes have. Forget all other locations. Each has a solid reason to be unworkable.

Here are the problems with the Coliseum. It’s now December, 2021. The work and the expense involved in renovating the building are extensive and even if work on the building started tomorrow, it is doubtful the building would be ready in a mere 10 months in time for the new season in October of 2022.

According to a recent Craig Morgan story of December 8, 2021, entitled Back to the future: Coliseum makes most sense as Coyotes’ interim arena solution, he, too, thinks the only temporary solution for the Coyotes is the Coliseum. Craig Morgan has always been very friendly and supportive of the Coyotes’ ownership over the years. One can speculate that he has sources within the organization and he is reflective of their thinking process.

The Coliseum has major structural problems. The building needs a need roof, new flooring and an additional ice plant for starters. Even with a new roof it can not accommodate a centrally hung scoreboard. There are no suites and maximum attendance would be in the 13,000 to 14,000 range. If the Coyotes do use the building they will continue to bleed financially.

I had heard that it would cost $40 to $50 million to get the building in shape for hockey but Morgan, in his article, cites a construction expert who said a more realistic number is in the $100 million range.

If Tempe awards the RFP to the Coyotes everything becomes a political calculation from that point forward. We can speculate that the Coyotes will go to Governor Doug Ducey and ask to rent the building (maybe for $1 a year?) and having a great deal of Chutzpah, demand that the state pay the cost of renovating the building for them…and, oh, by the way, you have 10 months to do so. Here’s where it really gets political. Ducey is a lame duck Governor, termed out. There are rumors that he intends to run for the U.S. Senate. He will have to make a political calculation as to how such action would play with his voter base. While he might win the support of 17,000 to 20,000 Coyotes fans there are far more voters that would not take kindly to any kind of financial give away to yet another sports franchise using taxpayer dollars. It could become the albatross that makes him unelectable.

The next few months will be very interesting as we watch this play out. My personal take is that the Coyotes will be sold. Alex Meruelo has become a liability to the NHL and especially to Gary Bettman.

© Joyce Clark, 2021       

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Jan 18

16

Coyotes’ Barroway…will he or won’t he?

Posted by Joyce Clark on January 16, 2018
Posted in Arizona Cardinals • Arizona Coyotes • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Gila River Arena • Glendale Economic Development • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

I haven’t opined on the Coyotes in a long time. It’s sad that they remain in limbo, still seeking the Holy Grail of a new location…in or out of Arizona. You’d think that Andrew Barroway, owner of the team, would take a reality pill and acknowledge that no one is going to build them a new arena and then subsidize the team to play in it. The fans deserve better. They deserve surety and the team stubbornly refuses to provide it.

I have only attended 2 or 3 games this season but from what I hear from fans this season’s performance was dismal. Out of the 8 teams in the Pacific Division they ranked dead last with 45 games played to date turning in 10 wins, 28 losses. While the brand new Vegas Golden Knights, number one in the division, turned in 29 wins and 10 losses. The Coyotes also rank dead last in the league standings.

Having no other place to go, the Coyotes silently did nothing in December of 2017 triggering an automatic lease renewal at Glendale’s Gila River Arena. Here is the link to Craig Harris’ December 19, 2017 story in the Arizona Republic: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale/2017/12/19/arizona-coyotes-staying-1-more-year-glendale-gila-river-arena/963379001/ .

Mr. Ahron Cohen, Coyotes’ Chief Operating Officer, is quoted as saying, “We are absolutely planning to play next season at Gila River Arena and are focused on building a winning hockey team, positively contributing to our community, and achieving success in all aspects of our business.”

Let’s take a look at the reality of that statement. Forbes magazine annually determines the worth of professional sports teams and it has valued the Coyotes at $300 million. It is the least valuable franchise in the 31-team NHL. The team lost at least $19 million last season.  Forbes stated the team’s debt ratio was 83 percent, meaning the franchise has very little liquidity or room to borrow money. In this financial atmosphere, it is painfully obvious that the team simply cannot afford to move – anywhere, in or out of the state. To date there has been no legislation offered at the state level to assist the team in some sort of relocation effort and it does not seem to be a viable option.

The Coyotes have the league’s lowest payroll of $54.8 million, according to the National Hockey League Players’ Association. Again, with an 83% debt ratio it’s no wonder that the team’s payroll is in the basement. Clearly with that kind of debt ratio the ability to build a winning team, as Mr. Cohen suggests, is unrealistic.

There is a lot of work to be accomplished by Mr. Barroway and his senior management to turn this team around. To accomplish that goal long term stability is required. Perhaps it’s time for him to create the stability of location, get serious and commit to a long term lease at the Gila River Arena. Once that issue is resolved and the distraction of seeking a bigger and better location (in their minds) is settled, they can focus on three major initiatives: The first and most important is ‘butts in seats’ despite the current quality of team play. It’s time to develop a major, effective marketing campaign to attract new fans. Get those ‘butts in seats’ to generate a greater proportion of revenue; the second is with better revenue comes the ability to pay for seasoned, successful players. Fans are fickle. They pay to see winners not losers. They cannot rely upon fan loyalty in the Valley. Just look at the Suns and Diamondbacks. Respectively their attendance is down and continues downward when they don’t make the playoffs; lastly it’s all about the fan experience these days. At the game I attended last week I witnessed a format that hasn’t changed since the team started playing in the arena, 15 years ago.

There are new strategies available to attract millennials and women. One has just to look at the Cardinals to notice what they have done to make the fan experience worth the price of a ticket. Their model remains successful as their season ticket holder base remains stable. Oh by the way, I haven’t heard the football fans that come from all over the state complaining that the venue is too far away. Yet Coyotes’ team management continues to point the finger at distance as a rationale for lousy attendance. When they were winning and made the playoffs there was no mention of distance. Come on, it’s time to bury the excuses, including this one.

The city and AEG would like to have the Coyotes stay at Gila River Arena. After all, it was built for hockey as its main tenant. The city has also learned that it should not be in the business of managing and that its arrangement with AEG is a winner. It has no intention of terminating the relationship for AEG has done an outstanding job in its first year of management.

It’s time for Barroway to stop playing games…off the ice. Commit to stay at Gila River and get to work on creating a better team performance and building a super fan base. Glendale has publicly offered to help but it will never go back to the old model of subsidizing the team. It’s time for Barroway to make a major effort to turn things around. Will he…or won’t he? That is the question.

© Joyce Clark, 2018         

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This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Nov 17

15

What has happened to the Coyotes?

Posted by Joyce Clark on November 15, 2017
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Gila River Arena • Westgate • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

On Monday, November 13, 2017 we were all shocked to learn of the death of George Gosbee,48, former owner and Governor of the Arizona Coyotes. He was also a well respected member of the Calgary, Canada community. What hasn’t been reported until today, November 15, 2017 is that he died by his own hand…he committed suicide. Here is the link: https://news–of-the-day.com/2017/11/15/yedlin-george-gosbees-death-a-devastating-reminder-of-mental-health-effects/ .

He was a man who had everything – a wonderful family, prestige within his community and wealth. Yet due to some mental illness he believed he had nothing; that life was not worth living and so, he took his life. My deepest condolences go out to his family.

Then I ran across another article posted just today by Craig Harris of the Arizona Republic detailing current investigations by the National Labor Relations Board related to the Coyotes allegedly not paying employees properly and possible union busting. Here is the link: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2017/11/15/arizona-coyotes-accused-not-properly-paying-employees-union-busting-nlrb-complaints/867408001/?hootPostID=ac31f1c4a3f168b754f5d5951be6049e .

What has happened to our Coyotes? How far have they fallen? Just a few years ago they were riding high with blockbuster attendance and a slot in the playoffs. Remember the nights of “white outs?” The fans’ enthusiasm was palpable.

Today their starting season is 0-10-1. They have the worst record in the NHL with 2 wins, 15 losses and 3 ties. Their attendance quite frankly, sucks. They have the smallest payroll in the NHL at about $55 million. Unless there is a reversal of fate, they are slated to lose at least $20 million this year.

They have sold off, traded or retired a majority of their players of note, most notably Shane Doan.  It is certainly not the fault of the players. A majority are new and relatively inexperienced. They are eager and hungry to win but they have yet to gel as a cohesive unit. It takes time.

The current owner, Andrew Barroway, and the NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, have threatened to leave Arizona if someone or some entity does not build the Coyotes a new arena and subsidize their playing in such a venue. Their decision and actions are certainly not the way to encourage the realization of their “ask.”

There is an alternative that Barroway has stubbornly rejected and that is to stay in Glendale and to end the ongoing saga of uncertainty. It’s also time to invest in building a team that is, at least, competitive.  Glendale has always said that it wants the Coyotes to succeed in Glendale and will offer assistance to help rebuild the fan base. A year-to-year contract does nothing to reassure fans that the Coyotes are committed to staying. It’s as if the fans keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I’m on the outside, obviously, looking in. I have no inside knowledge but there has always been the undercurrent of suspicion by some that these are deliberate acts. Suspicions borne from the time Anthony LeBlanc, et. al., took ownership. Some believe that their motivation has always been to leave Arizona. What better way to accomplish that goal than to decimate the team, drive down attendance and then proclaim that Arizona never was, isn’t and never will be a successful market for hockey. A season of attendance at the very bottom of the league’s barrel may finally convince Gary Bettman that Arizona is not the hockey market he believed it to be.

Seattle has plans to locate an MBA and an NHL franchise in its arena after its renovation. Bettman has always wanted to grow the league and put an expansion team into that slot. Could that change? Could he throw in the towel, as he has threatened if the Coyotes do not get a new venue here, and bless a Coyotes’ move to Seattle? I don’t know but you can bet that Barroway and Bettman do…right now.

UPDATE: NOV. 16, 2017 Today’s Arizona Republic reports that support for Phoenix’s bearing the lion’s share of the cost of renovating the Diamonback’s venue is waning. It appears politicians are finally getting it and that pouring money into the money pit of sports venues is not the best use of taxpayers’ dollars. In that same article Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton seems to have dropped his support of planting the Coyotes in the same venue. His latest statements about the Diamondback’s facility has dropped any mention of using it for the Coyotes as well. 

 

© Joyce Clark, 2017                 

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Apr 17

21

Friday, April 21, 2017 tidbits…

Posted by Joyce Clark on April 21, 2017
Posted in Arizona Cardinals • Arizona Coyotes • City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Gila River Arena • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances • Westgate  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

Yucca district meeting went live. I have seen various online live videos on Facebook from time to time. A FB friend suggested that I use it to promo my district meeting last night, April 20, 2017. I decided why just use it for a promo? Why not try to bring the entire meeting online? It was our first try and sometimes the audio is not loud enough and we never thought to bring some kind of stand to place the IPad upon for steadiness. So there is some wobbling. And then I ran out of memory…I have no clue as to why. So we will work on those issues and when I have my next district meeting this Fall we will try it again. If you would like to take a look at my first try, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/joyce.clark.338/videos/1469350713087843/ .

Coyotes bill seems DOA. The Arizona state legislature’s adjournment is fast approaching. The tentative date was scheduled for April 22nd. Arizona senate bill, SB 1149, is for all intents and purposes dead. It would have created a special taxing district to enable the Coyotes to build a new arena…anywhere but Glendale. Governor Ducey has already signaled that even if the legislation is rolled into another bill, he will not sign. His reason? He said he would not approve taxpayers supporting the cost of yet another arena in the state. It is my hope that with Anthony LeBlanc gone (he has not made any public statement for the Coyotes in over a month and there have been rumors circulating that another investor has joined the ownership group) cooler heads within the Coyotes’ ownership will prevail and there will be a reconsideration of negotiating a long-term lease with AEG, manger of the city-owned Gila River Arena.

Glendale’s bond rating increases. You might be wondering why city officials are giddy over bond rating increases delivered this week by Moody’s and recently by Standard & Poor. Why the big deal? When a city’s rating is poor, it costs the city more money to borrow because the interest rate is high. When a city’s bond rating goes up, it costs the city less to borrow money as the interest rate drops. With the upgrade in bond rating, the city will be able to refinance a majority of its outstanding debt at a lower interest rate, saving the city (you, the taxpayers) money. It also increases the city’s capacity to issue debt and makes it more likely that the city will be able to begin new Capital Improvement Projects. These projects can focus in on amenity projects, like parks and libraries, that benefit the quality of life of all of Glendale’s residents.

Volunteers appreciated. On Saturday, April 15, 2017 the city held a Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon at the Adult Center to recognize and thank the hundreds of volunteers giving thousands of hours throughout our city’s government. Mayor Weiers presented a proclamation of appreciation. Accepting on behalf of all volunteers was Bobbie Garland. I have known Bobbie for over 20 years. I have seen first- hand her willingness to give of her time. There could not have been a more fitting recipient selected. Kudos to Bobbie and all those who have followed in her foot steps.

A new name for AZSTA’s football stadium. It was announced this week that the University of Phoenix is terminating its naming rights for the stadium located in the Westgate area of Glendale. Frankly, I suspect that this action brings joy to every Glendale resident. Calling it the University of Phoenix Stadium was an anathema to many. It also created a great deal of confusion as to its location. Was it in Glendale or Phoenix? We are confident that AZSTA and the Cardinals will choose its new naming partner carefully and hopefully with no reference to Phoenix.

© Joyce Clark, 2017               

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Mar 17

11

No easy seasons

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 11, 2017
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Gila River Arena • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

“It hasn’t been the easiest season for fans of the Arizona Coyotes. After poor on-ice performance, the departure of many beloved veterans, and the lingering sideshow of off-ice issues, the 2014-15 campaign has not been for the faint of heart.” This was written and published by Fiveforhowling.com three years ago during what was viewed as the coming “golden age” for the Coyotes under what was presumed to be a new era of stable leadership provided by IceArizona.

There is an old tale of an emperor in a parade. He was wearing no clothes. No one remarked upon this strange scene until the emperor passed in front of a young boy who blurted out, why is the emperor wearing no clothes? Suddenly it became acceptable for everyone to acknowledge that fact.

Under the ownership of IceArizona we experienced a similar situation with everyone fearful to state the obvious for fear of being ridiculed or worse. Glendale has pointed out that this emperor (IceArizona) is wearing no clothes and this concept is now acceptable to voice.

This is from a Dan Bickley Arizona Republic story(http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nhl/coyotes/2017/03/09/bickley-gary-bettmans-threats-backfiring-valley/98969022/ ) from 2 days ago, “But sports fans in the Valley are smarter than they look. The Coyotes have failed on their end of the bargain, running their franchise on the cheap while depending on handouts to survive. If this team had consistently exposed Arizonans to the majesty of playoff hockey over the past decade, this conversation would sound much different. Truth is, they haven’t done anything to warrant a second home on our dime.” He went on to say, “The Coyotes didn’t help matters in a press release blaming their current location for alienating their ‘premium ticketholders and ticket sponsors.’ What does that say to the people who currently show up to games with open minds and open hearts?” And open pocket books, I might add.

Even Craig Morgan, darling of the Coyotes organization and often perceived as its unofficial spokesperson, said this yesterday in his arizonasports.com article (http://arizonasports.com/story/1050773/morgan-coyotes-need-the-right-location-to-succeed-its-not-glendale/ ) “The hard truth for the team is that it has produced four winning seasons, three playoffs berths and two playoff series wins in 13 seasons in the West Valley location that welcomed it when nobody else would. Winning sells in any market, but it’s especially important in one as fickle as Phoenix. Repetitive losing is an unwise investment of fans’ dollars and emotions.” Morgan did acknowledge, “The Coyotes’ hirings, and their delay in releasing financial statements to Glendale per their agreement, raise questions about their commitment to the partnership…”

Craig Harris of the Arizona Republic in his story(http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2017/03/09/glendale-fires-back-arizona-coyotes-glendale-arena/98967020/?hootPostID=19ace9c56558711ce78486b73ec4649f ) from March 9, 2017 weighed in with this, “The new arena managers run the facility for one-third the cost. The team’s claims that it can’t be successful in Glendale came after the city in 2015 stopped subsidizing the Coyotes through a $15-million annual arena-management deal. “

The mainstream media has finally been willing to acknowledge that the emperor is not wearing any clothes. Certainly it appears that the Arizona legislature realizes that the emperor is wearing no clothes. Sadly, the fans, always the last to give up their allegiance to a team are also beginning to see an emperor with no clothes.

In 2013, everyone rejoiced in the prospect of a new era with IceArizona. Celebrations abounded among Bettman, the new team owners and the fans. Then no one, not Bettman, LeBlanc or the fans, rejected the Glendale/IceArizona deal with commentary that heck, Glendale was a lousy location. How soon we forget. They had a home that they welcomed then. They have a home now… if they only choose to bury the hatchet.

The fans are weary of an eight year drama with seemingly the only end in sight possibly being the relocation of the team outside of Arizona. They are weary of belief in anything the team spokesperson, Anthony LeBlanc, says after a series of incendiary and sometimes misleading public pronouncements. How will they feel if the coming season turns out to be the team’s last in Arizona? Will they bother to attend games? This coming year’s attendance could prove to be the worst one yet. Perhaps ownership will hold off on dropping the bomb until after the next season is completed. Who knows?

Two unanswered questions remain. Has the team paid off the $70 loan from the NHL? And where’s Waldo…er…Anthony LeBlanc?

It’s been a rough season for all…

© Joyce Clark, 2017               

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

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