A Look at the Coyotes' Nearly Five Years Under Alex Meruelo's Ownership

[@ianhall6614]

As an Oakland A’s fan I feel a bit of a kindred spirit connection with coyotes fans. I hope you guys can still watch and enjoy the great game of hockey, unlike how I feel about baseball now. Although I wouldn’t blame you if you checked out entirely.

[@splashnskillz37]

Yeah the A's situation is waaaay worse, my condolances man (not a coyotes fan btw)

[@NTEDOG561]

Can we all agree we hate Vegas tho? As then Raiders and the god awful knights

[@kaiuche8640]

The absolute god awful luck this franchise has had with ownership is insane.

[@wintersoon]

Is it really luck? Didn't the NHL leadership vet these guys?

[@francoisbouvier7861]

Well, how about the inmates in charge of the asylum.

[@thearmourboy3254]

TBH when you look at most of the failed franchises they almost always point back to bad/failed ownership.

[@kaiuche8640]

Because usually it is responsible. Bad product leads to lack of ticket sales among other stuff and it’s up to ownership to find the right managers and coaches to run the team

[@jesusandthemarychain6539]

Welcome to the life of a Marlins fan same exact issue feel for you I know your pain all to well

[@nickholmes5610]

Making his son Head of the social media for the team probably wasn’t his smartest business decision…

[@seanragsdale5636]

Not to mention giving him decision making power of who is qualified to run hockey operations

[@ryancole7376]

@@nickholmes5610 was their social media presence that bad or do you just mean nepotism in general?

[@Luke.1878]

@@ryancole7376 bit of both I’d say

[@IHateMyAccountName]

Nepotism hire doesn't offer work to the face of the franchise. Genius brain moves.

[@anadaroth]

He was way more than that. He basically ran the franchise.

[@calebkent6706]

I feel so bad for coyotes fans now they cant come back in their original form. Its unfortunate too much like the thrashers poor ownership doomed the coyotes but this time it seemed arizona didnt want them probably because they dont wanna fund an arena and the coyotes kept losing money with no guarenteed home. Shows bad owners ruin everything imo when it comes to sports.

[@JonathanGaeta]

Alex Meruelo pretty much robbed all Coyotes fans.

[@baohoaily]

Yah it’s totally out of left field that a billionaire from the gambling industry would be grifting.

[@ozzmoises]

It's better for them now the fans likely won't have to wait out the 5 year period for meruelo to build the arena or more likely not built it so they can try for a new ownership group and new arena without a hardcore time limit. Now good luck getting any public money for it or begging for handouts.

[@HutchIsOnYT]

AM hands back the rights to the NHL so they can return the history to AZ if/when they come back

[@XTotter5505]

At least the news comes quick so there’s a better chance of a new franchise coming in, since I think they said they still wanted a team in Arizona

[@tehbeernerd]

You have to be a special kind of awful to be the worst owner in a franchise that has had no shortage of terrible ownership since they moved to Arizona. Meruelo needs to be put in the same conversation as Ballard, Bill Wirtz, and Atlanta Spirit for worst NHL owner in history.

[@samuelfrick3475]

I hope the NHL blacklists Meruelo in a similar manner to that of Eddie Livingstone 107 years ago.

[@francoisbouvier7861]

Do some research into the original six. These idiots may have gotten their tutelage from way back when.

[@BeastOfMetal1989]

​@@samuelfrick3475Screw that, I hope he goes to jail for something stupid...like fraud, which I'm convinced has occurred here, and in his other businesses. I bet if you dig into his books, you'll find misappropriation somewhere. He already has free-floating accusations related to those other businesses, including a lot of accusations of doctored invoices.

[@samuelfrick3475]

@@BeastOfMetal1989 I didn’t want to be that blunt. But yeah he’s a total fraud. I’m totally with you there, but we know the NHL won’t go with that route.

[@Ohhelmno]

John Spano

[@joshuastevens2432]

He still owns the Roadrunners. There are three years on the deal to be in Tucson (just added an extra year within the past two weeks). He’ll most likely move them to Reno to a new arena he’s building there once the lease is up

[@captbloodbeard]

Or if his arena is finished sooner (I think it's supposed to be open in a year), he has proven that he has no qualms about breaking leases, so he could just move them in a year.

[@Garygoalhorn]

Meruelo is moving the Roadrunners to Reno, Nevada

[@gablefisk-govphost817]

To put the cherry on top: Merulo's next move is to move the AHL Roadrunners to Reno....which means he'll be in direct competition with the new ECHL team that's starting up 45 minutes away in Tahoe, and will have at least one season's head start.

[@faythsdream]

18:00 “They don’t have any fans. Yeah, Florida didn’t either until they were RUN CORRECTLY” The best part of this exceptional video. Nicely done, sir

[@garymauk2963]

Once Meurelo got his billion, I knew he was not coming back with the Coyotes. I'm only surprised he gave up so quickly and showed his real intent. Get his money and runs away! Good riddance.

[@gunkeyostanky1125]

@@garymauk2963 The owners are thrilled while Bettman is seething. Overall it's a very positive thing for the league. The NHL in Arizona is a dead proposition, they’d be foolish to try again.

[@C2CRWE]

It's a business, he made a profit, and now he's out!

[@jonfox4022]

@@gunkeyostanky1125 Right, because Bettman had to pay that $700 million difference out of his own pocket and the other owners weren't attached to it at all.

[@pjp9310]

I heard somewhere today Maruelo is moving the road runners to Reno. Guy littlerly took all pro hockey away from Arizona

[@samuelfrick3475]

He’s Arizona’s version of Satan. Lier from the pits of hell.

[@C2CRWE]

No Love for the game or fans....strictly a business decision!

[@subraxas]

I still remember the late 1990s when the club was new in Phoenix and overall they were consistently great. The team was built around the guys like Roenick, Tkachuk, Khabibulin, Tverdovsky, Numminen, Janney, Ronning, Drake, Gartner, Tocchet, and of course young Shane Doan was already there too. They really had a potential and the future looked bright. It seems to me that everything began going down the toilet for them when they moved from downtown Phoenix to that goddamned then-new arena in Glendale in 2003. Since then, they have never again been considered a contender; the cinderella run they pulled off in 2012 was "just" a one-off surprise.

[@Chaosmite]

Just because someone is worth $2B, doesn’t mean he has $2B in cash, most likely less than $1M in cash and rest in his businesses and stocks

[@samuelfrick3475]

It would be like you and me saying, we have a 2 billion dollar corporate mansion, only for people to find out it’s just a shack.

[@THEGDB]

Well the nhl gave him 1 billion for the team, so he 100% has that

[@Chaosmite]

@@THEGDB after the move

[@desertdog3473]

Weekly Coyotes disaster video

[@evancrites1787]

To think, this might be the last one 😢

[@samuelfrick3475]

@@evancrites1787or the Coyotes will briefly come back from the dead just to give us more stupid Coyotes drama for another week. Thats been the theme of this dumb franchise.

[@RobertSmithhalo]

I honestly feel like if Urinatingtree does a legacy of failure video on the Coyotes, it’ll be longer than his video on the Maple leafs.

[@InsignificantNick]

Sure, Meruelo didn't pay for stuff. And sure, he didn't look good at that press conference with Bettman. And sure, he had the Coyotes playing in a university arena. And sure, there was no update in January like he promised. And sure, the auction was a fail.

[@slurmsmckenzie5828]

Thank you the hockey guy for following the coyotes story. I am gutted my favorite team is done but you did a wonderful job.

[@Indybone]

Coyote fans, you are loved, you are appreciated, you will not be forgotten

[@RobertSmithhalo]

Were we though? All we kept hearing about all these years was how the Coyotes have no fans and that they should move to Quebec and so forth. If there was appreciation from people towards those that cheered for the Coyotes, they kept their mouths shut up until this point. So I for one will say to those people: piss off.

[@colinmazzella2423]

@@RobertSmithhaloit’s mostly gatekeeping Canadian fans that are mad Quebec City doesn’t have a team. I’m a rangers fan, no stake in this.

[@jsmusicanddrums]

So much hate it was ridiculous. Canada nice was not a thing.😂

[@RobertSmithhalo]

@@jsmusicanddrums you know something I notice. How come Hockey turns Canadians into nationalist bigots?

[@RobertSmithhalo]

@@jsmusicanddrums you know what I’ve noticed? Hockey seems to turn Canadians into nationalist bigots.

[@tombraiderstrums09]

Local AZ media is reporting a few interesting things: - First, Meruelo intends to move the Roadrunners to Reno within three years - Second, there are two ownership groups interested in an expansion franchise in metro Phoenix - Third, name and branding for the Coyotes has reverted back to the NHL I’m waiting for other sources outside the local market confirming these things and would LOVE to get more details about potential ownership groups. I do agree that before anyone gets the reins to an AZ franchise again, that owner will have to take extra time and effort to rebuild all the trust that the Coyotes lost even before Meruelo. A new team name might not be a bad idea (even if they bring the kachina back for a third jersey). The municipalities and the fans have to be seen as just as important as the NHL in terms of stakeholders.

[@samuelfrick3475]

The first and last points are 100% true

[@seanragsdale5636]

The second we heard about the delays in playing bonuses, I think we knew that he wasn’t going to be a better owner than all of the past owners. Question is who does Gary go to revive this franchise? Seriously doubt Mat Ishbia wants to sink more money in another team. You don’t want the Arizona Cardinals owners involved. It could be awhile before Arizona gets a serious investment in hockey.

[@chrisguardiano6143]

I agree with you about the Arizona Cardinals owners getting involved as they have run that franchise into the ground for decades & the NHL should also avoid the owners of the Diamondbacks as well mainly because the owner is threatening to move the team if the state doesn't pay for renovations to Chase Field. One set of people Gary could go to & revive the Coyotes are the owners of the Phoenix Rising soccer team who unlike the other pro sports teams in Phoenix, have been run competently ever since they were founded a decade ago & have been successful both on & off the field (they even built their own stadium with their own money). In fact they have been so successful that soccer fans in the area have stopped clamoring for MLS to put an expansion team in Phoenix.

[@Ohhelmno]

@@chrisguardiano6143I don’t think you’ll ever find an owner for the Phoenix market that’s going to be willing to build their own arena. Unless the people approve building one I don’t believe a team will be back any time soon.

[@OldRustySteele]

Gary needs to go to Tilman Fertitta to revive this franchise - and move it to HOUSTON where it belongs. In an NHL-sized arena, the Toyota Center. Which by the way housed a successful AHL team. Easy. Correct. Obvious.

[@busorenkin55]

God bless Vinnie Viola for saving the Florida panthers from this same fate

[@NTEDOG561]

And Now Stanly Cup Champions

[@jsmusicanddrums]

The teams were so similar now the coyotes have a contending roster and they go to Utah. Never got the chance to stop the bleeding. Will really hurt if utah wins the cup In the next 5 to 10 years.

[@RobertHarridge]

@@jsmusicanddrums Watch Utah pull a Colorado Avalanche and win the cup the year after moving. I wouldnt be surprised to see the Smith's be aggressive and bring in some top players.

[@jsmusicanddrums]

​@RobertHarridge as an arizona sports fan all were used to is suffering, except for that 1 world series. I would almost expect it to happen😅.

[@michaelleroy9281]

​@@RobertHarridgeNot this year, I don't think they're a cup contender yet

[@scottbaron121]

And as a Lightning fan, who had struggled with garbage ownership for DECADES? Find the right owner and the ENTIRE look of your franchise's reputation can change over night. The Lightning are NOW considered one of the model franchises in ALL of sports. Because of Jeff Vinik.

[@michaelleroy9281]

Same thing with the Panthers

[@PenguinNote67]

Also the Tucson Roadrunners will be moving to Reno, Nevada in either 2026 or 27 depending on the construction of a new arena

[@gablefisk-govphost817]

To compete for the same entertainment dollar as the Tahoe Knight Monsters, who will start this Fall....

[@samuelfrick3475]

Or if he was smart enough, in Alex Mereulo fashion, he doesn’t keep his word, takes more money from the Roadrunners and gets out of their sight. I hope the NHL publicly shames this piece of trash for eternity.

[@theaverageDon]

"Atlanta" people that are mad, or skeptical, need to understand just how far from Atlanta the presumed arena is or relatively cheap the land is

[@JBTriple8]

The Lightning,Canes,, Predators and Panthers proved Hockey can work in the south

[@OldRustySteele]

@@JBTriple8 The Canes and Panthers have had a significant amount of bad attendance years, however. I think the Canes will be fine moving forward. It remains to be seen how well the Panthers will do. The Greater Miami area has always been fickle with pro sports teams. Hopefully their recent success will be the jumpstart which keeps them healthy.

[@NTEDOG561]

​@OldRustySteele that's not entirely true. Panthers have been selling out tickets for a good while now. Also Atlanta would not be good for hockey I don't care what anyone says

[@jonfox4022]

@@NTEDOG561 I wouldn't considered 2 seasons of selling out to be "a good while". Especially considering the team went to the finals and then won in those 2 seasons. For the 8 seasons prior their sales were half what they were from last season assuming statista is an accurate website.

[@Newbobdole]

Every time someone gets into hockey, part of my crash course includes characterizing the owners as 32 Scrooge McDucks

[@antoniophx99]

Him being a latino owner had zero impact on the latino community here in AZ. He never reached out to any communities and totally alienated the west valley fans.

[@jonfox4022]

Having the head of a company or organization rarely has any positive impact on the ethnicity they're. It's usually just a way to trick people into spending more money until the community sees through their 'one of us' grift.

[@RobertSmithhalo]

Yeah, it’s a damn disgrace that the first Latino owner in NHL history ends up being him. I’m honestly surprised there’s not any comments made (at least I haven’t come across anyway) of people from your typical “anti woke for logic reasons but in reality there just racist” crowd about that.

[@azfactor7875]

I would like to add that there was the whole debacle regarding the previous GM, John Chayka, and the way he left the team.

[@C2CRWE]

Chayka stepped into an area he didn't belong.....he was a waste of time and talent for a franchise!

[@admirals818]

Rumor has it, he's eventually moving the Roadrunners. So, he may not be done destroying professional hockey in Arizona.

[@cosmothefox4237]

Why has it been such a challenge to find competent ownership in AZ? It's been like this since they moved

[@StewartLucrative]

@@cosmothefox4237 another huge issue is they never had a decent building. America West Arena was built for basketball, Glendale was super far from their fan base, and mullet Arena was small as hell.

[@C2CRWE]

No love for the game or passion for the sport....business decision to make money!

[@NewDesignVinylGraphics]

I feel the politics and government in Arizona has had a hand in it from the start. They did this team zero favors

[@stephendimino332]

As a taxpayer i would never allow a city to build a stadium arena or field with taxpayer money unless the city gets all the concession rights!

[@dragonsniper721]

Great video! Just one thing with the Glendale terminating the lease: the city terminated the lease because Meruelo and the coyotes didn’t want to sign a long term lease to stay. Unpaid bills were NOT the ultimate factor in that decision. Craig Morgan of PHNX has reported on this several times and even the Glendale city manager is on record multiple times confirming it was for a long term lease, not unpaid bills

[@Nelbroth]

It's gonna be a long time before AZ gets another team, if ever.

[@Darrakkii]

Alex Merulo has $2 Billion the same way youtuber websites say TheHockeyGuy has $250,000-750,000😂

[@stephenphillips6245]

He wouldn't be worth 2 billion even if he had 2 billion in his pocket... LoL

[@Bla_Razor]

How's turning $300M into $1B in 5 years not a success from Meruelo's perspective? That's an amazing RoI. Wouldn't be surprised if he was deliberately mismanaging things, especially towards the end, so that he can get out of the whole situation AND come out ahead money-wise. Not defending the owner, but the NHL/Utah offer was too good to turn down.

[@bryan89wr]

The NHL hated the OG Winnipeg Jets so much that they kept them on life support for an absurd amount of time only to kill them in the end instead of keeping the franchise alive in Utah.

[@marcpower4167]

Probably because they were a WHA refugee. All 4 of them had a rough go, Edmonton may be the exception as they are the only such team that's still in their OG market and that was probably because they had Gretzky and he was pretty much the face of the league for much of his career.

[@jonfox4022]

@@marcpower4167 A WHA refugee that had their roster gutted when joining the NHL. Edmonton was really the only one given a fighting chance.

[@RobertSmithhalo]

That’s honestly the best conspiracy theory I’ve heard. The NHL is still being petty and bitter towards the WHA.

[@NHLCrazy2007]

@TheHockeyGuy, you left out an important fact. The Coyotes did not leave Glendale for unpaid bills. Despite all of the toxicity that took place over the previous 13 to 14 years, the City of Glendale actually asked the Coyotes to sign a 12 to 20-year arena lease extension and Alex Meruelo said no. He wanted to take the Coyotes to the East Valley. Only THEN was when the city decided to not continue the year-to-year lease renewals after the 2021-2022 season. This has been confirmed by PHNX Sports' Craig Morgan and on the record from Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps. The media has deliberately omitted this fact because it did not fit with their anti-Coyotes narrative. And as for the future, I expect Meruelo will relinquish the intellectual rights of what was left behind of the inactive Coyotes franchise to the league. Trademarks, branding, team name and franchise records hopefully will be kept intact until the next owner/ownership group commits to the NHL returning to Arizona. Morgan DID report there are interested groups to do just that, but how and when are the big question marks. Depends on so many moving parts. Regarding the Tucson Roadrunners, that has to be dealt with separately. There is even the possibility he keeps them and eventually moves them to Reno after the current lease runs out at the Tucson Convention Center. The Roadrunners were supposed to play 6 of their 36 home games next season at Mullett Arena and then canceled that plan after the auction was canceled. So lots of uncertainty with the AHL club, where we should not expect them to remain the top affiliate of the Utah Hockey Club after next season (but not confirmed yet). Of course the trolls will call me stupid because I'm not slandering them like many regularly do on your videos. They can screw off.

[@parkerfeldmann5643]

Heard that the Roadrunners are moving to Reno, Nevada in 2026 or 2027.

[@Chevelle602]

As a coyote fan im glad its finally over.

[@StewartLucrative]

Same. At least this happened up front and wasn't drug out any longer.

[@Chevelle602]

@@StewartLucrative same. I just hope we can keep the roadrunners. I was a roadrunners fan long before I was a coyotes fan.

[@StewartLucrative]

@@Chevelle602 I think its almost garunteed they are moving to Reno. From what I understand Meruelo is developing an arena there.

[@Chevelle602]

@@StewartLucrative Yeah I know. That guy completely destroyed Arizona hockey

[@darryljorden9177]

If Meruelo is involved in the development of an arena in Reno, then there is hope for Tucson.

[@paulmezzetta6905]

Roadrunners will be moved to Reno, NV. Will play in a 10,600 seat arena at the Grand Sierra Resort, which is owned by Alex Meruelo.

[@MrBlazemaster525]

Time to restore the original Jets lineage to Winnipeg

[@splashnskillz37]

In exchange, Atlanta gets the thrashers history back

[@MrBlazemaster525]

@@splashnskillz37 in that case may as well append the AZ years to the Jets lol Also you mean return the Thrasher record to the League, ain't nobody about to resurrect those lineages

[@francoisbouvier7861]

Bateman and the NHL getting in bed with Mareolo is God's way of telling them they have too much money.

[@CapsCoverage]

If they go back to Arizona they have to change the name of the team. There's way too much baggage associated with the name "Coyotes" at this point. If we get the Coyotes 2.0 I give that team slim odds of weathering the storm. I believe that hockey can succeed in the desert if they get good ownership and management, but they need to do a hard reset on the branding when they return

[@alexlovelock4648]

A city like like Metro Phoenix is sprawled out and car dependent. It is usually wiser to build any sports stadium/arena with access to rail transit, or pedestrian-orientated downtowns. The Coyotes wanted to build on empty land near a freeway, requiring driving to the rink. I'm surprised the NBA team and Coyotes couldn't partner with a downtown arena, that is what killed hockey in the desert, so many NBA/NHL arena work well together. Oh, and Quebec City has passionate fans and close to one million people, they just need a business plan that works with the Videotron Centre. Marcel Aubut didn't do a good job, the fans were fine

[@csolivais1979]

That's Quebec's problem. The people there already watch games and buy merchandise. No real need to put a team there.

[@bradleyminoski2020]

The Coyotes originally moved to the Suns arena and it was a failure because the configurations were specially designed due hoops leading to overhangs and obstructed/tarted off seats. Basically what happened to the Isles when they moved to the Barclays Center.

[@gomjabbar6246]

@@bradleyminoski2020 It was a failure because Sarver pushed them out of the arena by renovating it to be 100% incompatible with hockey. The stadium was filled when it was downtown, obstructed seats and all.

[@captbloodbeard]

He's moving the RoadRunners to Reno, where he is building an arena.

[@BlottyWellRite]

I run Dry Ice Nation on Facebook...which covers all levels of hockey in AZ...and I can tell you...the high majority of the group members HATED murello.

[@Powderkegable]

Really good video/documentary

[@harveyknox]

Damn I wanna find $2.7 million in my couch cushions. Also, no more expansion. 32 teams is just right. Relocation if neccesary, but no more teams are needed.

[@Christophernbh]

NHL likes money, doesn't matter if 32 teams is a perfect amount or not.

[@michaelleroy9281]

If it ain't broke don't fix it, going into 2024-25 8 teams in 4 divisions is working just fine

[@jonfox4022]

@@michaelleroy9281 Doesn't matter if it works just fine. All that matters is making money.

[@-KYUSS-]

Is he in the top 5 worst owners in the history of the NHL?

[@seanragsdale5636]

Who would be joining him on such a list in your opinion?

[@connercoughran4677]

Harold Ballard has to be number one

[@-KYUSS-]

@@seanragsdale5636 Norm Green

[@1991petrolhead]

@@-KYUSS- Eugene Melnyk

[@kennethwu5214]

Rod Bryden

[@serrincroft7771]

Too far down the road to pivot and use the name Coyotes at this point, but Utah fans were really wanting that name. The old Wiley coyote and roadrunner cartoons is exactly what half of Utah looks like. The name just made sense but it’s too late now.

[@ulical]

Actually, maybe one third of Utah looks Wiley Coyote and Roadrunner territory and it's not in the alpine, far north of Utah where Salt Lake City is located. I live there and, while some fans didn't care if the team came with the Coyotes' name, it most certainly was not the preferred course of action. You can look forward to the Utah Yeti joining the NHL in 2025-2026.

[@serrincroft7771]

@@ulical born and raised as well. I was trying to make a point that the name still fits. 1/3 or 1/2 doesn’t really matter. I have read as much as I can as this process is going forward. Yes, there were people throwing out other names, but there have been a lot of people that wanted the coyotes name. From what I observed it wasn’t until it became clear that the name coyotes wasn’t an option that the masses started pushing other names like the yeti and mammoth.

[@LegalAmerican4]

​@@serrincroft7771 Dude, chill out. You're super sensitive to anyone disagreeing with you. I too live here in Utah and don't really care how much of the State looks like a looney tunes episode but I didn't hear anyone in my circles who wanted the Coyote name. I saw a few comments on KSL and other media pages where people wanted it but it was pretty disliked. I think fans almost universally wanted their own identity. Especially after the Jazz situation

[@serrincroft7771]

@@LegalAmerican4 you’re right for calling me out, I got carried away with trash talking there. I edited my post as I should have done before hitting send. The comments for people wanting to keep the coyote moniker stopped pretty quick when it was made clear it wasn’t an option, but they were a lot of people saying it. The name Jazz has never grown on me, it’s just a dumb name, even if it was still attached to New Orleans. I don’t like the cartoon angle of Wylie coyote and the roadrunner either. I just like coyotes in general and I feel like it really would’ve fit Utah. I live in Tooele county and you can hear a pack of coyotes howling every night. It’s kind of a haunting sound that I think it’s pretty cool.

[@Charles_Groebs]

I would be open to trying again in Arizona down the road. But I think right now they need to recover and think that other places should be considered for Expansion over Arizona.

[@kaiuche8640]

I agree with that. After this 20 year long headache for everyone just leave Arizona alone for like a decade and try again after that

[@JBTriple8]

Atlanta first . Florida Panthers has proved Hockey can work in the South

[@OldRustySteele]

@@JBTriple8 Houston way before Atlanta. Houston has far more hockey history than Atlanta. Houston supported IHL/AHL very well for years. Houston has far more participation in youth and adult amateur leagues. Houston already has an NHL-sized arena, the Toyota Center.

[@RobertSmithhalo]

Nah, just cut your losses and leave it alone. “Those cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” ~George Santayana.

[@RobertSmithhalo]

What a disgrace that the first Latino owner in NHL history ends up being this shyster.

[@SON_OF_LOU]

Been a Yotes fan since 2012. First NHL game I went to was Yotes Rangers at Madison square garden. Yotes come back from a 3-0 and win in OT. From Chayka doing illegal scouting/workouts to Meruelo being a snake oil salesman yes man I’ve had enough. The players are all gone and Meruelo kept the name just to bail out. I think it’s time I start to look for a new team to support. Any fan bases open to a new fan?

[@Smokewadwinslow]

Detroit and New York are always looking for new fans

[@chumpmtb2554]

Utah.. The only decent thing Meruelo did was hire Bill Armstrong. I've been a Yotes fan for a long time, and man, this is going to be a reaaally good team very soon. Especially with the fervor of a new fan base, and all of the AZ drama out of the way. I've decided to stick with the team in Utah. I've followed these kids since juniors, I think Tourigny is an exceptional coach and if they build a D-core in the offseason, this team is ready to be a force, possibly right out of the gate. They've got $ to spend, a mountain of draft stock to trade, and can possibly, woo a few big names into playing in a new market. I'm looking forward to see what Keller and the boys can do with the anchors off their skates..

[@kyleshreve9913]

It's crazy how quickly he folded. The first speedbump in getting an arena after selling the team to Utah and he throws in the towel. Did he think there wouldn't be any obstacles to overcome to build a huge arena and surrounding district? It makes one question if he was ever serious about getting it done in the first place.

[@csolivais1979]

I think his thoughts were, if it works, great, and if not, I get to keep this billion dollars. So either way I win.

[@dj4aces]

On Arizona: I do feel for the fans, but also agree that maybe a little extra time for the dust to settle and the wound that was allowed to fester for so long maybe heal a little. Perhaps there are interested parties who were simply waiting for Meruelo to be out of the picture? I suppose time will tell, but I would like to see them return again in the near future. On the mention of Atlanta: There's no fewer than three interested groups that we're aware of here (Vernon Krause's group, Anson Carter's group, and one currently unknown group) that has the financial wherewithal to do anything. In a recent interview with the AJC, Daly made it sound like there were even more than that who have approached the league about bringing a team here.

[@iliaponomarev1624]

Alex Meruelo gives me vibes of a Cartel front businessman. I picture him lying hungover on bags of cash and cocaine and telling his subordinates "OK, take this bag of cash, go sell this cocaine and pay whatever we owe to those Arena people".

[@stephengorney5613]

Since the mid 90s, Phoenix area voters have been very suspicious of all stadium deals. The Diamondbacks owner struck at shady backroom deal with some politicians and got a TON of free public money. A council member was shot over it

[@alaskanyeti907]

Yeah, it's a dead red state. No way they're going to vote for any sort of tax increase

[@THEGDB]

Arizona is the best example of why so many people want to own professional sports teams , he bought the team ran it as cheap a possible , ran it into the ground created enemies from the local government and community , but in the end walks away with a billion dollars ,actually a really , really good investment from a financial perspective

[@almadabestest2897]

IMHO I see 4 New expansion teams in the next 5-7 years. Atlanta & Quebec in East then Phoenix & Houston in the West

[@TylerMorganShow]

Eventhough I live in Winnipeg, I'll always feel bad for The Coyotes fans.

[@tmdwu5360]

Imagine the city being like "nah we are happy with our landfill here gtfo" 😂

[@jsmusicanddrums]

It was a massive dis information campaign put on by the unions. The funny thing will be if tempe ever builds on the land it will be all taxpayer money. Now who knows how this would have shaken out but I would have let the crook build it. Old people are easily manipulated and the tempe 1st did it well.

[@tmdwu5360]

@@jsmusicanddrums yeah definetly some shady shenanigans happened, well atleast theres no more Meruelo.

[@ryberg60]

10 or 12 land options? I’ve heard the number starts at 17.

[@kirkdooley8190]

My guess is that he will sell the Roadrunners to the Smiths, who will probably move it to Provo or the Maverik Center in West Valley City (a suburb of SLC). This is a shame, because they were drawing more fans in Tucson that the Coyotes were in Tempe (albeit because the Tucson Convention Center was a bigger facility).

[@durkcruzmuth]

It would be great to hear the story about how “getting competent leadership” in Florida turned the franchise around. I don’t know that story.

[@ethandeboard4641]

I feel bad for Arizona Coyotes fans I felt the same way when they stole the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City when they stole the team that in Seattle they did not move they were stolen

[@assassssasa]

the 30 for 30 about the coyotes is gonna be elite

[@mikelfrance-l6x]

So, a little truth about the postponed land sale debacle. The blame goes partly to the NHL. While the team was stuck at ASU after the Tempe failure, he was under a lot of pressure to find a new place from the NHL who wanted out of ASU. There wasn't much land available to build on but that land they picked was a long shot. And it was appropriated for "amusement" but not a 20K arena. So there's a lot of gray area if it was acceptable or not. If Meruelo went the safe route and tried to get full amusement zoning, it would have taken more than a year. That would be unacceptable to the NHL. Once the team was sold he was stuck with that decision because to go backwards would take too long in the 5 year plan. So the gamble failed and he was left with nothing. Hence, he tried and walked away when the problem came up. I'm not saying he's blameless but some of it goes back to the NHL pressure. And like most things, the truth lies in the details.

[@Juju12_18]

As a Panther fan I can attest to what competent ownership can do for a struggling franchise. When I started watching the panthers in 2013 they were still handing out free food packages along with tickets at the mall across the street to get people in the building then the Violas came and invested more money and passion on the team and made Stanley cup champions out of them. Other fans may call the panthers resurgence in attendance the work of bandwagon fans but when it comes to sports winning matters if you ain’t winning the fans ain’t coming

[@zenarcher9633]

Solving the conundrum of hockey in Arizona is easy... Shoresy - "This team will never lose again."

[@slidefirst694]

The benefit to the other owners is valuing any franchise at no less than 1.2 billion dollars.

[@blakehansen4333]

When Utah Grizzlies were sold from league to league the history changed to the new owners history

[@Xerxes910]

The NHL can work here. Again, look at the Three playoff seasons from 2010 to 2012 and the attendance was good and even though the majority of fans live in the East Valley the drive was worth it. Then you experience a decade of poor hockey without a star or playoffs and then top it off with the location of the arena and any team would have experienced poor attendance. Most fans live in the East Valley and if they come back, they either need to be in a new shared arena with the Suns or I don't see it happening.

[@brucef8735]

Treat the team badly, don't pay bills, infuriate fans and become billionaire. Sad!

[@ozzmoises]

It's better for them now the fans likely won't have to wait out the 5 year period for meruelo to build the arena or more likely not built it so they can try for a new ownership group and new arena without a hardcore time limit. Now good luck getting any public money for it or begging for handouts. Also they had to beg people to buy the team and they all regretted it so good luck fooling someone to pay a huge expansion fee and a new arena and then prepare to lose millions as the market is very suspect the coyotes never made a dime in its entirety.

[@biglebowski3961]

So the guy walks away with 700 mil dollar profit? Smart dude

[@kirkdooley8190]

Guys like Murelo (and a certain fellow at Mar-a-Lago) got their money by using OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY.

[@ThePriorityBox]

Imagine if the NHL had let Balsillie move the team to Hamilton...

[@TheHockeyGuy]

Balsillie isn't a serious businessman. It would have been a tire fire if he had been allowed to own a team as well.

[@seanragsdale5636]

Probably would’ve been the Nordiques or OG Jets 2.0

[@ThePriorityBox]

@@TheHockeyGuy Totally agree about Balsillie, but the fact that we can compare him to Meruelo is interesting.

[@ThePriorityBox]

@@seanragsdale5636 I think southern Ontario could easily support another team but the Leafs won't allow it

[@carter7944]

​@@ThePriorityBoxthats not the reason its because those markets are too small and would make like no money

[@jsmusicanddrums]

Again, we got a lot of hate as fans. Look what we went through. Shit storm after shit storm. We did our best. We put up with everything with all the trolls hating and laughing all the way. Well I wouldn't wish this on anyone and all you trolls should feel lucky you never have a carrot constantly dangled and ripped from you on a year to year basis, when all you want to do is support the boys and watch hockey. Congratulations to Oel for getting that cup. I'm wishing the boys well in utah they will be a playoff team very soon. I'm just going to take a break from hockey. These wounds need to heal.

[@robfreedman6496]

If they were smart, they would of done where Fiesta Mall in Mesa use to be.

[@Capain_D00dle]

I have to disagree in some regard to the statement at 5:58 about developing an area around a stadium, and that's due to the fact that some teams have a tailgate culture around them, and if you have amenities for people tailgating, they'll definitely use them. Arizona is not a team that's like that, and it's definitely something you'd see in teams in the Southeast that have large parking areas and places to tailgate at while the weather also isn't incredibly hot or cold during the fall and winter.

[@kaydim5921]

Poor guy, made close to a billion in profit on flipping the Coyotes... However will he live?

[@samuelfrick3475]

Get out the handkerchiefs boys and girls, a near 60-year old billionaire is a miserable grouchy greedy owner.

[@davkatjenn]

Thank you so much for calling out the "snake oil" as you call it of how much revenue sports complexes bring to a city. They are a bauble for the city to talk about, but revenue..........not much if any residual revenue from having a big sports complex in a city. I'm wondering if the owners of these teams ever get into the nuts and bolts of how much revenue gets sucked out of a community because of the money that goes into new roads and upkeep of those roads and then there are the traffic snarls caused by these billion dollar baubles. Do they ever mention litter or home value devaluation caused by proximity to these things? I listened to all the hoopla of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and how much development was going to be spurred on by the Cowboys moving from the Cotton Bowl to Texas Stadium......which never happened and now that stadium is only a memory. It's all smoke and mirrors. But we gotta have our sports fix..... I love hockey, but........I can get mine at the NAHL level.

[@michaelshay3157]

The NHL was so desparate to find an owner that would keep the team in the Phoenix area that they completely forgot to do a background check on all of these owners

[@wintersoon]

If they forgot that would be forgiveable. I'm pretty sure they vetted these owners and failed miserably.

[@csolivais1979]

That's what sparked the change the vetting process.

[@tmoore4075]

My thoughts are getting him out as owner is probably better in the long-run. So many people didn't think he would pull it off. Looks like they were right.

[@Malforian]

I think they go back to Arizona, but they will 100% require a new stadium first

[@Dratchev241]

which means it is never coming back.

[@alaskanyeti907]

​@@Dratchev241 I think it's doable, but not with Murelo at the helm. He burned all the bridges

[@mattplante1314]

True North should schedule a pre season game between the Jets and Utah at Gila River Arena LOL 😂

[@midnightman5139]

I gotta buy those kachina jerseys because it’s the best thing that franchise produced aside from Austin Mathews.

[@jcelam2567]

Hey Shannon, I think that the history needs to be reverted back to Winnipeg. Just let Utah be a new franchise. Then when the NHL returns to the desert it will be something that doesn't have a Coyotes taste...

[@Istandwithisrael4ever]

Cooley was so good he made them relocate 💔

[@richocat7761]

Remember, they were doing extremely well this season until and I guess this was a rumor, the players heard about the move to Utah and then they immediately lost 14 in a row and never recovered and didn’t make the playoffs. What a shame, I can’t even say let’s go Yotes anymore. Love the jersey, though, still the best logo.

[@samuelfrick3475]

The worst sports owner in Arizona history

[@C2CRWE]

As a Fan!!! yes he sucks , but as a business man, he made money! Turned a profit!!!, F**** the people!

[@gomjabbar6246]

@@C2CRWE get out of here jr

[@killermon117]

Quebec needs to come back but the remparts generate a ton of money alone for the QMJHL and NHL does generate tons of cash from Quebec despite them not having a team anymore. It’s just hard to find a team in the east to relocate to Quebec for division reasons and still trying to expand the America market for more cash.

[@benderbendingrodriguez420]

Poor Arizona can never catch a break

[@johnthiel7422]

I cannot remember any ownership in sports history that was more of a mess.

[@onyxdragon]

Definitely feeling bad for the Coyotes fans in which now they'll have to wait a bit longer for a better, decent owner or ownership group willing to bring hockey back to the Arizona desert. But there's promise and hope on the horizon for an NHL Arizona hockey club in which Meruelo won't be back to ruining this new team.

[@dthompson4356]

The fact that Alex Murelo said that it was his decision to move them because HE didn't want the players to continue to play at the Mullet that was the final straw for me with him being a POS. The NHL and NHLPA made that decision.

[@johnf.miller8059]

Meruelo is currently building a minor league arena in Reno, NV. He may try to brea k his lease in Tucson. Watch out!

[@sominboy2757]

Lessons learned here Dont be a snake oil salesman Always have a plan B Don't put all your eggs in one basket Dot your I's and cross your T's Pay your bills and employees Never double cross Gary Bettman

[@francoisbouvier7861]

Did I understand the math correctly? The shister buys the team for $300 million. Then, he sells the team back to the NHL for $ 1 billion. Ahhh huh. They are likely in line for a bridge and some beach front property.

[@francoisbouvier7861]

@tomekinc simply amazing how the other side lives/goes about their business. Healthy tax deductions, public funding along the way. Oh well.

[@powxchris]

He may have been a billionaire but next to none of it was spent on the coyotes. As a fan that didn't get to go to nearly enough games due to me living in Gilbert and it being over an hour in traffic to Glendale. Truly I think the only option here is to build an arena on the reservation on the east side of the 101. I hope they come back but until then at least we have NCHC hockey in Tempe. Cant wait to hopefully see the Devils earn their own over the next couple years.

[@716_hockey_cards9]

Hes a pure business man. It seems pretty simple it was a money scheme. And it paid off. 1 billion dollars to walk away. I don't think anyone would turn that down.

[@brycemcneil4404]

The sad truth of the Coyotes is that Jerry Moyes was the most well-"heeled" non-deadbeat owner they ever had (by a fair bit)...and he wanted out after three years and tried to sell the team behind the league's back.