Globe and Mail reports that NHL may be loaning money to Phoenix Coyotes

Hulsizer drops his bid to buy Coyotes. I don't know if this is just a ploy or not. Rumors are that Reinsdorf is back in the picture.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/potential-owner-runs-out-of-patience-with-phoenix-coyotes/article2078048/

 

One thing I remember is the Hawks being the No. 1 seed in '94 or '95. A local airline was flying planeloads of Pacers fans down to Atlanta for *second round* playoff games because there were acres of empty seats in the Omni.

The Braves were consistently competitive for 15 years and still couldn't sell out playoff games. Atlanta is just a crappy pro sports town. Georgia Bulldogs and NASCAR flies, everything else hasn't really connected.

 

Glendale's mayor is blaming the NHL for why the team isn't getting sold to a buyer who will keep it in town.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyotes/articles/2012/04/04/20120404glendale-mayor-blames-nhl-city-staff-unresolved-phoenix-coyotes-sale-brk.html

The Greg Jamison group is rumored to have interest in buying Westgate, the development around Jobing.com Arena, and the arena itself. Westgate was foreclosed on last year. It's a mess around the area, as land parcel owned by the Bidwell family, owner of the NFL Cardinals, was foreclosed on in 2010.

 

You're right: The Braves are opening the season today in a stadium that reportedly will have about 6,000+ empty seats.

Oh, wait, they're playing in that sports Mecca, New York.

 

Hey, Coyotes?

 

The really aggravating thing is, about every three or four months now there is a new "This is it! The Coyotes are SAVED! Once this gets rubber stamped, the future is brighter than EVER!!" announcement, that's immediately followed by two months of dead silence.

I have absolutely no idea where things stand right now. There was a new owner riding in on a white horse a few months ago, and I don't even remember the details anymore.

My guess is, Quebec is looking like a better and better option.

 

I don't see Shane Doan coming with the team if it moves to Quebec.

 

It's pretty much the only option, honestly. They still have an arena that housed an NHL team within the past two decades, a solid plan for a new building (the shovels go in the ground in September), and an owner with deep pockets who runs a vast multimedia empire.

 

Yeah, I'd hate to lose the Coyotes, but if they're going to go I want to see them in Quebec. My beef with a lot of the other proposed destinations -- Kansas City, Seattle, Houston, Portland, Vegas, etc. -- is that the team would absolutely fail in any of those cities, so it may as well stay put and fail where it is.

I have no doubt the team would thrive in Quebec City. As soon as I heard the arena deal was in place there, I figured the clock was ticking loudly for the 'Yotes.

 

Houston needs hockey like it needs more traffic. Once Winnipeg and Québec City have hockey again, all will be right in the world. (The NHL world, at least.)

 

Typical NHL, though. Letting the Coyotes back go to Winnipeg would not only have returned the franchise to its roots, it would have allowed it to stay in the same conference. Atlanta could then have gone to Quebec and, again stayed in the same conference. Instead, we'll now have Winnipeg staying in the East and Quebec in the West. And the Red Wings think they have it bad?

 

And Phoenix wins the Pacific Division.