Why the Coyotes FAILED in Arizona

The Arizona Coyotes relocation to Salt Lake City, Utah seems imminent so we're joined by PHNX Coyotes reporter Craig Morgan to break down why the Yotes failed in Arizona.
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[@ro-longo3697]

10 years for a new arena in SLC? State of Utah has already allocated 900 million for the construction of a new arena. When it comes to projects like this, things in Utah go very fast.

[@FAITHandLOGIC]

Yup. They clearly haven't done their research.

[@JasonDDOLV]

Agree. With Salt Lake hosting the Winter Olympics in 10 years, they aren’t going to want a new arena with fresh paint. They’ll get it done well before then.

[@macsimpson7771]

@@JasonDDOLV Park City and Salt Lake have multiple Olympic sized sheets, if im not mistaken they already held the winter Olympics so the infrastructure should still be there.

[@mosinc7388]

This guy is a clown. 2 days ago he said people talking about Utah are clueless.

[@eeayyp6540]

10 years to build a new stadium? Las Vegas built Allegiant Stadium in 3 years. And thats for Football much larger than NBA/NHL stadiums. Guy needs to layoff the Peyote he’s smoking over there in Arizona.

[@jprincered]

It won't take 10 years for Salt Lake City to build an arena for the Jazz and the relocated Coyotes.

[@ronclark9724]

I figure around three years since the $900 million has already been approved by government... Just dust off one of the architects, possibly Populous', blueprints and start pushing the dirt...

[@tim.kaiser_aka_timmaay]

PHNX have been absolute clowns about this story. First...Delta Center (though is closer to 14k for hockey) with "11,000 comfortably for hockey" is already 2 1/2 times better than 4600 at Mullet Arena. Second....10 years for a new arena? It's already funded. 4 seasons max would be my bet....more likely 3.

[@LightningCeltic]

Took 18 months to build the Delta Center so my money would be on less

[@thedukeparty]

“Salt lake won’t have time to get ready for next season”. A couple sentences later: “why couldn’t they just wait a few months to see what happens?” Do you guys see how silly that is?

[@PeteBlackburnTV]

you're missing the part of the equation where, if they waited a few months, we suggested Salt Lake get a team in 2025 regardless of how things played out

[@jprincered]

True North Sports and Entertainment had approx 4 to 4 1/2 months to bring the Thrashers to Winnipeg, rebrand the team, and get them playing. If they could do it in a very short period of time, Ryan Smith can do it also.

[@brettfavreify]

The franchise with nine lives. Couldn't make it work even with Bettman in your corner.

[@larscederberg8564]

Coyotes were evicted from Glendale because they couldn't pay the bills and if this is a big market in Arizona why were people not coming to the games then.

[@macsimpson7771]

The yotes have had like 3 players score 60 points in their history, I wouldnt go to games either

[@ronclark9724]

@@macsimpson7771 It isn't as if there haven't been different owners building different organizations... The Coyotes have had far too many ownership changes... But then again, the Coyotes haven't had many winning seasons in a non traditional hockey market... If the fans won't attend unless the team WINS divisions and championships, this isn't a NHL market...

[@nickb2912]

Actually they never got evicted

[@WiggleBabies]

Horrid teams, and I mean HORRID. Last place kinda team for years and years. Plus the Glendale location is meh, too far west and not centralized in the Phoenix area. Everyone basically had to travel west to get to the arena as opposed to the current land auction spot or even the Tempe 1 that got shot down. Now its just Glendale ppl who have to travel compared to Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale etc having to travel over to westward to Glendale. Senators have a similar situation.

[@ElmerFudd16]

@@nickb2912 Still holding onto this lie? COPE

[@thedukeparty]

11,000 is significantly more than 4,000….

[@slchenry]

And SLC has 900 million in funding for a new arena downtown FROM THE STATE already approved... SLC seems pretty ideal for a team playing in a 4000 seat arena that lacks stable ownership.

[@stevehirzel6871]

This is s great example of “experts” not knowing what theyre talking about. SLC has funding, location for new arena. 10 yrs? lol

[@jackmakackov7077]

They will still lose tens of millions at 11k. You need 17 at every game to break even

[@stevehirzel6871]

@@jackmakackov7077 unlike phoenix and their 30 years of nonsense the plan for the new arena is already in hand. Along with the $ to build it.

[@thedukeparty]

@DR-hy2kn oh you’re right. 11,000 isn’t more than 4,600

[@maddograider76]

Teams moving cities is never a good thing in any sport for a team, players or fan base. But please know your facts about SLC and the new ownerships building plans for the new arena. It is not going to take 10 years. They already have the land and the financial backing from the city and are shovel ready. They will only be playing at the Delta Center for 2 to 3 years at the most. Sure some current Coyotes players are probably upset that they have to move themselves and their families but I can guarantee once the dust settles and Ryan Smith meets with them and they have their tour of SLC those players will head home with a lot better mindsets about the move.

[@traci635]

Totally 👍 agreed

[@FischerFan]

Exactly. When the NHL awarded the franchise in San Jose, the Sharks played at the old Cow Palace in Daly City for their first two seasons. They then moved into the arena in SJ they call home to this day.

[@doomslayerdave]

The site next to Scottsdale Road is the middle of nowhere. New arenas outside of the downtown core in a city like Phoenix are not a good proposition. Ask Florida, Ottawa or Carolina.

[@Cilvathorne]

Average attendance in Carolina is 100.6% of Capacity (idk how you manage that) Average attendance in Florida is 96.7% of Capacity Average attendance in Ottawa is 95.2% of Capacity I think they're doing just fine.

[@Chevelle602]

It's absolutely not in the middle of nowhere are you kidding?

[@sdsmt99]

Where exactly does the middle of nowhere start for you? Do you own an automobile?

[@doomslayerdave]

@@sdsmt99 A sports arena should not be 100 percent automobile dependent. They don't need fucking parking lots that can be seen from space. It's terrible civic development and the worst land use imaginable. Sure Carolina sells out but they're also winning. Go back and look at the lean years. 11,000 in 2017. That number would have been 15,000 if they had an arena in downtown Raleigh. Not the freaking fairgrounds and the parking lot of a football stadium. New arenas need to be in the downtown areas where public transport and alternative means get fans to the games. It's where the business community is as well. The REAL business community not strip malls and faux lifestyle centers.

[@gregorybiestek3431]

@@Cilvathorne You get over 100% by selling standing-room only tickets. This used to be the case for many years in Detroit at the old Joe Louis Arena where we used to have 1-2,000 fans standing and leaning on the low wall behind the last row of seats with the open concourse behind them. People used to buy SRO tickets and if there was nobody in some the seats below, you could move to them after the first period.

[@traci635]

Salt Lake City already has the Delta Center, so housing the Coyotes won't be a problem. I feel so bad for Coyotes fans, but 20 + yrs of failure in Arizona is enough. Salt Lake City and the Rocky mountain region will support hockey. And the State of Utah has already set aside 900 million in public money, so things will happen very fast in Salt Lake City. It will be a positive for this franchise....Salt Lake City, all of Utah, not to mention hockey fans in Wyoming and Idaho will embrace this team. This is hockey country.....

[@DKWalser]

Why do it now? Because now is the time the new ownership team in Utah needs to make the move to SLC happen by the start of next season. The NHL cannot ask them to expend all the time and money necessary to be ready for the move without committing to the change in ownership. If you were Ryan Smith, would you spend a few million planning for the move if there were a good chance the NHL would back out if the Coyotes win the land auction June 27? No, you'd wait to see how the auction turns out before doing any real work. But, then, there wouldn't be enough time to make the move by the beginning of the season. Bottom line: The Coyotes had (have) less than a 50% chance of winning the land auction and getting a new arena ready in five years. SLC offers a great owner, an 11,000 seat arena, and $900 million in state money to build a new state-of-the-art arena (which will most likely be built in less than five years). By opting to move the team to SLC, the NHL gets a better owner and better arena and still has the option of putting an expansion team in Arizona if current ownership pulls off a minor miracle and builds an arena in the next five years. If current ownership can't pull off that miracle, the team would have had to move anyway. The deal on the table stops the bleeding while still preserving the upside of a possible new arena in Arizona. That's why the NHL is not waiting.

[@brycemcneil4404]

Morgan is a veteran reporter on this situation but his tendency to throw on homer lenses comes through with his comments on Salt Lake City. He'd be the first to tell us how unfair and mean it'd be if a Winnipeger made similar comments about the AZ market/arena situation.....but suddenly he wants to bag on the Utah situation (and take a dig at Winnipeg on the way out too). Also the idea that all the players will be unhappy.....that's what 90% of players say when a team leaves. They get over it the moment they get to the new place. Everyone wants to indulge in this fantasy that "every athlete loves my city and they're sad to go anywhere else because anywhere else is a hellhole." But actually 90% of players just want a chance to win, the check to clear and will live wherever the hell they want once they retire.

[@soxbearshwks8988]

and you wonder why...just read on sportskeeda that merlo has not been paying his hotel bills for the team...anyone else see that????

[@fuble4268]

The delta center is the largest arena in a 5 state radius, and also probably the most high tech. The place doesn't took like much it's a hell of an arena, the yotes will integrate just fine.

[@bobbowie9350]

its a basketball only area. its going to be awful

[@topramen5718]

Phnx had 20 years to build an arena utah has had 2 months and already has funding. And if you think its going to take 10 years to build a new arena your smoking crack ! Utah gets sh!t done fast

[@timsmith428]

..During the depression in the 1930s, Conn Smythe built Maple Leafs Gardens in six--6 months...

[@jackmakackov7077]

Congrats to him for exploiting immigrant workers and draconian labor laws!

[@tedmabey1852]

I am a Hockey Fan from Utah. I truely don't think the Arizona Coyotes failed their fans, I think the ownership of the franchise failed BIG TIME, and they, not the hockey team, owe the people of Phoenix/Scottsdale area an apology!

[@paullippmann8011]

What cope. The Delta center is already better. Also excellent gaslighting. The Phoenix market had 27 years and about 8 ownership groups. At what point do you have to be honest and just say that the market sucks. Its such a bad look.

[@fuble4268]

The yotes will have a new arena at very most in 5 years. One of the big reasons why the NHL wants them to come here is because Utah might hold the Olympics again at which point a new ice arena would be needed.

[@larscederberg8564]

The Coyotes should have from the very beginning renovated the Footprint Center and make it suitable for hockey and not move out to Glendale

[@michaelleroy9281]

Shoulda Woulda Coulda, it's a little to late to correct all the mistakes that have been made

[@SS-iv7wv]

Why did it fail in Arizona? Cause about 30 years ago a team called the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix and it never worked there. If you can't build an arena, pay your bills and then end up in a 5000 seat arena after 3 decades, yeah you don't deserve an NHL team. I don't think you deserve an AHL team with a 5000 seat arena let alone an NHL team. Phoenix will never support a team, been to many games down there and the arena was half full at Jobing Arena so I don't understand why now after 30 years these guys are crying about it. Where were all your fans for all those years? That's ultimately why your team is leaving.

[@IronSikh44]

People who become sports owners are usually very astute business people. Looking at this from Canada it seems possible the land auction media releases were put out there to expedite the sale for a great price (700 million profit) and great terms from the league for future expansion. Even if the Coyotes are able to acquire land it will still take several years to get the project built. Salt Lake and the State of Utah will have a new rink much sooner. Coyotes owners capitalized on this situation.

[@davewolf8898]

How long did the Coyotes play at America West before getting the Gila River Arena? 6 years? That wasn't an ideal location for hockey.... Especially when one end section hung over the glass by about a foot, and that same section you couldn't see anything from the blue line in? Utah already has laid out $900 million in public funding for a new arena? Plus they are going to do some work to the Delta Center to fix the sightlines and increase the amount of seats. And 11,000 seated comfortably is still more than the 5,000 for Mullett?

[@IMagnus123123123]

no expansion

[@Wexter0083]

As for cities that got an NHL team back quickly, Minnesota comes to mind, but the North Stars played in Bloomington and the Wild played in St. Paul. That is the closest comparable to this situation I can think of. The North Stars relocate to Dallas in 1993 and the Wild expand in Minnesota in 2000. That was seven years, but it is roughly the same timeline as the five year window Arizona has.

[@mosinc7388]

Phoenix is a 3 sport town, NFL, NBA, and MLB. There's no shame in that, enjoy it.

[@jeffreyvaughn1838]

How do we know the owner of Arizona would have tried that hard to win the auction, especially after not being able to pay bills in the past. so much mistrust all around.

[@sit2go]

Craig Morgan sounds so certain that the Coyotes owner Muerelo had the money to build a new stadium in Scotsdale. Come on who is he kidding. Muerelo is only worth 2 billion with a simple google search. No way he was going to build the stadium all by himself. Like he was claiming. Get real Criag. Muerelo just wants the land. The League knew it was total BS. Thats why they are moving the team to Utah.

[@shawnokeefe1580]

Trust me Utah has plans for new Arena ready to go

[@hyalitebozite]

I don't trust anything Craig Morgan or the Podcast he hosts says/reports. He talks like the NHL chose to put a new team in SLC over Phoenix and goes out of his way to say "it's not that nice in SLC".. Craig, this is going to blow your mind, SLC may be everything that you're saying and it's still be better than what's in Arizona. You cheered for one of the saddest poorly run organizations in sports that did not care about winning, I hope you enjoyed cheering for that truly terrible product.

[@DM-bu6to]

Players actually do want to play there lol but keep coping losers

[@wilbs1959]

Por ownership and the move to Glendale, If this team moves and Meruelo is involved in the future I am done

[@wainber1]

Moving the Yotes from Arizona is an absolute last resort but unless they win that June land auction, I see it more likely they’ll relocate at some point, perhaps as soon as this summer (maybe next, with the Yotes playing at Mullett for the 2024-25 NHL season but in another US state or Canadian province after that).

[@chrisladow4243]

You guys are a bunch of salty homers! It won't take more than 3 years to get an arena in Salt Lake City, the City is preparing for the Olympics and has set aside $900,000,000 for a new stadium and has a spot which both parties have agreed where it can be. I highly doubt the players are that mad about moving to Salt Lake City especially after all the crap Arizona has given the team, and how Utah will welcome them with open arms and enthusiasm

[@dotp71]

This guy really doesn’t like SLC and is trashing every part of it to the point where it’s more than sour grapes. Do you really think players will avoid SLC en masse and that the area won’t support hockey? Come on do better! The reality is that the NHL will likely be a nice success story there. The Valley can make it work and it can be successful…..but right now they can’t even pay their hotel bills!!! After almost 25 years of horrible ownership, mismanagement, uncooperative politicians, and overall mismanagement it’s time. It’s obvious to anyone from the outside. To Arizonans….its not your fault. Regroup. Get a quality owner with money. Build a beautiful facility as close to downtown Phoenix as possible. After that please come back and let the Coyotes 2.0 be the success story you know you can be.

[@justinfendelet8675]

Minnesota come back 5 years

[@emmyicon5598]

I can’t take you guys seriously like do research before you talk about this smh

[@Lawomenshoops]

Clueless ownership and commissioner! The Suns arena was not built for hockey and there were not plans to build a hockey arena. Yet, the Jets were allowed to move!! Then 5 to 7 years later, and arena plan and funding finally came about. But, the arena was away from the population base and season-ticket holder base! Then the NHL had a clown car of owners! Then this final clown, didn’t pay his bills and got kicked out of the Glendale! Now there are stories that he hasn’t paid the teams hotel bills! That is logistical things. The teams hasn’t had any type of long-term success. I’d rather they have only three or four 40 wins seasons. No conf championship final series & obviously no Stanley Cup final series. If there was an owner, who actually paid his bills, they would still be in Glendale. Right now, they have an empty arena for that the coyotes would have been there.

[@soxbearshwks8988]

bettman is an egotistical hypocritical piece of garbage

[@Kwolf1]

Finally this poverty franchise has hit the end of the road.

[@user-tv6jc6wu1t]

Phoenix does not deserve a team!

[@aarontracy5160]

Sports have gotten idiotic. Massive bonds to secure public funded arenas. Expensive tickets to attend the event at a publicly funded arena. A winner or a loser, in most Arizona sports teams cases, a loser. See yah NHL. Salt Lake City, enjoy those taxes and ticket prices for a non competitive franchise.