NHL heading to Winnipeg!!!

[Only The Lonely..]

Coyotes sale to Reinsdorf dead, team headed to Winnipeg?

Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Coyotes-sale-to-Reinsdorf-dead-team-headed-to-Winnipeg-93042624.html


6/05/2010 10:35 PM | Winnipeg Free Press

The sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to Chicago businessman Jerry Reinsdorf appears to be dead, and this increases chances the team might be moved to Winnipeg.

ESPN is reporting that the city of Glendale has returned to the previously shunned Ice Edge Holdings group in a desperate bid to keep the team in Phoenix.

ESPN said the Glendale City Council is expected to file documents Friday morning accepting a new lease proposal from Ice Edge and agreeing to work exclusively with the group moving forward, sources said.

Ice Edge CEO Anthony LeBlanc confirmed late Thursday night he has met with city of Glendale officials a number of times this week in the hopes of reaching an agreement on a new lease proposal, ESPN said, but "no decision has been reached by either side in regards to next steps if any," LeBlanc said.

The desperation move comes less than a month after backroom politicking led to the city council rejecting Ice Edge's proposal in favor of Reinsdorf's, owner of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox, ESPN said. His group's proposal has now been abandoned. But the about-face by the city of Glendale does not ensure the team will remain in Phoenix.

ESPN says the city must guarantee a number of conditions with the NHL, including covering operating losses incurred next season, before the league will consider agreeing to sell the team to Ice Edge. One source said the league wants conditions met by the end of this week, although NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com that timeline is not accurate. It's believed Ice Edge was waiting for those conditions to be met before signing the agreement with the city.

If Glendale does not agree to the league's conditions, it is possible the NHL will instead move quickly to make a deal with True North and move the team to Winnipeg. Canadian billionaire David Thomson is one of its partners.

Sources tell ESPN.com there is a purchase agreement ready if the Glendale situation disintegrates.

ESPN said that when the city refused to accept the first lease proposal from Ice Edge, it was assumed the bid to buy the team was dead. However, about a week ago, city officials reached out to Ice Edge and told them the Reinsdorf deal was not going to move forward.

[trueviking]

The bid by Chicago businessman Jerry Reinsdorf to buy the Phoenix Coyotes is dead and the city of Glendale has returned to the previously shunned Ice Edge Holdings group in a last-minute bid to keep the team in Phoenix, sources close to the deal told ESPN.

The Glendale City Council is expected to file documents Friday morning accepting a new lease proposal from Ice Edge and agreeing to work exclusively with the group moving forward, sources said.

The desperation move comes less than a month after backroom politicking led to the city council rejecting Ice Edge's proposal in favor of Reinsdorf's, owner of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox. His group's proposal has now been abandoned. But the about-face by the city of Glendale does not ensure the team will remain in Phoenix.

Sources told ESPN.com the city must guarantee a number of conditions with the NHL, including covering operating losses incurred next season, before the league will consider agreeing to sell the team to Ice Edge. One source said the league wants conditions meant by the end of this week, although NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com that timeline is not accurate...

The situation in Glendale remains fluid; if the city does not agree to the league's conditions, it is possible the NHL will instead move quickly to finalize a purchase agreement with Canadian billionaire David Thomson and move the team to Winnipeg. Sources tell ESPN.com there is a purchase agreement ready if the Glendale situation disintegrates.

If the team moves to Winnipeg, the Ice Edge group would then move the existing AHL team, the Manitoba Moose, to Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Although there have been questions about Ice Edge's ability to come up with funds for the purchase price, believed to be between $140 and $150 million, sources told ESPN.com funding is in place and will be secured as soon as the exclusivity documents were filed with the city of Glendale.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=5169892

[MTLskyline]

Let's keep our fingers crossed! I'm not sure if Thunder Bay is large enough to sustain AHL level hockey though. Maybe Saskatchewan.

[trueviking]

its over....the city of glendale cant legally cover the losses for next year.

the moose to thunder bay is interesting....will that be better for increasing the fan base than saskatoon would have been?....whats the population base around Tbay?....vid?

[RTD]

Originally Posted by trueviking

its over....the city of glendale cant legally cover the losses for next year.

the moose to thunder bay is interesting....will that be better for increasing the fan base than saskatoon would have been?....whats the population base around Tbay?....vid?

I believe the population metro TBay is about 125K, correct?

[Keng]

Originally Posted by RTD

I believe the population metro TBay is about 125K, correct?

Seems about right, and TBay is discussing the construction of there own multiplex, a 60 million dollar facility. Very early discussions, however. Would be nice when NHL relocation occurs for them to be serious contenders for AHL, assuming the city is feasible, of course.
Another very major step for Winnipeg.

[rrskylar]

Why would the AHL move a team to a city which would be the smallest in the league, with a tiny antiquated arena, to an area with an extremely high unemployment rate, when Saskatoon has a fairly new 15K arena basically sitting vacant, a population twice the size of Thunder Bays with a stable economy?

[dennis1]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Why would the AHL move a team to a city which would be the smallest in the league, with a tiny antiquated arena, to an area with an extremely high unemployment rate, when Saskatoon has a fairly new 15K arena basically sitting vacant, a population twice the size of Thunder Bays with a stable economy?

Because the blades would fight it the death.

[Urban_Genius]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Why would the AHL move a team to a city which would be the smallest in the league, with a tiny antiquated arena, to an area with an extremely high unemployment rate, when Saskatoon has a fairly new 15K arena basically sitting vacant, a population twice the size of Thunder Bays with a stable economy?

There not allowed to. I've heard the commish of the WHL Ron Robinson, state that the Blades have the exclusive hockey rights to Credit Union place. In other words no AHL team could move there. A while back the Oilers tried to relocate the blades to Edmonton in exchange for their dormant AHL team, but that fell through.
That can probably change though...

[Keng]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Why would the AHL move a team to a city which would be the smallest in the league, with a tiny antiquated arena, to an area with an extremely high unemployment rate, when Saskatoon has a fairly new 15K arena basically sitting vacant, a population twice the size of Thunder Bays with a stable economy?

You'll note I said 'considered' and assuming it's 'feasible' and they build a new arena etc. I didn't indicate I thought it was likely to happen, but it certainly is possible. Yes, Saskatoon could support AHL and would be a much safer bet of course. That's assuming they wanted it?

[feepa]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Why would the AHL move a team to a city which would be the smallest in the league, with a tiny antiquated arena, to an area with an extremely high unemployment rate, when Saskatoon has a fairly new 15K arena basically sitting vacant, a population twice the size of Thunder Bays with a stable economy?

remove thunder bay, add in Winnipeg. Remove Saskatoon, and put in Kansas City, Oklahoma, or Las Vegas...change out AHL and put in the word NHL and your statement still is true!

Originally Posted by rrskylar altered text for new meaning!

Why would the NHL move a team to a city (Winnipeg) which would be the smallest in the league, with a tiny antiquated arena, to an area with an extremely high unemployment rate, when Kansas City/Las Vegas/Oklahoma City has a fairly new 20K arena basically sitting vacant, a population twice the size of Winnipeg with a stable economy?

[trueviking]

just transfering this for safe keeping.


Quote:
Originally Posted by feepa
next tuesday? nothing is going to happen until after the playoffs if anything does happen, which it wont. not this off season, or next off season.

are you still taking bets?....a team in winnipeg october 2010...
how about for one year, the tagline at the bottom of each post must read:
trueviking (or feepa) is the grand knower of all things and should never be doubted again.

Quote:
Originally Posted by trueviking
are you still taking bets?....a team in winnipeg october 2010...
how about for one year, the tagline at the bottom of each post must read:
trueviking (or feepa) is the grand knower of all things and should never be doubted again.

you're on.

[feepa]

Originally Posted by trueviking

just transfering this for safe keeping.


Quote:
Originally Posted by feepa
next tuesday? nothing is going to happen until after the playoffs if anything does happen, which it wont. not this off season, or next off season.

are you still taking bets?....a team in winnipeg october 2010...
how about for one year, the tagline at the bottom of each post must read:
trueviking (or feepa) is the grand knower of all things and should never be doubted again.

Quote:
Originally Posted by trueviking
are you still taking bets?....a team in winnipeg october 2010...
how about for one year, the tagline at the bottom of each post must read:
trueviking (or feepa) is the grand knower of all things and should never be doubted again.

you're on.

You can put that signature on now, or wait until October.. either way, you'll be sporting a signature of the above variety...

Coyotes in Glendale, for now

GLENDALE, ARIZ. -- The return of the NHL to Winnipeg appears to be on hold for another year, as the City of Glendale has agreed to meet the league's requirements for keeping the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona for the 2010-2011 season.
Glendale's seven-member city council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a plan to spend up to $25 million to hold onto the troubled franchise for ...

[freeweed]

You do realize that last night's vote is no guarantee that the team is staying, right?

They still have to:

a) find a buyer

b) successfully negotiate a sale with said buyer that doesn't fall apart at the last moment

c) have said buyer and sale approved by the NHL, and

d) fend off any legal challenges to the city effectively financing the losses of a private corporation, which is illegal in the state of Arizona.

We're nowhere near out of the woods yet, kids.

In fact, I need to elaborate on something here that a lot of people seem to be missing: last night's vote only happened BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T SELL THE TEAM. If a sale had happened already, there'd be zero need for this financing agreement. Really, the fact that they even had this vote last night shows just how precarious the situation is.

[rrskylar]

There will be NHL hockey in Phoenix for the 2010-2011 season, the NHL will still own the team but instead of the NHL covering the $25 million in losses it will be the clueless city of Glendale. Glendale city council still believes an owner will buy the team and along with it the promise and proven fact that the team will never ever make any money in it's present location. Gary Bettman will survive another year along with his long held belief that southern US franchises still work (aside from the fact they don't make any money, nor do people in those cites care anything about hockey)

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

There will be NHL hockey in Phoenix for the 2010-2011 season, the NHL will still own the team but instead of the NHL covering the $25 million in losses it will be the clueless city of Glendale. Glendale city council still believes an owner will buy the team and along with it the promise and proven fact that the team will never ever make any money in it's present location. Gary Bettman will survive another year along with his long held belief that southern US franchises still work (aside from the fact they don't make any money, nor do people in those cites care anything about hockey)

I'm really thinking this is how it will play out, AGAIN. So this time next year, what happens?

Also, Glendale's commitment is capped at $25 million. What happens if losses exceed that? In a hockey-mad city like Winnipeg, attendance dropped by 2000 people once fans saw the writing on the wall. What happens if Phoenix averages 10,000 per game? I've heard that Phoenix has something like 12-13 UFAs this summer. I have a hard time believing they'll re-sign them, or attract many new ones. So the team is just about guaranteed to do worse, which historically drives down attendance something fierce in that city.

What will the losses be like if they miss the playoffs?

[feepa]

Originally Posted by trueviking

just transfering this for safe keeping.


Quote:
Originally Posted by feepa
next tuesday? nothing is going to happen until after the playoffs if anything does happen, which it wont. not this off season, or next off season.

are you still taking bets?....a team in winnipeg october 2010...
how about for one year, the tagline at the bottom of each post must read:
trueviking (or feepa) is the grand knower of all things and should never be doubted again.

Quote:
Originally Posted by trueviking
are you still taking bets?....a team in winnipeg october 2010...
how about for one year, the tagline at the bottom of each post must read:
trueviking (or feepa) is the grand knower of all things and should never be doubted again.

you're on.

Still waiting for this signature to appear true viking. I have my doubts that you'll come through with your end of the deal, just like I had my doubts about the Jets coming back to Winnipeg for October 2010.

PAY UP!

[rrskylar]

^ Don't get your hopes up so soon, the city of Glendale is still trying to figure out who will lend them the $25 million that will be needed to cover the 2010-2011 Coyotes losses, my guess would be certain east coast families who love Italian food.

[freeweed]

Unfortunately the situation in Glendale won't likely be resolved before it's too late to move the team.

I mean, I guess it's never "too late", but Chipman and co. have to eventually start planning for a new Moose season. Sure, the NHL could try moving the team in the middle of August if it's better than them not playing at all, but where does that leave the Moose?

I'm hearing 2-3 weeks as a pretty good deadline for any move to Winnipeg. Beyond that, MAYBE June 30th but I have a hard time seeing that - unless there's some last minute panic AHL re-scheduling.

[Distill3d]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Unfortunately the situation in Glendale won't likely be resolved before it's too late to move the team.

I mean, I guess it's never "too late", but Chipman and co. have to eventually start planning for a new Moose season. Sure, the NHL could try moving the team in the middle of August if it's better than them not playing at all, but where does that leave the Moose?

I'm hearing 2-3 weeks as a pretty good deadline for any move to Winnipeg. Beyond that, MAYBE June 30th but I have a hard time seeing that - unless there's some last minute panic AHL re-scheduling.

Highly unrealistic, but they could just trade teams. The Moose could move to Phoenix and rename the Coyotes and drop to the AHL. The Coyotes could move to Winnipeg, rename the Jets (or Moose) and stay in the NHL.