Found this via Mirtle:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=6185492

JFC just get them out of Arizona already. This is an embarrassment.

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mechaphil

Guess this puts tsn.ca's Jet-o-meter up a little more.

Common Winnipeg!!!!

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy

But that's not the guy who was planning to buy the Yotes though. Who is or what is the guy suing for and what does he gave to do with the yotes?

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What are you talking about?

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mechaphil

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Short version:

The new lease agreement calls for Glendale to give Hulsizer $100M up front, but recoup that money through parking fees and naming rights to certain things over the life of the lease. However,multiple studies of the revenues generated show that Glendale will never get their $100M back in full over the lease term.

The Goldwater Institute is a public policy organization. They do a lot of stuff, but one thing they do is watch for government agencies that do things they think violate laws, and go after them.

Arizona has a law that prohibits public money being used as a gift to a private business. The Goldwater Institute has alleged that because it's known in advance that Glendale will never get their money back in full, giving them the money would be a gift, and illegal under Arizona law. Basically : If I loan you $40 knowing that you'll only ever give me $20 back, I gave you a gift of $20.

So, they're basically saying 'If you do this, we will sue you for violating the gift law." The threat of a lawsuit is holding up the bond sale, which Glendale was going to use to generate the $100M. Glendale is now suing back, saying that because Goldwater is threatening to sue, thy're jeopardizing the lease agreement, and will cost Glendale money.

It's ugly, and all these lawsuits will probably cause the NHL to give up and move north.

The team clearly isn't wanted down there.

Winnipeg would be a great market. I don't understand why the NHL isn't jumping all over this.

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Wheelhouse

i think the NHL is fairly giving arizona a chance to keep the team in there, and i think its fair, but at some point, enough is enough, and you need to give yourself enough time to make a move and settle in.

as far as winnipeg goes, i would LOVE winnipeg, but i also know quebec city is hot for a team as well.

its too bad the yotes got that nice new barn, and they cant fill it. what the hell are they gonna do with it? the suns play downtown, and that arena (us airways arena) gets all the major concerts and events. you could potentially see an 8 year old arena tore down. doubtful.. but still. this goes beyond just the yotes moving for arizona.

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http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2010/12/8/1536097/nhl-relocation-winnipeg-quebec-city is why they aren't, according to some SBN writer.

Also, a 15K seat arena in a hockey-starved region in Canada is just too damn small. Expand it another 3K.

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mechaphil

I certainly do not want to see a team in southern ontario .... I'd say, based on that article... Hartford is the way to go... now im not sure if they have the arena for it... but it wouldn't be bad to see...

also, wonder what a team would do in KC.... there used to be a KC team .... they have an arena... interesting thought...

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from my understanding, hartford wants a team, but the city isnt what it used to be, and they dont feel they can support a team. i dunno, id like hartford as well. i just dont see it.

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Man... if Seattle had the proper facilities, it'd be an awesome hockey market.

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Wheelhouse

no kidding. and that city would embrace the team very quickly after the loss of the sonics.

if the tacoma dome had a refrigeration system, that could work. in the mid 90s when they remodeled seattle center (now key arena).. it was done so no NHL team could move in to potentially take money away from the sonics. now how foolish does that move look?

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Right? I was in Seattle a couple of years ago. It's an awesome city. Key arena is in an interesting spot, though. Wedged in the arts center.

Parking would be a huge issue to tackle, on top of the extensive renovations the arena would need to house a hockey team.



It's cool though because it's dug somewhat into the ground. The ice is probably really good there.



As you can see though, there's no parking in sight.

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Wheelhouse

one of the reasons the sonics left was because they wanted a new facility. the key arena looks awesome, and a complete overhaul could bring in an NHL team. but i dont even think the thunderbirds play there anymore.

no, they built their own arena.

now, heres an idea, modeled after the canes. the hurricanes moved to greensboro and played at the greensboro Colosseum till the RBC center was finished. so, could an NHL team survive 3 years in spokane before moving to seattle?

edit: doesnt look like it, spokanes arena doesnt sit more then 11,000 people.

damn, i REALLY like this seattle idea.

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I do too Mike. Seattle, with the support and renovations, would be an AWESOME hockey market.

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Wheelhouse

The position of the Winnipeg group is that although the place is only 15k seats, they'd fill it every night, which still puts them in front of about 10 NHL teams.

I'd have to think they could find a way to get the place close to 17k though.

Yeah, when they built the MTS Centre, they did so with the possibillity of expanding it by another 2-3000, should the NHL come calling. Little tid-bit, the new barn in Newark is actually smaller than the old CAA in the swamp. So they'd only have to expand by 2000 or so to keep up with current NHL rinks. They've been doing some reno's to the press area to expand it to accommodate more exits and washroom facilities and what not.

They've raised the roof in Calgary in recent years to accommodate more seating, shit, they did the same to The Aud back in the day. So this feat can be accomplished. Providing that the upgrades are approved by local fire and building codes, of course.

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy

It's not that I don't think they can fill it, I don't think it's big enough to suit demand.

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mechaphil

at orlando arena, they replaced the seats with slightly narrower seats to bump up seating from 15,000 to 17,000 in the shaq days.... you add 1 seat per row.. that could add up mighty quick, couldnt it?

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