FULL Breakdown: Arizona Coyotes & NHL have ANSWERS on Utah move

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On Friday morning, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Meruelo hosted a joint press conference to discuss the team’s move. Meruelo called the move “the most painful decision of my life,” but reiterated that he’s committed to bringing hockey back to the Valley of the Sun.
Read more: www.azfamily.com/2024/04/19/c...
Bettman stated that the Coyotes playing at Mullett Arena was a temporary fix as the team attempted to find a permanent home. “As things have played out and with the auction, it became clear the timeline stretched. We were dealing with uncertainty,” he explained. Bettman continued by saying the best case scenario was for the Coyotes to continue playing at Mullett for three to five more years, but said the arena isn’t built for a major league hockey team.
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#nhl #utah #arizona

[@brodiebrazil]

Some other videos you might like: Can you do me this favor...? 📺 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mXalfWttoap9j6s What I've learned about pro sports relocation 📺 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYq6pqOnqNCceMk NBA had no choice: Lifetime BAN for Jontay Porter 📺 kzbin.info/www/bejne/l32om6ulaM5rhrc There were bad signs (and predictions) surrounding Arizona Coyotes relocation 📺 kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZTGg6eaip5kY8k St. Louis Cardinals soon to request $600M for Busch Stadium? 📺 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJqwdYGCopaDq9k Inside the "Bitter End" of Arizona Coyotes & Utah move: Jason Demers gives details 📺 kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioHUp2SQhLafns0 Did remote work impact Nike MLB uniform design? 📺 kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6TOZn6snKl7eJo What happens NEXT for Arizona Coyotes fans? 📺 kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3iclqWindJ-p80 FINAL Arizona Coyotes game: for now OR forever? 📺 kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoqahH9vqrB_hcU Golden Knights, Mark Stone bending NHL Salary Cap rules AGAIN? 📺 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnuniGB5qZiBj9k

[@haroldwarner4337]

Brodie, props to your coverage of this whole saga. You are by far the most balanced, informed, and understanding of coverage. I’ll become a subscriber.

[@brodiebrazil]

Thank you Harold

[@americangiant1003]

@@brodiebrazilSame here. I found your segment (from the East Coast living in the Northern suburbs of NYC)a few months ago on your coverage of the Oakland A’s now officially moving to Vegas. Now I will also subscribe. Good luck Brodie. FYI. There is a national media need for a daily objective and non partisan hard hitting sports news reporting such as this. Especially since Disney just recently canceled ESPN’s “Behind The Lines.” And also the end of “Real Sports” upon the retirement of Bryant Gumbel.

[@Chiaomori]

yeah i subbed awhile back for the same reason

[@salesoperatives7179]

Gary looks like he is a hostage every time the owner opens his mouth.

[@666kingdrummer]

He works for them, so there is that.

[@mr.brenman2132]

Lol you mean Alex Meruello looked like he was a hostage. Bettman was answering most of the questions for him. Telling him not to talk about things. Meruello even cut himself off expecting Bettman to cut him off. Bettman has all the power here. Meruello no longer owns a team.

[@jjd1981]

From eastern Canada here. This is the best pick apart of this presser I've seen. It's perfect. Well done!

[@brodiebrazil]

Thank you!

[@Utred2012]

The closest you get to this situation in sports has to be the 1996 situation with the Cleveland Browns, where they went inactive before returning in 1999 (with the owner and all players relocating to Baltimore and forming the Baltimore Ravens).

[@jasonfire3434]

Also the Charlotte Hornets franchise, which moved to New Orleans and kept the Hornets name for 10 years, while the league expanded to Charlotte with the Bobcats- but then the New Orleans franchise later changed to the Pelicans and kept only their New Orleans history, while the Charlotte Bobcats became the Hornets again and adopted all the original Charlotte history

[@fh6034]

Thats not inactive, those owners choose to sell or leave. This is the league saying nope not yours.

[@Yankeejumpman2352]

The way Bettman went into full damage control mode after the “I don’t like the media” comment was hilarious! And great commentary from Brodie throughout!

[@SNW8191]

Brodie's pausing skills are so great he could do the Devil's KZbin thumbnails. Lol. But seriously great job breaking all this down.

[@edwardcasper5231]

Nothing personal, but sometimes (not always) reporters ask questions that are meant to entrap, not elicit information. And much (not all) of the skepticism surrounding the media is deserved. The state of Arizona has to approve the entertainment district. I pay an added fee on my Cardinals season tickets that helps pay off the bonds that financed State Farm Stadium (which is owned by the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, a state agency). All events at the facility have a "facility use fee" added to the admission price. That way, users, not the general taxpayers, pay for the facility. That same referendum also raised money to improve and add spring training facilities here - resulting in the explosive growth of the Cactus League from eight to 15 teams. When that referendum was approved, the line was, "If you don't go to a game ... you don't pay anything." It's not unlike the motor fuel taxes that pay for streets and roads, or the greens fees at public golf courses.

[@fakedeath13]

The floundering from Gary after Meruelo said he doesn't like the media is hilarious

[@shanewilson8728]

As an Edmonton Oilers fan, I welcome a team in Salt Lake City Utah. 🇨🇦

[@washingtonfootballskins]

Get off your knees and wipe Bettman off your mouth.

[@topramen5718]

As a born and raised utah boy I say thank you for your comment . What do you think of the name utah rattlers. Aka rattle snakes ?

[@washingtonfootballskins]

@@topramen5718 its the Utah Mormans

[@topramen5718]

@@washingtonfootballskins I've been a skins fan my whole life . Art monk was my favorite player back in the day

[@WillSams]

Let's not sugar coat this: Mullet Arena does not meet AHL, ECHL, nor SPHL standards. So I'm not sure how the AHL would agree to the Road Runners moving there.

[@gregvogel9859]

I don’t see the Arizona market wanting to follow Utah. If Arizona gets reactivated the good news is that there will be an instant rivalry.

[@nickchristoforou7850]

Perhaps not, but it's a way to keep fans connected to the NHL until they get a team back.

[@Steve_Hunts96]

Absolutely AWESOME job here Brodie, and also, props to Bettman & Meruelo. What is going on in AZ is very difficult no matter how you view it, but they definitely earn respect points by doing this, and doing everything they can to address this situation as best as they can. Tough, tough situation all around.

[@mr.brenman2132]

Who does like the media other then media members? It's so weird how It's dangerous for anyone to say that.

[@PuckHeadMN]

Technically, the Browns were inactive when Modell moved the team to Baltimore, although it took a lawsuit from the city of Cleveland and a settlement to make that happen. Perhaps the NHL legal department took notes.

[@BHox01]

Of course looking objectively in hindsight, that was PR BS to cover for Modell not paying for anything new in Cleveland. Modell's franchise moved and changed its name, while the expansion franchise drafted new players a few years later. Realistically, there's no reason to equate the two browns franchises, similar to the two separate Jets franchises. The coyotes will at least have the same owner if this all ends up the way it's intended.

[@sz7313]

Glendale City Manager has confirmed the reason they didn't renew the lease was that the Coyotes were not willing to sign a long-term lease. But the Glendale City manager has said it was 12 years, not 20. Also, campaign finance reports show the Coyotes spent $1.1M on the Tempe campaign, not $7M, so either he lied or he committed a campaign finance violation.

[@seanmoore9713]

This is extremely refreshing, considering what John Fisher has been willing to answer in public.

[@milbear905]

Nice recap Brodie. It would be interesting to get your take on the NHL press conference done the same day in Salt Lake City and their new plans to heavily renovate the Delta Center instead of building a new arena.

[@michaelmarkowski204]

Yeah, read that too. Ryan Smith also owns the Delta Center, so he's apparently just going to do major renovations on it (likely both outside and inside) and keep the Jazz and NHL team there long term. Delta Center is located in downtown SLC anyway, so it would still be a part of any major downtown redevelopment project.

[@kimonf]

This was my favourite video you have done! Thank you Brodie!

[@kylenuss7151]

Brodie, this was a great video and I loved the breakdown. Good job man.

[@ericfilante9436]

As others have already said, great job with your recent coverage of this Arizona/SLC fiasco. By far the most interesting (NHL-related) storyline a quite some time.

[@volrath247]

BRODIE WTF AN HOUR TEN 😭😭 genuinely can’t wait to watch it tho. Appreciate your hard work and reporting boss we appreciate you 🫡 if you don’t mind me asking how long did it take to edit🤣

[@BrainHealth-md8wx]

Another great video Brodie.

[@ckstaff]

What I saw was a relieved commissioner that has a finality to a long continuing issue that really seemed to not be progressing. I didn't see a commissioner eager or thrilled in taking the team from Arizona. In fact I think he is doing a favor to Arizona in giving some time to get their ship together, get the arena up and built and we will be stopping by to see how it is coming along and get hockey back in Arizona. 5 years is not so long so best get busy. Just focus on the arena, forget about the sports park and all that until the arena is up and ready for games. Then worry about the sports district later.

[@CubeInspector]

They can't do that. The new in thing is creating destinations. Here in Tampa the owner partnered with Bill Gates to buy up a bunch of land and revamp the area around Amalie. Teams don't have to split the revenue for areas around the arena with the league like they do tickets and concessions. He's calling it a theme part likely because that's the type of zoning the area needs to give them the freedom to do hotels and businesses and restaurants and everything else they want to do near there. They're looking beyond hockey at capturing revenue from concerts and all that kind of stuff and hoovering up stuff like rent. Plus they have to have the plan for the whole development because they need to run utilities and that needs to be planned out otherwise you have to renovate and that costs more money. The details about what goes in can wait of course and an arena needs to go up first anyway because it's easier to do in less cramped areas and you can make sure if there are overruns it doesn't come out of the arena part of the budget making a worse arena.

[@charpat89]

So, since everything I have watched you report on have been yotes and A's related...can you do a vid on NFL/STL related? XFL 2.0/3.0/UFL have been essentially carried by the Battlehawks...that STL should have an NFL team? ,😄😄

[@nickchristoforou7850]

Great job Brodie. I saw this once before but found it even more interesting the second time with your breakdown. It's obvious Meruelo and Bettman were very stressed during this presser, but I think they've done the best they could do under the circumstances. I think Utah will be a great addition to the NHL and I also hope hockey can return to Phoenix within 5 years.

[@jwpg0312]

Reminds me of when they deactivated the Cleveland Browns when the players relocated to Baltimore in the 90s

[@scottNNJ]

Appreciate your commentary, well done! Two thoughts that came in my mind: 1) hockey could return in 5 years OR SOONER. Is that now a committed timeframe for expansion? (Because a 33 team league is attractive to no one) 2) if the offer isn’t transferable, how low are the odds that Meruelo really brings hockey back, thus making point 1 moot?

[@kylesmith7437]

The Angels have been “inactive” for quite some time! 😆

[@shootfromtheright2712]

Not like the Royals though :)

[@DisneyDumbazz]

Best coverage by far.

[@ObsceneLobster]

6:37 Brodie my brother! You reported on this when it happened! 2005 the San Jose Earthquakes went inactive and moved to Houston to become the Dynamo because San Jose refused to build an MLS caliber stadium. Only once it was built and an ownership group that cared about the team did they come back! It was literally an exact mirror of what’s happening with the Coyotes!

[@jasonfire3434]

And now that team has John Fisher for an owner lol

[@ObsceneLobster]

don’t remind me Scumbag absolutely ruined a team with amazing potential fuckin hell I can’t stand him

[@xerneasrising2412]

How is it that here in Palm Desert CA (a really small market) we got a new, nice, cool arena built quickly for the Seattle AHL team that has been embraced by the community but this dumnuts couldn’t get a new barn for an NHL franchise in a much larger market?

[@JonDoe-ln6nl]

Arena was privately funded. And aided by a willing partner to lease the land for construction.

[@curtmcgirt1]

I always wondered why the NHL let Alex buy that team when the NBA told him to kick rocks when he tried to buy the Atlanta Hawks

[@bryn20015]

This video is awesome. Great job

[@brodiebrazil]

Thank you

[@26sniff]

Put ECHL team in Tucson and AHL team in Mullet. Not a impossible notion

[@sz7313]

Also, the half season/half season thing is so impractical for the Roadrunners. Tucson is 2 hours from Tempe, and the AHL plays the same times as ASU

[@CB-st6wm]

The new proposed location is still at the outskirts of the city. Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler fans will still have to drive far. The 101 / 202 area really is the best location.

[@IAlsante]

I would recommend putting an ECHL team in Tucson. Since they just had 2 franchises cease operations.

[@stillsixstudios]

Noob question, curious how moving approx 20 miles from Glendale to Tempe made such a difference in turnout? Just traffic bc Glendale seems to work fine for Cardinals or bc those games are mostly Sunday (with the exception of MNF & TNF)? Knock Meruelo all you want but still cares tons more about his team than Fisher & the A's.

[@squidMB]

For expanding playoffs, is it a play in kind of thing like in the NBA?

[@codymachado]

I don't know if the NHL will ever do a play in. Even at 34 teams is it the worst thing in the world to have over half the league out of the playoffs ? I don't think so, makes for more competitive hockey overall

[@stillsixstudios]

It's too bad the A's and Oakland vs Vegas couldn't come up with something similar. Guess NHL learned a little something from that mess.

[@Chudley716]

Is attendance at a 4,500 seat facility “incredible” and a sign that it’s a good hockey market? It sounds like perhaps an unknown, a leap of faith that a new arena in a good location unlocks the potential of the hockey market.

[@josargor8179]

this owner seems very passionate. i hope he gets his team

[@bartphlegar8212]

Well, one could presume that when the NFL suspended the Cleveland Browns' brand and created the Ravens in Baltimore, that the Browns were put into to suspense...Meruelo is not wrong. And I totally believe him when he says he made more money at the Mullett than he did in Glendale. Glendale was a sump. They were giving away tickets there and still had problems with attendance. Lower capacity at the Mullett, but ticket prices were through the roof. And stop it with the "it was the other team's fans" BS. Don't care. Attendance is attendance...This press conference was a joke. Meruelo did a great job in tough spot. He took full responsibility, and that's something very few owners in any sport will do. But the Q&A part of this presser was journalists and bloggers using the time to grandstand and put out their personal grief. And even more irritating were all the false equivalents - mentioning the Phoenix non-compete clause with the Suns, a standard TIF package for a privately financed property "Oh, no! You're gonna get sued! The State will deny you! Blah! Blah! Blah!" To these people. Shut up. Go educate yourself about the process. And stop wasting valuable time with your self-promotion...As for the unpaid bills question - he did answer it! Very succinctly! If he were a stiff he wouldn't keep his gaming license. The Coyotes were treated far differently from other sports teams because of Glendale's smearing of them...And I don't blame Meruelo at all for his dismissal of the media, if this is the kind of crap he has to put up with...In short, this presser reflected far worse on the press than it did on Meruelo or Bettman. And in the end I think Bettman will still fall on his sword getting the Coyotes back up and running...And from a personal perspective, living in Arizona is kinda like living with a bipolar spouse. I love you when we're rich, and I loathe you when you're poor...

[@stillsixstudios]

So the plan in 5 years would be to have 33 teams and add them to the Pacific or Central again? That schedule is going to be a mess until they add a 34th.

[@jsmusicanddrums]

As a yotes fan the thing that sucks the most is we always had a bad roster. Gm Armstrong turned it around and with all the chaos we finally had hope with our awesome young roster and now it's utahs. So getting a new team with unknown coach players and gm is it going to be another 5/6 years of basement dwelling? We all know after vkg super draft it's never going to be that easy again. Great job on this report.

[@CubeInspector]

I think the fact he isnt going to seek public dollars for an arena is awesome. I haye this trend sooooo much. These sre billion dollar franchises. They can afford their own arena. This is great to hear. It also shows a personal commitment. I generally look down on owners but i can give credit where its due.

[@bigboi3512]

Not from Arizona, so I never really looked to see why this team is always is in this shape. Looking at the Phoenix area, the arena really should be downtown. And I know it's highly unlikely the Suns want to build a new one this early. If it doesn't workout in the next 5 years, the Suns will ready for a new arena in 10 years and thats when the nhl should try again.

[@fh6034]

Question… why did they have to move them this year if you knew that they would be in the facility for another year. Give the fans a final year, give Utah a year to get a name and colors. So why did it have to be now???

[@HHSGDFootballJPD]

I think it's the NHLPA... they just paid off the loans that they took out to pay the players during COVID. So now increases in league revenues can go directly to players. Of course this franchise should be able to earn more in revenues playing in front of 14k+ fans than the 4500 at Mullet Arena.

[@BlackIjs]

Inactive is not quite unprecedented. Brooklyn Americans went 'inactive' during WWII. The team planned to build an arena in Brooklyn, but the NHL changed its mind in 46 and canceled the franchise (instead going forward with the 'Original Six).

[@PWS1717]

I can't see Meruelo coming back from this press conference.. If the NHL ever returns to the desert it won't be with him as owner.

[@shootfromtheright2712]

Has no one ever heard of the Cleveland Browns? The NFL allowed the city to keep the name when the Ravens left.

[@TheChamrod04]

Not unprecedented to an have an inactive franchise. The Cleveland Browns became inactive and had the ownership transferred to the city of Cleveland when Art Model moved the team personnel to become the Baltimore Ravens after the 1995 season. Browns were reactivated in 1999.

[@minaguta4147]

Unmentioned in all of this is that Meruelo now has an extra $1 billion in his pocket, from Ryan Smith. That may allow him to actually succeed in reactivating the franchise, such as paying more at the June auction, for example. If he's willing to do so, but his track record on that is not great.

[@jonathanblazier9268]

I’m gonna say Arizona Coyotes Way, Glendale, AZ it is light hundred percent is true it’s not and a 23 min

[@pudgiechild4677]

If NHL expands to 33 where else do they eventually expand? Houston? San Diego? Portland?

[@michaelmarkowski204]

Atlanta. Third time's the charm.

[@marclucas9701]

I'm thinking Atlanta too. But they got two different projects for arenas in the works.

[@tao265]

There will be multiple bidders on that land. It’s in a weird spot for a successful stadium. They need a Plan B

[@jamesfranke4521]

I feel like their best chance would be to wait until the Suns want to build a new arena and a new ownership group steps in. Meruelo is a clown.

[@julienllcooljjulienllcoolj353]

This his the be$t PLAY by PLAY ever.....Being a canadian and a hockey fan this his a desaster in slow motion....

[@BrandanTheBroker]

Wonder if this guy could buy a baseball team in Oakland 🤔 its weird that here's an owner who wants to build on his dime and he's getting the same backlash as an owner begging and carpetbagging for public funds. Also, Bettman is better than Manfred, don't know his disciplinary record to say Goodell or Silver.

[@yvettehugues]

What happened ? as a sports fan this is sad

[@erich84502a]

This is getting attention everywhere 😢

[@willp.8120]

Atlanta now has a third interested ownership group for an expansion team.

[@michaelmarkowski204]

I think Atlanta will get an expansion team within 5 years.

[@CubeInspector]

Hes put the freeze so be can assess 2 things 1. Costs of keeping people 2. Who should be kept More layoffs will come. But he cant let the whole org go. He needs to keeo some things in place because he needs to be able to standup on 3 - 4 years and get right back and you dont want to lose institutional knowledge

[@user-er8wd8vt8u]

Oh those poor grown babies! They had to play in a brand new college arena & make all that money. Everybody needs a new stadium every 10 years ..5,000 seat arena would have taught people that the game is a lot better & cheaper from home.

[@charliem9831]

No tax payer money … didn’t they have to move because they didn’t pay their own taxes? Weren’t they forced to pay for hotels ahead of road games due to not always paying their bills? I think this man is a conman.

[@SaveznaRepublikaJugoslavija]

The problem is that reactivation would require them to have 33 teams, so would they expand the playoffs if Coyotes come back?

[@brodiebrazil]

Correct. Or what if Houston/Atlanta expansion happens before AZ?

[@FAITHandLOGIC]

Yes but they can have an odd number of teams for a period of time. They had 31 teams for 4-5 years.

[@jotaemept99]

Expanding to 36 teams is the answer.

[@SaveznaRepublikaJugoslavija]

@@FAITHandLOGIC I am talking about the playoffs though, since under half of the teams would be playoff teams under the current 16 team format

[@michaelmignone5869]

Or another team is relocated

[@jwt6577]

Is it safe to assume that the League got tense earlier this season when they were playing well and started pressuring Alex to move or sell?

[@iron-farmer]

Wow easy first question lol

[@KevinEricMcCarthy]

You should do a full breakdown of the Utah press conference with Gary and the Smiths’ let’s to unpack. It holds 17,000 seats for hockey, but 12,000 are “perfect views”, so 5,000 obstructed views. Ryan doesn’t want to build a new arena for 30 years and wants to keep also an amazing basketball arena and make minor improvements for hockey seating without jeopardizing the nba experience kzbin.info4uWP9t6ZFQs?si=fnAYuuLP5MDjyS_s

[@stevenbauer4799]

This also reeks of cali golden seal '70's mess where after 8 seasons of losses, losing, sparce crowds seals move to cleveland in '76 only to be plagued by more losses, players not getting paid, and nhl loaning barons $$$'s to make payroll to finish '76, '77 season. Then to rid nhl of this shitstain they merged barons with north stars as they got all baron players/assets in deal as barons were 'dissolved' as a franchise as seal/baron owners gunds took ownership of north stars. Then in '90 with met center falling apart gunds wanted to move north stars and return to bay area. In '91 gunds sold north stars to n green and got rights to bay area expansion team with new arena coming to sj the sharks who got a dispersal draft of n star players plus expansion draft in deal..

[@johnnyarana1876]

Those yote fans need to calm down with Alex because he the only one that wants them back

[@Yourstruly0808]

The Coyotes owner is brutal. Every time He opens his mouth . - being top 10 in revenue? 😂😂

[@mosinc7388]

Best commissioner in all of sports.

[@Chevelle602]

I agree he doesn't deserve the hate. Nobody has grown a sport more than Gary has in the history of sports.

[@michaelmarkowski204]

Agree. Bettman is a smart guy who can handle a press conference or interview with ease even if he may come across as arrogant. As you see here, he can even bail out others on the dais if they misspeak or aren't comfortable in such an environment. There's a reason why the NHL owners have kept him around for so long.

[@dmoran1093]

Cleveland browns were inactive

[@JonDoe-ln6nl]

No. The Browns were moved to Baltimore. BUT the city forced the NFL to keep the name, history, etc with Cleveland, and a promise that IF a new stadium was built they could/would get an expansion team named the “Browns”.

[@dmoran1093]

The browns were considered inactive from 1996 to 1999. The browns aren't considered an expansion team. While the ravens are

[@WillSams]

Watching the presser yesterday, it's obvious why they had him under gag order. Wow. Now you know why Bettman is the commissioner because he has to deal with clown owners like this. You can tell Gary just wanted to say "please, shut up, Alex. Shut up."

[@Chevelle602]

This video made me realize how much of a badass Gary is.

[@samsmith9504]

Same old NHL joke that’s what you get when you bring someone in from the NBA to run your freaking hockey league

[@zjplusa]

"Because I don't like the media." Had to double take. I thought it was a Donald Trump interview for a second. 25:48

[@traci635]

Coyotes leaving Phoenix is sad, but their owner didn't care enough to keep them there. He cut bait, sold and made a whale of a profit. Ryan Smith cares about his teams and his fans. This franchise will thrive in Salt Lake City and this grows the game. This will be only the 2nd NHL team in the Rocky mountain region and give us hockey fans in the region another team to root for. Until someone steps up and supports hockey in Phoenix, the Coyotes may never be reborn......

[@americangiant1003]

I agree Traci. If the next NHL Commissioner (I think Bettman will likely be retired by then) wants realistically for Arizona in say 5-10 years from now with expansion to have a permanent team, the now former Coyotes Owner 1.0 can’t be fully in charge. There are Billionaires with connections to the Phoenix area that will do a better job.

[@Josebats89]

The Coyotes are inactive once the owner and Phoenix can find a peice of land then the Coyotes will be back. It sucks that the team players are young and they are ready to compete.

[@americangiant1003]

@@Josebats89 I can easily see 30 years after the relocated Quebec to Colorado winning a Stanley Cup immediately after the 1st year, the same might happen for this new Salt Lake City team being a serious title contender within 2-3 years. And the now former Coyotes possibly winning if the predictions on from the various NHL Analysts and other Commentators have said are true. I admit I am only a causal NHL fan so mostly follow the league during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

[@Tampafan33]

HES RIGHT SCREW THE MEDIA!!

[@stevenbauer4799]

Good riddance merulo, this neverending az. story, and to bettman's wet dream of az. hockey succeeding. And ahl move to mullett is to fulfil merulo lease there.

[@nathanr5825]

This franchise has been an absolute sh!t show for almost 30 years. Combine the long list of terrible owners, and bad NHL executive decisions and here we are. At the top of the food chain in all of this, has been Gary. Gary needs to take the brunt of the criticism for getting us to this point.

[@haroldwarner4337]

Brodie, If you factor in the necessary renovation of the Delta Center, then the timeline of building a new arena in SLC, in the best-case scenario it is feasible that an arena in AZ could be completed before one in SLC. This is not to absolve Muerelo Group, it’s just math. The Delta Center isn’t exactly NHl ready either. The whole thing is a mess.

[@tomservo9254]

Guaranteeing a completion date for what amounts to a miniature city is a fool's errand. No amount of snazzy renderings can account for an unexpected supply issue or a hiccup with civic approval or a geotechnical issue during excavation. I wouldn't trust any dates being tossed out by anyone when there hasn't even been a confirmation of a site. The math that matters is the interim years. Even if SLC does end up being a year or two behind Phoenix, playing in a facility with 3x the capacity in the meantime makes that gap far more palatable.

[@mattreedah]

They will have a sold-out, modern, 16k stadium with a professional locker room at Delta Center in the next two years. That’s not the equivalent of Mullet

[@StoneColdClassics]

@@mattreedahthey already said 12k unobstructed for hockey until renovations happen

[@mattreedah]

The said 12k unobstructed, 4k obstructed at the press conference

[@dsarmy1]

A few differences and onebeing the 12,000 more seats then Mullet arena and two,Ryan Smith is getting $900 million in public funding to either build new or reconfigure the Delta center. Three, The Delta Center will only take 2 years rather than 3 to 5 years.

[@moonytheloony6516]

Well that was interesting. Bettman is becoming the cranky old man whose patience are running thin with questions he doesn't like. I loved how he looked at his watch...which is a no-no in these types of situations when you're attempting to promote a level of sincerity with the public. Mereullo needed to be bailed out twice by Bettman because of his inability to be self-aware just enough to govern how he says things...he was unprepared and it showed. That and his P.T. Barnum promo on Arizona being a Top 10 NHL market regarding revenue and his alleged 7 million dollars spent on the failed Tempe '23 arena vote...I can tell you, the reader, that my confidence in him isn't exactly taking up residence in the stratosphere. To be fair a lot of what was collectively articulated was accurate/factual regarding the viability of the Coyotes ongoing situation in the Valley, which has been a comedy of failures since their arrival in 1996. Bettman flat out stated toward the conclusion that a lot of money was lost....no kidding. That seemed to unnerve Meruello further.... The only uplifting thing is in Bettman's position regarding the future of the Coyotes...sort of uplifting..... IF Meruello is up to that challenge and able to overcome any possible obstacles that present themselves. Is he up to it? He didn't convince me in this press conference but I guess the first test will be that land auction on 06/27/2024, which he must win to move the confidence needle in the correct direction toward deactivation of the expansion Coyotes. Imagine if he fails to win that auction or he does win the auction but loses it because something was done wrong that disqualifies his acquisition? It could happen. Wealth is not a promise of brains, but i digress. A lot of sports fans operate on faith...which is a foolish way to operate, as it is by its own definition a belief in something without evidence, which I've found to be in direct odds with Critical Thinking, of which the latter is what gets things done. When it comes to NHL hockey in Arizona, one should demand that evidence, so I'm unconvinced until I see ground being broken for a new hockey arena, at a location that is logical/sustainable...whatever. Like Han Solo in "The Empire Strikes Back" the Arizona Coyote is now frozen in carbonite...Mereullo will either be a combination of Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian, and Luke Skywalker in freeing that Coyote or Meruello will be Jabba the Hut, pocketing the 1 billion bounty while keeping his prized exhibit frozen indefinitely as a part of his collection, while Bettman as Darth Vader watches from the confines of his super star destroyer in a galaxy that is far, far away from Phoenix, Arizona. Coming to a theatre near you....

[@pikemanadventure5269]

Before I go any further into the video. This owner talks about building relationships. Let’s see he’s alienated every player and staff member who’s walked into the Yotes facility. He’s not once talked to the only reporter who has been around the team in 28yrs (Craig Morgan), oh and the most famous Coyote Shane Dian, that had he been involved at all probably would have saved this franchise. But no the owner didn’t want Shane around. So I love hockey, but this guy and his family some how some way need to leave and let an owner who knows how to run a sports organization operate it. Thank you Brodie for your coverage

[@nickchristoforou7850]

Meruelo is shockingly lacking in media training, but give him credit for building a great hockey operatons department. Utah is getting a team loaded with young talent. Meruelo has only been the owner the last 5 years, so all the previous shenanigans were not his fault. He's invested heavily in Arizona hockey, so I wouldn't be so quick to vilify him.

[@danielplank6163]

He better not take tucson roadrunners away from us the fans

[@willp.8120]

That would be up to the Roadrunners ownership. They might return to Phoenix being leered by the much bigger city.

[@moonytheloony6516]

Better not? Muerello made it clear, more than once, that he intends to move the Roadrunners to Tempe. "Better Not" doesn't quite work after said intention has been announced. I think ya better hope Muerello changes his mind...though I empathize with you regarding Tucson, there is the opportunity for greater profit in the Phoenix era...it's a bigger population that Tucson cannot compete with right now.

[@michaelmarkowski204]

@@willp.8120 Guess who owns the Roadrunners? Alex Meruelo.

[@nielsonlars]

I bet that if Alex Meruelo wins the land auction and follows through with the new building that the NHL will move the Winnipeg Jets to Arizona then expand to Houston and Atlanta.

[@robertmorrow2688]

The Jets moving to Phoenix again? That would just be cruel punishment for Winnipeg.

[@nielsonlars]

@@robertmorrow2688 I can see Gary Bettman doing it in 30 seconds flat if the opportunity presents itself

[@kevinfrances1694]

Hi brodie I don't always agree with you especially when it comes to the as but this man basically list his team because of political bullshit so when you do your videos on the a"s remember alex tried over and over again again

[@smithryansmith]

No body supported the Coyotes more than Bettman. Including the Arizona fans who only started to care once they were leaving. All of his rhetoric is him trying to save face for backing a losing locale. The NHL will never go back to the desert. A mistake from the beginning.

[@soxbearshwks8988]

smithryan: EXACTLY

[@Chevelle602]

You do realize the coyotes were never given a chance to thrive in AZ right? They were here, but literally none of the owners cared about them or took the team seriously. Never spent any money to build a brand or a product on ice in over 20 years. There have been relocation rumors since 2009 with extremely poor performance on ice. Would you be a coyotes fan if you lived in Arizona?

[@soxbearshwks8988]

@@Chevelle602 waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[@Chevelle602]

@@soxbearshwks8988 oh look a classy but sniffing Chicago fan. All you guys do is chase each other in a circle smelling each other's asses saying how good they smell.

[@smithryansmith]

@@Chevelle602 You do realize that there is no ice in the desert. Lots of teams have crap overnership, lack of success, worse records, etc. Buffalo hasnt made the playoffs for 13 years, has horrible owners, but still has support. "Fans" in Arizona can try to dodge it, but nhl hockey in Arizona will never work. Hockey in the desert is as logical as beach volleyball in Antarctica.

[@TheJasonVoorhees]

The fans will never support a team owned by this guy again

[@leguy5662]

gangstalker

[@draneym2003]

Odd how we're supposed to feel bad for Arizona losing a team, but when it happens to Oakland it's deserved and the crime issue gets brought up. I wonder why...

[@SovietWinnieThePoo]

Hockey is a tight knit community man. People are going to be vocal about losing their team that they care about. I remember people being just as upset about the Raiders and A’s too, this is just fresh

[@sparksk8er]

Oakland is fucked up for both teams, owners requesting tax funding is an absolute fucking joke. You own a sports team you could buy the city of Oakland

[@tombraiderstrums09]

Insufferable to listen to these two snooty egomaniacs rush through their prepared statements, shrug off all the ways they failed the fans, and then get angry at the media for holding them accountable. My god

[@admirals818]

Bettman is so rude. Anyway, I hope the Roadrunners stay based in Tucson, but play select games in Phoenix (maybe 10?). Phoenix may be so upset with ownership and losing their NHL franchise that they won't support the Roadrunners. Meanwhile, don't destroy pro hockey throughout Arizona by also penalizing the fans in Tucson.

[@paullippmann8011]

Salt Lake Fan and new hockey fan here. . This is alot of coping and honestly lame excuses and total disrespect for the commissioner. How it is possible that a market the size of Phoenix with all of its advantages over Utah can not get an arena deal done over the course of 27 years. 27 years. That's frankly a joke and is not indicative of a real big time market. The ONLY people that are to blame are the local leaders there and that community. All this whining and complaining when you can't get any arena deal in 27 years.... it's embarrassing. Then to chant Salt Lake sucks... hmmm, who has stepped up and who hasn't???

[@draneym2003]

So in other words, you want respect for caving to a billionaire and giving him your tax dollars. Capitalism at its finest.

[@traci635]

​@@draneym2003tax dollars?

[@Alittlebitsour6]

Getting the coyotes is gonna cost you and the rest of the salt lake city tax payers a lot of money, enjoy my friend

[@KHII]

You’ve clearly taken it personally with the last sentence, so who can really trust your logic

[@SovietWinnieThePoo]

@@draneym2003you know in the Soviet Union all stadiums were government funded…. Communism at its finest

[@derekjf4311]

Gary seemed like a dad trying to cover for his screw up son or a defense attorney yelling objection to every question. What a train wreck driven by two clown operators. PS: great job Brodie!

[@Jake-yx7ct]

Wow them at the A’s no home!! He gave a Donald reply regarding unpaid bills. Not liking the media is a self inflicted injury. Ouch. Good luck patching those holes.

[@tombraiderstrums09]

Yup, Meruelo very much coming off like a discount Trump here. The ego, the counter-accusations, the runaway bragging, even his damn voice

[@charliem9831]

This press conference was ugly.

[@chrisb5415]

The Coyotes have been a ridiculous shit show for years. What are they smoking ?

[@RobZelinka]

Really unfortunate and the fans are the victims here. The commissioner comes off as an arrogant, and pompous individual here. Just how I received him

[@michaelbaucom4019]

"I don't like the media"-- arrogance much? Good lord, talk about stepping in it...