Quote:
Originally Posted by plinko
Nonsense. The SLC market is nearly the exact size of the Phoenix market when they came from Winnipeg. Similar economic demographics, etc. and the Coyotes will only have to compete with the Jazz. When they came to Phoenix they had to compete with the Suns, the Cardinals, and the soon to be Diamondbacks.
Oh, and they played in an amazing for basketball but shitty for hockey obstructed view arena for how many seasons? Like 7, 8?
If SLC gets the 2034 winter games, the Delta Center would be 42 years old by then. Kinda outlived its usefulness in the life of most arenas.
It’s a bummer that Phoenix lost its team, and it is a better market than SLC in comparison, but to say that somehow SLC is somehow not worthy is ridiculous.
|
Agree on it being a bummer about PHX and I hope that the NHL makes it back, with nearly 8 million people in the state, almost all who live within 2-hours drive of Phoenix. Arizona has been a great market and hockey has thrived here in the last 6 years.
Not sure why you think questioning the financial viability of a market that will for fact be the smallest with NHL and NBA teams is nonsense. There are multiple articles by sports economists questioning this, including some in Utah that are worried about the impacts it could have for what has been amazing support of the Jazz. Pro sport success is dependent on butts in seats, tv revenue and corporate sponsorship. They will indeed compete with not only the Utah Jazz but also 2 major universities in the area, with a lot of NIL funding needs, plus the MLS team. They will compete most directly with the Jazz for butts in seats but NCAA football overlaps and the Utes have had a great following for years.
Phoenix in 1996 may not have been large enough to have all 4 major pro sports teams but at the time PHX was the 16th largest metro in the US at 2.7 million people, plus another 700,000 in Tucson which would have put it around 12-13th largest if you consider both, (about 90 mins from PHX). Today the SLC metro is 47th largest, if you make it CSA covering basically the full Wasatch front, it comes in around 23. That's not really the same stature and certainly the 1996 metro Phoenix size would have no business competing for additional teams in today's market competition.
Lets call this what it is, the NHL is going to SLC because the state has offered up a TON of public money at the right time when Tempe residents said not to public subsidies (which is the trend in many places, just as the Chiefs and Royals). A similar vote probably fails in Utah as well but so far they haven't needed to do that. Of course the city council hasn't actually raised the taxes yet and the $500M it will supposedly raise likely isn't enough to cover the expenses Mr. Smith will ask the public to share with him for the $3B entertainment complex he envisions. There's also a competing group owned by the Larry H. Miller company, former Jazz owner, who is also expects to receive a lot of public money to pay for a different $2-$3B sports/entertainment complex near downtown SLC.
Guess we'll see how that plays out. Feels to me that you're talking about building two "LA Live like" entertainment complexes, in a city of around 200K people... The NHL was never seeking out SLC, the owner just forced his way in and and seemingly has enough sway in the state to drive how taxes are spent... interesting to say the least.
Prev
Linear Mode
