Winnipeg Jets

[rrskylar]

More info.:

http://www.azcentral.com/community/g....html#comments

[rrskylar]

Love the comments section in the AZ Republic like this:



wow, 9000+ announced spectators today at jobless.com after the Coyotes big media barrage on 3 different TV stations last night and Mulsi's visit to Glendale. This is nothing short of pathetic for a top 5 team in the conference playing an NHL game on a holiday. Thank you for our team back.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/coyo...#ixzz1BMKMMBpz

[The Jabroni]

Man, it's a sh*tstorm in their comments section right now.

However, BOTH sides are being childish over this issue. We'll just let the "dumb" people argue, while we wise folks wait and see what happens. In the end, we'll let the natural course of the universe happen, as is, regardless of the outcome.

[rrskylar]

Looks like another huge crowd for the Coyotes in Glendale at Jobless.com arena:

http://twitpic.com/3rbedy/full

Hard to believe they can't draw fans with a team 4th in the standings in the western conf.

[GORDBO]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Looks like another huge crowd for the Coyotes in Glendale at Jobless.com arena:

http://twitpic.com/3rbedy/full

Hard to believe they can't draw fans with a team 4th in the standings in the western conf.

Apparently there was 8,236 in attendance. I guess the building must hold, what 35-40,000 when it's full!!!

[thurmas]

My God, forget the Moose high school hockey draws more than that!

[rrskylar]

Part of the recap from ESPN from last nights game at Jobless.com arena:

"Dumont scored one in the first period and two in the second in an almost-empty Jobing.com Arena, where the crowd was announced at 8,236 but was far smaller."

The NHL must feel real proud they allowed this team to stay in Glendale where even $10. game tickets and $1. beers can't bring fans in, not to mention a 4th place team. The shit will hit the wall next year when they start to charge for parking and charge NHL prices for tickets, that should weed out a couple thousand of the 8000-10000 true hockey fans in the Phoenix market.

[roccerfeller]

^ not to mention the announced attendance numbers are inflated

we're coming into the halfway point of home games...I see that escrow money being needed now...

[roccerfeller]

This could be considered some pretty big news.


Remember how I said I didn't even want to get to the topic of Atlanta?

This is why:

Quote:
A lawsuit filed by the owners of the Atlanta Thrashers claims a "flawed" contract written by an esteemed Atlanta law firm has prevented the sale of the NHL franchise for six years.

Meanwhile the hockey team has lost more than $130 million in operating costs since 2005 – the year Boston-based partner Steve Belkin agreed to sell his 30 percent stake – and the franchise value has dropped by more than $50 million, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Fulton County Superior Court.

None of this would have happened had the Thrashers been sold just after the 2004-05 NHL lockout was over, but the now seven-man ownership group, known as the Atlanta Spirit, says a “fatally flawed” and “botched” contract written by high-profile Atlanta law firm King & Spalding prevented that from happening.

The group also owns the Hawks and operating rights to Philips Arena, but they are not mentioned in the lawsuit.

The Spirit filed a $200 million malpractice lawsuit against King & Spalding Friday, saying the law firm’s negligence cost them millions of dollars and made them “unable to sell or otherwise dispose of the Atlanta Thrashers.” King & Spalding’s contract caused the buyout process to “quickly break down into chaos,” costing seven of the partners $14.5 million in legal fees and forcing them to shovel more than $130 million into the Thrashers to keep the franchise afloat, the lawsuit says.

.....

The protracted buyout process included two rounds through the Maryland court system, threats to financial institutions and one of the partners referring to the other one as “evil.” The legal dispute earned the group a reputation as the most fractious ownership in North American professional sports.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Spirit has consistently told the AJC that they have been looking only for investors for the Thrashers and that the team is not for sale. The Thrashers had been targeted as a franchise that could possibly be relocated, with the Canadian cities of Hamilton, Quebec and Winnepeg among the list of possible new homes.

"As has been shared publicly for more than a year, we are interested in finding minority investors and have engaged a firm to assist us in that effort," the owners said in a June 2010 statement. "We have no plans to move either team, and remain committed to the Hawks, the Thrashers, Philips Arena and the city of Atlanta."

A Jan. 4 letter to fans said the following: As we look to the second halves of the 2010-2011 NBA and NHL seasons, our goals remain the same as when we bought these teams: to bring Stanley Cups and NBA Championships to the fans in Atlanta.

Thrashers President Don Waddell, speaking for the Spirit group in 2009, told the AJC: "In countless meetings with ownership, never once have we expressed any interest in selling the Thrashers or moving the Thrashers.”

Waddell was the team’s executive vice president and general manager at the time. Friday he declined to comment about the new lawsuit or the team’s $130 million in operating losses.

.....

The seven owners wanted to sell the Thrashers after the 2004-05 lockout was over, the new lawsuit says. According to the document, the labor contract after the 2004-05 lockout would be to the “financial benefit of smaller market franchise such as the Thrashers and thus increase their value. Plaintiffs expected that once the new labor agreement was finalized there would be substantial interest from potential buyers and that they would be able to sell the franchise.”

The seven partners talked with potential buyers while they were entangled in litigation with Belkin, the lawsuit says. Because Belkin still owned 30 percent of the teams, the seven other partners “could not convey free and clear title to the franchise and thus were not in a position to sell,” the lawsuit says.

Levenson told the AJC in an April 2010 interview that when the Spirit bought the teams, the group signed an agreement with the NHL that they not be moved.

“Even if we wanted to talk to somebody who wanted to move it, it's clearly stated in our agreements. We are forbidden from doing that. We've never had those discussions,” Levenson told the AJC.

The Spirit bought the Hawks, Thrashers and the operating rights to Philips Arena from Turner Broadcasting System in 2004. The fighting started almost right away. A year later, Belkin wanted out.

The seven partners hired King & Spalding to draw up a contract in August 2005 that would spell out the appraisal and buyout process. The group asked King & Spalding to negotiate a process that would: have a “fair and reasonable” value of Belkin’s 30 percent share; protect the remaining owners’ interests; and make sure those owners could select an appraiser to set the value for the teams, court documents say.

They also wanted the process to be completed “expeditiously,” the lawsuit says.

The exact opposite took place, the court documents point out. What’s more, the Spirit accuses King & Spalding of not telling them of the changes, the lawsuit says.

“Under the circumstances, King & Spalding knew or should have known it had committed malpractice. Yet, the firm did not advise Plaintiffs of its errors, tell Plaintiffs that had a malpractice claim, or withdraw from the representation so that Plaintiffs could obtain independent counsel,”

The contract stated that the price was to be set by up to three appraisals. Belkin was to hire the first appraiser. Whichever party objected to the findings of the first appraiser would hire the second one.

The contract didn’t say what the owners would do if both sides objected to the first appraisal – which is what happened.

Belkin hired CitiGroup Private Bank to do the first appraisal. When the bank’s 69-page valuation came in, he faxed in an objection and named J.P. Morgan as the second appraiser one minute later, court documents said.

The seven other partners faxed in their objection 12 minutes after receiving CitiGroup’s valuation, saying they were hiring Morgan Stanley to do the second appraisal.

Five hours later, Belkin filed a lawsuit. In court he testified that he objected first and had the right to pick the second appraiser. He testified to not trusting the other owners and that a lawsuit was the only answer.

Besides accusing King & Spalding of malpractice, the lawsuit also says the firm acted in bad faith by continuing to represent the seven members after recognizing they may have a malpractice claim. The Spirit also is accusing the firm of a conflict of interest. King & Spalding assigned as its lead litigator a person who is the board chairman of the law firm’s malpractice insurer, the lawsuit says. In other words, the main lawyer representing the Spirit also has a responsibility to reduce or eliminate the firm’s exposure to malpractice claims.

The lawsuit asks for a jury trial. The Spirit wants compensatory and consequential damages, as well as punitive damages, pre-judgment interest and attorneys fees, the lawsuit says.

The group has hired Robert Shields and Everette Doffermyre to represent them.

Staff writer Chris Vivlamore contributed to this article.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/lawsuit-th...ve-811606.html



Wow.

So they've been lying to fans in Atlanta since post lockout??

That's harsh.

Adds some, however little, credibility to the "ATL being flipped to the NHL to be relocated" thing

Note this lawsuit is against the firm that was trying to help ATL spirit find buyers.

Also, they just finished a settlement in December, that ousted a member, which needed to be completed for the majority of the group to have their say.

Additionally, the group could theoretically sell the Thrashers franchise, in addition to trying to claim $200 million from this firm, for dragging out the process.


Note how they wanted to "dispose" of the Thrashers.


That is not something I would like to hear from the owners of my NHL team, if I was a Thrashers fan...

[Biff]

Pleeeeeze......i want the Thrashers. I hope the deal in Phoenix somehow works out. I want to start fresh here in Winnipeg. I am one of the few who don't want the "Jets" name back. We had good times, i have lots of memories, i was at the very first game against Colorado and at the very last against Detroit.

I actually prefer the Manitoba Moose name and logo over any of the Jets stuff but i would still prefer to start new.

Either way whatever happens will happen and i will be there again with my family at the first game in the MTS Centre.

[roccerfeller]

Originally Posted by Biff

Pleeeeeze......i want the Thrashers. I hope the deal in Phoenix somehow works out. I want to start fresh here in Winnipeg. I am one of the few who don't want the "Jets" name back. We had good times, i have lots of memories, i was at the very first game against Colorado and at the very last against Detroit.

I actually prefer the Manitoba Moose name and logo over any of the Jets stuff but i would still prefer to start new.

Either way whatever happens will happen and i will be there again with my family at the first game in the MTS Centre.

I hear ya...the closer this gets, the more I'm personally turned off by the "Jets" name too...not cause I dont like it, nono, but cause with a new arena, "new Winnipeg", and a "new" team (regardless if its the same franchise), we need a new team name.

A fresh start would be nice...luckily both Yotes and Thrashers are strong teams, so we would have a pretty decent team either way.

Truly, I feel that Atlanta is TNSE's main target.

However, the NHL needed a safeguard for Phoenix so TNSE ended up taking that place.

NHL has nothing but admiration and respect for TNSE...they are patient, Bettman has numerously spoken highly of them in public, implied how much respect they have, and how if it were to happen, the BOG would welcome them as owners with open arms.


But a part of me feels that what might happen, is that, now that Quebec City has confirmed their arena is going to be built (see Quebec forum), the Thrashers are set to be sold to recoup losses....

but Yotes are struggling more and more to stay in Glendale.


Don't be surprised if Yotes --> Winnipeg, Thrashers ---> QC in the next two years.

Hopeful, I know, but this recent ATL news is EXTREMELY telling about how badly they want to lose their NHL team.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by Biff

Pleeeeeze......i want the Thrashers. I hope the deal in Phoenix somehow works out. I want to start fresh here in Winnipeg. I am one of the few who don't want the "Jets" name back. We had good times, i have lots of memories, i was at the very first game against Colorado and at the very last against Detroit.

I actually prefer the Manitoba Moose name and logo over any of the Jets stuff but i would still prefer to start new.

Either way whatever happens will happen and i will be there again with my family at the first game in the MTS Centre.

I agree completely.

[RTD]

Interesting thing: Moose have NHL tags in their jerseys now, and appear to be the only AHL team doing so.

http://returnofthejets.proboards.com...T5E6sjrlhebM1h

I personally think this is a sign of exciting things to come for Winnipeg hockey fans for the VERY NEAR future

[RTD]

Apparently, those in the know are hinting that Tuesday will be a big day, also being dubbed as "Choose-Day", referring to a decision by the COG in a meeting of whether to keep persuing the MH sweetheart deal, or to decline it. Should it be accepted, then Winnipeg gets the Thrashers. If the deal is declined, then Winnipeg gets the Coyotes. Even still, any public announcements may not be made for weeks, maybe months afterwards.

Can't wait until Choose-Day

[1ajs]

will see what happens then won't we

[trueviking]

................

[Mininari]

Rumour or breaking news???

Glendale public-bond issue for NHL team failed: reports

By: Gary Lawless

Posted: 01/26/2011 3:22 PM | Comments: 0

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TORONTO - Reports are circulating that the public bond issue put to market by the city of Glendale, AZ, in order to help finance the private purchase of the Phoenix Coyotes by Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer has failed.

Glendale will now turn to the private bond market in an attempt to raise the $100 million they have promised Hulsizer in order to aid him in his purchase of the Coyotes from the NHL.

The NHL purchased the Coyotes out of bankruptcy court in the summer of 2009 for $140 million, and reportedly lost $30 million operating the team last year.

The NHL has come to an agreement with Hulszier to sell him the team for $170 million. If, however, Glendale cannot front Hulsizer the promised $100 million, it believed the sale will fall apart.

True North Sports and Entertainment made a bid to purchase the Coyotes in the spring of 2010. It is believed if the Hulsizer deal falls apart, the NHL will then turn to True North to try to conclude a deal that would see the Coyotes relocated to Winnipeg, where they would play out of the MTS Centre.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bre...114671439.html

[roccerfeller]

BIG if true.


VERY BIG.


But I am not so certain yet...

I hope so...


but my brain is saying "wait a minute....lets not be too hasty yet"

[roccerfeller]

Just to add....

NO WAY in my mind, is the private bond market gonna get this through

Glendale's best shot has been tipped

[The Jabroni]

^If it was confirmed, then it deserves to be news. If it's only rumour...

http://myfacewhen.com/305/