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Tell me good night. Coyote is going dark. Their hockey players are moving to Salt Lake City. The city’s ignominious run as a major league sports city is coming to an end.
What a sad, pathetic, and unnecessary ending.
The window is still open for those who cling to hope and salvation. The current owner, Alex Meruelo, will be able to win the state-owned land auction as originally planned. He personally funds the development of a state-of-the-art hockey stadium while navigating all the zoning issues, political shenanigans, and unplanned expenses that inconveniently arise.
Reportedly, it would be five years before he performed his own miracle on the ice.
Many wondered if and why the NHL would welcome Meruelo back to the team, an owner who stopped paying his bills in Glendale and failed to win an election on land in Tempe where a landfill is currently located. thinking.
Probably they don’t want him back at the club. Perhaps the NHL is just calling his bluff. Or it could be the ultimate litmus test for Meruelo after a rocky start as a custodian in Arizona. For example, if he could pull this off, he would be entitled to return $1 billion to the NHL, get another hockey team in return, and reset the expansion franchise in Arizona.
Yeah. I’m not holding my breath.
It’s unfortunate that we wasted our major league status. In November 1999, the Coyotes won a referendum for a new stadium, and on the same night the Spurs won a referendum for a new arena in downtown San Antonio. Optimism was high.
The referendum called for the arena to be built at Los Arcos, a dilapidated shopping mall just outside Old Town Scottsdale. The project fell through because Scottsdale’s mayor didn’t trust Steve Ellman’s finances. The team, enduring whispers of relocation for nearly 20 years, landed in Glendale on a prayer and a wing, making just one appearance in playoff overtime.
Sadly, their attempt to return to the East Valley was a disaster. An opportunity in Tempe, where the Coyotes thought voters would believe the big story and beautiful production, went horribly wrong.
The unfortunate part is that we are a big hockey town.
I’m sure the Canadian critics are laughing and howling at our late failures, but I’m sure they’ll miss the convenience of flights and cheap tickets to see their favorite teams in the Valley. . They are also missing the point.
This failure is not ours. This is the fault of an overextended owner who has failed to grow the fan base and provide the type of playoff hockey that sells itself, and has consistently given us a diluted and diminished product. This is the fault of politicians who have sabotaged their efforts at every step.
After all, we are losing our elite status as one of 13 cities/regions with all four major professional sports. We are losing a young core of talented hockey players and the roster is leaving town in the final stages of a major rebuild. And the grassroots movement that made the Valley fertile ground for aspiring young hockey players like current Toronto star Auston Matthews may also be lost.
So sad and so unnecessary. There was a time when the Coyotes were the real players in town. They had star power and a downtown address. They sparked a real conversation about Valley water coolers. And, tragically, the only thing they could call home was a palace built on quicksand, and the next he was in violation of three rules regarding real estate.
Location, location, location.
Contact Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6am to 10am on Arizona Sports.
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