Running NHL 2023-24 regular season thread

Yeah I'm sure they'll jump into the hockey uniform market with the same polished confidence they have in baseball.

 

And yet, with all that, there are MLB teams that don't have their complete uniform sets and we're three weeks into the regular season, and those are just production delays. I know with MLS there have been issues where Adidas, the sole kit supplier for the league, has told clubs they won't make certain kits if they don't think they will sell or if they don't conform well enough to existing templates. Also, I think all of this creative stuff also has to go through a pretty lengthy rollout process on the PR side with focus groups and such. You've only got one chance to make a first impression, as they say.

Just from a legal standpoint, you have to dig pretty deep. I remember Tokyo 2020 had to scrap its entire first brand identity because it was found to be too similar to the brand of a Belgian art museum. I don't know if anyone was threatening to sue but being seen as plagiarizing was considered bad enough.

 

Just ingested a lot of media regarding the Coyotes and Phoenix. All of the analysts were putting on a happy face, admitting that it's sad the organization is moving, but don't worry, hockey will be back in five years -- if they get a new, suitable arena built.

What if they don't?

They've been batting around arena possibilities for a long time and nothing came of it. What changes now? I think it is easier to take steps to keep a team than to take steps to get a new team. All of the votes they've had in which arena projects were rejected, what will change now? Will the Phoenix owners suddenly pony up for new digs? Probably not.

 

Of course not. Bettman makes Manfred look competent. The A's debacle is a shitstorm, but it's infinitely less stupid than this Coyotes/Utah thing getting sprung in the final week of the season.

 

If he wins the land auction he can build an arena. There will be no vote.

 

This is a league that partnered with crypto just last year.

 

The NHL: We may find dummies to own our teams, but we haven't given a team to John Spano in 27 years!

 

I'm not all that familiar with the land auction. Even if he gets the land, who pays for the arena?

 

He does. I’m sure @PCLoadLetter can explain it better but he will have a whole entertainment district.

 

I heard two interesting and opposite predictions on the radio this morning.

Meruelo bought the team for about $300 million. Based on the fact that bills weren’t being paid, he’s likely lost money, so maybe he’s in for $400 M. He sold for $1 B, so he’s up maybe $600 M.

Taking the money and running seems prudent. However, if he wins the land auction he’s guaranteed an expansion team for $1B - and in 5 years the expansion fee or valuation may be higher than that, so he’s getting it at a discount.

I know I would take tripling my money and run for the hills, never investing another serious dollar in Arizona hockey.

 

Yes. He's building it. Surrounded by an entertainment district with residential buildings as well.

He's making a big point of doing it without any public money, which is true to a point... but he wants to create a special taxing district there, so while taxpayers won't build it, they also won't really benefit from it. I don't know if city leaders will go for it.

It's far from a guarantee that Meruelo will win the land auction. He's cheap as hell and it's a very desirable piece of land. That said, he'll look like the biggest jackass in the world if he allows himself to get outbid.

One thing Meruelo has working in his favor: the Chief of Staff for Arizona's Governor is a guy named Chad Campbell. He's the former top Democrat in the state house, and is a hugely influential part of the governor's office. Until January of 2023 he was a lobbyist for the Coyotes. He did it for two years. If anyone knows how to steer this through local governments, he's the guy.

 

Another major part of the land auction problem is the location. It has no utilities, and would probably need to get those utilities by way of neighboring Scottsdale, which wants no part in this.