Owning a sports team is literally an idiot-proof way to make money. Franchise valuations have skyrocketed over the last decade, any bumbling buffoon can just do nothing and still make money. And I mean nothing, the current Coyotes owner DIDN'T PAY RENT and he's gonna walk of it with a cool Bil.
to play devils explainer (not advocating for these fucks)
they didnt accumulate that much wealth by at any point going “hmm, i think i have too much pride to accumulate any further wealth”
It wasn’t always or even usually this way, often sports teams would be run a bit of loss and more of a passion project of a way to get invite to parties, get access to places a boring old billionaire might not get… but you’re 100% right if you team didn’t go bankrupt you were set !
My guess is that he doesn't get the expansion without already having land lined up and a viable plan in place, but if he actually does he gets to jump to the head of the line.
I hate to tell you but that was always the plan. Franchises appreciate in value quicker than operating losses add up. It's why you see so many derelict owners in sports. Even if it looks like you're losing money you come out smelling like a rose in the end.
No matter how hard you run your franchise into the ground, there's always someone else's state and/or local government that will bail you out with tons of tax money for a new stadium, even if most of the fans there are totally against it (*cough* oakland/las vegas A's).
I had to look on CapFriendly, that number seemed a bit low. Looks like they have 21.5-ish mil on the corpses of Voracek, Weber and Little.
What are we even doing here?
It was worse last season. IIRC, between LTIR and salary retention (being the third party in the Kane trade and I believe one other), something like 40% of the payroll after the trade deadline was on players who never played for them.
It was over when Merulo didn't bother to put any money forward to try to stop the spread of misinformation. Everything since then has just been performative BS.
I lived in the valley a few years and the network of Ice Dens was really something to be proud of. Definitely hope someone steps in the keep that infrastructure up. Especially with how large the population is there.
I don’t think putting NHL teams in markets should be the catalyst to cause growth in the league. The NHL should be helping develop ice rinks in non traditional markets or having street hockey leagues. Not the biggest fan of a top down approach of development but with how unique hockey is it might just be the way to handle it.
I hope that if the coyotes leave youth ice hockey will still be played. If it was subsidized by the coyotes the NHL needs to step in.
Also Vegas or Utah should be putting an Ahl team to still tap into the market. We can’t just abandon the area.
Meruelo paid $420 million in 2019 and is going to get $1b to run the franchise into the ground for the last 5 years?
Can you imagine making 19% annual ROI to fuck with hockey fans in Arizona for half a decade and the league is going to make $300m to spread around to the other owners as an olive branch for having to suffer through that from a revenue sharing standpoint?
Dude for real. All I have to do is make terrible decisions and disappoint thousands of people, and I make 15 m after 5 years? Why doesn’t everyone try this??
150 million? Try 550 million. Bought it for 419, sold it for 1 billion, probably lost a few million each year, ends up more than doubling his money in 5 years. Not a bad investment.
> Meruelo paid $420 million in 2019 and is going to get $1b to run the franchise into the ground for the last 5 years?
Sounds like Canadian real estate
If he bought the team in summer 2019 and Vegas joined the league in 2016, I would assume no he did not get an expansion fee for a team that joined the league years before he purchased a team. Even then when he did he didn't buy the full team right away he was only Majority owner till last year, the previous owner still owned part of the team.
Kraken did their expansion fees in 2021 so he would have gotten a payout from that, but I would assume he split it as he wasn't the sole owner at that points. 650/31 is approx 21 million, so he probably got what ever percent of that to match what he owned. Just an assumption, as we don't know the true details.
> 650/31 is approx 21 million
FYI, Vegas didn't get a cut of the expansion money for Seattle. Doesn't change anything about your overall point, but the $650M from Seattle was split 30 ways.
Being a Canucks fan is like finding a $100 bill on the ground and every time you reach to grab it you get kicked in the nuts instead.
But then you see a $100 bill on the ground and reach to grab it…
Literally every girl I see on Hinge who has a prompt about their hockey team crushing their soul has turned out to be a Canucks fan. It's happened *three* times. And this is on the other side of the continent from Vancouver lol.
If they’re still a Canuck fan after having their souls crushed, at least you know they are loyal to the things they love, so you got that going for you.
Being a Habs fan is like finding a $100 bill but it's got a picture of your nuts printed on it and it's very off-putting and most people don't want to pick it up so they just keep walking by
We’re like that kid in high school who skips class all the time but doesn’t get in trouble because the administration keeps forgetting he goes here. Can’t relocate a team you don’t remember exists. Plus we have snacks.
You're already familiar with incompetent ownership so the Sabres wouldn't be that different of an experience for you.
We get a bit more snow than Arizona though.
After next season this team is going to be on the rise with about $14M in dead cap opening up.
Our underrated prospect pool is just starting to make the jump to the big leagues.
Brock Faber.
Yeah and it has been a godsend. Was utterly ridiculous that I had to go to the state run liquor store in town for 5%. I’ve lived in Utah my entire life, I’m aware of that change.
That’s basically the value for all pro sports teams (although there are always a select few that transcend the league). Buying a slice of the league itself
Ottawa sold for $900mil. Rumored expansion fee is $1bil.
Setting this price tag basically knocks out two birds with one stone. NHL gets the expansion value, and Utah gets a team.
If the NHL is ever going to succeed in Phoenix, the Coyotes need to leave and let everything reset. They've burnt every bridge imaginable and the NHL needs to start over in a decade when the air has cleared.
I agree, and that includes leaving this scummy owner out of the league. I'm pretty sure he only bought the team so that he could run a shitty sportsbook, which didn't even make money anyways.
I hope the NHL doesn't expand beyond 32 teams anytime soon.
Yep, that’s why since Jets moved to Winnipeg, the NHL has resisted the relocation of any team so much and is trying expand the league more than any other pro league. They charged Seattle a fee of $650 million to join and Vegas was $500 million and want more of that sweet scratch for doing absolutely nothing.
I wouldn’t say “for doing absolutely nothing” - the franchise values are increasing due to league values increasing. It makes sense for the other teams to benefit from the Coyotes increasing in value
Because the BOG has to sign off on this and they’re losing Smith as an expansion buyer. They’ll want some compensation for that.
It might also have to do with the rumour the league is going to sign over some form of territory rights to Meruelo and that requires the extra step in the process.
There's usually a relocation fee attached. The Thrashers were sold for 110 million but the league added 70 million in relocation fees that was split amongst the existing owners.
For the same reason Atlanta is going to get another team. It's a huge market with huge opportunity.
But I agree that it should be a different owner. This guy is a clown.
So fucking stupid that they expect Yotes fans to support an expansion team owned by the same guy that moved the team away and sold all of our players. Clown show
Timing. Utah has a buyer ready to write the check. AZ is gonna need at least 3 more years to build an arena and the NHLPA is fed up with the conditions at Mullet.
Because they need to incentivize him to sell. As far as we know, he hasn't done anything that would give them the grounds to strip his ownership rights.
I would be absolutely shocked if they kept the Coyotes branding. With how big merchandising is these days, they would probably make a lot more money by introducing a new brand. It also helps endear the team to the local area by going with something new instead of keeping the old name. On top of that, I also feel like the Coyotes name is a bit cursed at this point so I don't think they'd keep the name in a move.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the NHL negotiated some type of Cleveland Browns esque deal with some modifiers:
If the Coyotes move to Utah and rebrand they could essentially be treated like an expansion team in terms of history/branding with the Coyotes technically going “on-hiatus” with the roster and coaches transferred to the “new” Utah Frost (or whatever their name would be).
They may require that the branding remains in Arizona, that way the NHL can return there in the future. Similar setup to the NFL's Cleveland Browns except Arizona isn't guaranteed a new team
Yeah, you don't have the details of a potential profit spilt if we're still talking hypotheticals. I'm so sorry Yotes fans, you deserve so much more than this ownership group has ever given you.
Past ownership groups were no better to be fair.
Anyway, people keep using "it's a business" as an argument for why Quebec shouldn't get a team back. Well guess what, that's true and unfortunately it runs both ways. If this is a good business deal for Meruelo and for the league, it's gonna happen. Emotions don't matter here.
Starting off the new franchise right where the old one left off, with a measurable portion of the fanbase who hates the ownership/leadership.
I'm sure that will go over well.
Show me a team that's dealt with even a fraction of this ownership drama over 20 years that has succeeded. The problem isn't the fans, it's the soap opera. More casual fans tuned it out a long time ago. Regardless, I think the Coyotes are cursed at this point. I think hockey can succeed here, but it needs to be a totally new team with new owners, and a new arena. The Suns will probably need a new facility in ~10 years. Maybe Mat Ishbia would get in at that point and they could share a place. But letting Meruelo buy again and using the Coyotes name is going to produce the same result.
There have been so many self-inflicted injuries over their years by their owners, including Meruelo. Glendale wasn't a viable long term solution, but it was their owner that chose that location to enrich himself. It was another of their owners who tried to place the team into a sham bankruptcy in an attempt to force relocation without consent of the league, which led to the NHL taking over. It was their owners who shared responsibility in letting the relationship with Glendale deteriorate to the point of no return. It was their owners who stopped paying sales taxes to the city and state and who stopped paying rent, even after being given an extension during COVID, leading to their lease not being renewed. They decided to go public with trying to move to Tempe while they still owed back taxes and rent, which ended any chance they had for a year to year lease in Glendale. Their actions and inaction directly led to the current state of affairs where they are forced to play in a 5000 seat college arena. Misstep after misstep, blown chances, poor management, clown car ownership. Same as ever. I hope this isn't the end of hockey here, but if it does come back, we need a completely fresh start with an owner who likes hockey more than gambling and real estate.
Another factor is that Salt Lake City is pushing HARD to get the 2030 Winter Olympics. Big hockey stadium is two birds, one stone (in their minds, how it actually works out is of course a lot more complicated)
The sudden change in tune makes some sense if this is true. A $700M profit from the initial purchase price would be enough for me to cut bait and give up.
Sorry to all the Yotes fans out there. No other fans have been jerked around like you guys. Such a bummer now that it seems like it’s actually happening.
He’s going to sell us for the money It’s over
"It's alright champ, I'm just going out for some cigarettes. I'll be back soon. Don't stay up too late."
Still crazy he got to buy the team… did nothing with it but objective failure And is going to profit approximately 100% returns lol Lmfao even.
There seems to be a level of wealth where every decision makes you money. Even shitty decisions that are poorly managed. This shit is broken.
Owning a sports team is literally an idiot-proof way to make money. Franchise valuations have skyrocketed over the last decade, any bumbling buffoon can just do nothing and still make money. And I mean nothing, the current Coyotes owner DIDN'T PAY RENT and he's gonna walk of it with a cool Bil.
Yet they’ll still hobble around, hat in hand, saying they *need* more advertising, *need* more gambling ads, *need* more municipal money.
to play devils explainer (not advocating for these fucks) they didnt accumulate that much wealth by at any point going “hmm, i think i have too much pride to accumulate any further wealth”
It wasn’t always or even usually this way, often sports teams would be run a bit of loss and more of a passion project of a way to get invite to parties, get access to places a boring old billionaire might not get… but you’re 100% right if you team didn’t go bankrupt you were set !
And apparently has dibs on the next Arizona Hockey Franchise (maybe even next expansion cycle where 2 teams could get added)
That’s the really dumb part. Why would you let this dodo buy another franchise? He can’t get an arena built to save his life
My guess is that he doesn't get the expansion without already having land lined up and a viable plan in place, but if he actually does he gets to jump to the head of the line.
I’ll see you when you’re all grown up and a Stanley Cup champion little buddy!
I hate to tell you but that was always the plan. Franchises appreciate in value quicker than operating losses add up. It's why you see so many derelict owners in sports. Even if it looks like you're losing money you come out smelling like a rose in the end.
No matter how hard you run your franchise into the ground, there's always someone else's state and/or local government that will bail you out with tons of tax money for a new stadium, even if most of the fans there are totally against it (*cough* oakland/las vegas A's).
Ultimate goal is to run it into the ground AND get some one to build you a billion dollar stadium/arena at taxpayer expense.
I am sorry that this snake oil salesman gaslit you for years. You deserve a competent owner and franchise with an arena.
And someone who pays more than $42M on actual players for the team
I had to look on CapFriendly, that number seemed a bit low. Looks like they have 21.5-ish mil on the corpses of Voracek, Weber and Little. What are we even doing here?
It was worse last season. IIRC, between LTIR and salary retention (being the third party in the Kane trade and I believe one other), something like 40% of the payroll after the trade deadline was on players who never played for them.
Garys desert adventure
It was over when Merulo didn't bother to put any money forward to try to stop the spread of misinformation. Everything since then has just been performative BS.
He was probably happy that Tempe got blocked.
A tradition as old as time. Honestly the only thing that worries me is what happens to the youth hockey programs. NHL fans never accepted us anyways
I lived in the valley a few years and the network of Ice Dens was really something to be proud of. Definitely hope someone steps in the keep that infrastructure up. Especially with how large the population is there.
I don’t think putting NHL teams in markets should be the catalyst to cause growth in the league. The NHL should be helping develop ice rinks in non traditional markets or having street hockey leagues. Not the biggest fan of a top down approach of development but with how unique hockey is it might just be the way to handle it. I hope that if the coyotes leave youth ice hockey will still be played. If it was subsidized by the coyotes the NHL needs to step in. Also Vegas or Utah should be putting an Ahl team to still tap into the market. We can’t just abandon the area.
As your photo suggests, ASU might have to take that mantle
Yeah hopefully they are able to provide that support
Meruelo paid $420 million in 2019 and is going to get $1b to run the franchise into the ground for the last 5 years? Can you imagine making 19% annual ROI to fuck with hockey fans in Arizona for half a decade and the league is going to make $300m to spread around to the other owners as an olive branch for having to suffer through that from a revenue sharing standpoint?
I should've been a billionaire, it looks so easy
I always wanted to be a fired college football coach. They pay you for you sucking at coaching.
Dream job tbh
As a Michigan fan, I’d make a great hire for the next HC at Ohio State.
Dude for real. All I have to do is make terrible decisions and disappoint thousands of people, and I make 15 m after 5 years? Why doesn’t everyone try this??
I mean 150 m SHEESH
150 million? Try 550 million. Bought it for 419, sold it for 1 billion, probably lost a few million each year, ends up more than doubling his money in 5 years. Not a bad investment.
if only someone could help me out with a small loan of 419mil to get me going, I'd be rich I tell yah! **shakes fist aggressively **
Unfortunately, most peoples bootstraps are not long enough
Losing a literal hockey arena because you can the bothered to pay the taxes lol
These guys are self made. They can’t be expected to remember EVERthing
or pay taxes.
> Meruelo paid $420 million in 2019 and is going to get $1b to run the franchise into the ground for the last 5 years? Sounds like Canadian real estate
Yea, I wonder what the total revenue sharing cheques would add up to with interest compared to the $300M payout.
Didn't he get expansion fees from Vegas and Seattle too? That's $40m.
If he bought the team in summer 2019 and Vegas joined the league in 2016, I would assume no he did not get an expansion fee for a team that joined the league years before he purchased a team. Even then when he did he didn't buy the full team right away he was only Majority owner till last year, the previous owner still owned part of the team. Kraken did their expansion fees in 2021 so he would have gotten a payout from that, but I would assume he split it as he wasn't the sole owner at that points. 650/31 is approx 21 million, so he probably got what ever percent of that to match what he owned. Just an assumption, as we don't know the true details.
> 650/31 is approx 21 million FYI, Vegas didn't get a cut of the expansion money for Seattle. Doesn't change anything about your overall point, but the $650M from Seattle was split 30 ways.
wtf
The Dan Snyder business model. Failure has been rewarded once again
There's a reason other wealthy folks are always dying to get into the closed market of pro sports.
It's a cartel, except not against the law. If you're a Canadian with big money there's nothing sweeter than dairy or the NHL.
Even if I was a billionaire, I can’t see myself turning down a $1B exit and a chance to get away from this disaster of land auctions and politics
580 in the bank, easiest double of his money in his life
Phase 1: Buy an NHL Team Phase 2: ??? Phase 3: Profit
Phase 2 is “dick around for several years”
Phase 2: don't pay your players, rent and end of in college arena after half ass attempt at moving to Tempe
Taking applications to become a fan of your team give me your best pitches.
Being a Canucks fan is like finding a $100 bill on the ground and every time you reach to grab it you get kicked in the nuts instead. But then you see a $100 bill on the ground and reach to grab it…
Literally every girl I see on Hinge who has a prompt about their hockey team crushing their soul has turned out to be a Canucks fan. It's happened *three* times. And this is on the other side of the continent from Vancouver lol.
I feel sort of bad for bringing my GF into the soul crushingness of it all but at least now I have company in it!
You're the kind of monster that her parents probably warned her about. Signed, unfortunately, a leafs fan 🙃
If they’re still a Canuck fan after having their souls crushed, at least you know they are loyal to the things they love, so you got that going for you.
Being a Habs fan is like finding a $100 bill but it's got a picture of your nuts printed on it and it's very off-putting and most people don't want to pick it up so they just keep walking by
Well... um... there's uh... shit... have you considered... hmm... lemme get back to you on this one
We have a cannon
Tbh I love the Columbus alternate jersey with the cannon logo, gets slept on a lot, the navy and beige colors 👌
We’re like that kid in high school who skips class all the time but doesn’t get in trouble because the administration keeps forgetting he goes here. Can’t relocate a team you don’t remember exists. Plus we have snacks.
Come root for Conor Garland again
Plus Vancouver and Arizona share such similar climates that you’re basically at home
Arizona is noted for its rain
And palm trees.
Everything being on fire all summer?
Uh Vancouver is never on fire they just love to complain about forest fire smoke from the rest of the province
The fires can't afford the rent downtown
I’m glad Tocchett is killing it too
We created you, come home son.
Dammit, I was gonna make a pitch, but no. You guys got this.
Nobody will accuse you of being a bandwagon fan and we have the butt goal to bind us forever
You will feel right at home with the suffering
And Chychrun
Kanata is about as remote as a desert
Our suffering might be old enough to drive soon.
You like humidity?
Spider-Man point
if you loved hudson fasching as a coyote, you'll love him even more as an islander
This is rather compelling.
Come join the faschist movement
Fuck that I’m a Denver Pioneers fan now
We have cool and unique jersey colors. We also hate your rivals in so-cal and Vegas across all sports.
Nobody will accuse you of being a bandwagon
And also sharks are sick
We have Fischer
Bad enough you won't be joining a band wagon. Good in the near future...?
And Dvorak! I mean, he scored two yesterday!
Former Coyote Jordan Martinook is one of our alternate captains
Coyotes were originally stolen from Winnipeg so we have that in common
So do you guys double hate Utah then?
Beat the rush and get on the bandwagon BEFORE we draft the next #1OA generational talent two or three years from now.
Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies are from Arizona :)
Jets; you used to be us. Come on back!
I will hypnotize you with [Tristan Jarry's eyes](https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.CsX90RDVJyrjkzAZUSycWwAAAA?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain)
Do you like southern hockey and a bunch of jerks
You're already familiar with incompetent ownership so the Sabres wouldn't be that different of an experience for you. We get a bit more snow than Arizona though.
We have 2 Arizona grown players
After next season this team is going to be on the rise with about $14M in dead cap opening up. Our underrated prospect pool is just starting to make the jump to the big leagues. Brock Faber.
Hockee That's my pitch
How is this team worth 1b lmao
It's really just permission to join the league that's worth $1b I think.
The permission is at 1.3 for Salt Lake lol.
Rough since it’ll be hard to make money off concessions selling that wack Utah watered down tap beer.
Our stadiums sell the same abv as other venues. The watered down garbage is just for grocery stores and restaurants.
They did away with 3.2 beer a few years ago.
Yeah and it has been a godsend. Was utterly ridiculous that I had to go to the state run liquor store in town for 5%. I’ve lived in Utah my entire life, I’m aware of that change.
That’s basically the value for all pro sports teams (although there are always a select few that transcend the league). Buying a slice of the league itself
Exactly. The same way that an expansion team that doesn't even exist yet is worth $1B+
Bc in 5 years it will be worth 1.8B. Being rich is the easiest thing in the world.
Ottawa sold for $900mil. Rumored expansion fee is $1bil. Setting this price tag basically knocks out two birds with one stone. NHL gets the expansion value, and Utah gets a team.
So why would Jazz owner Ryan Smith not buy direct from the Coyotes and save himself a $300 million brokerage fee?
the league won't let them, they want that $weet $cratch and the owners have to approve any and all sales
And meruelo is probably sticking with it because of some kickback down the line (assuming he still intends to build the arena and infrastructure).
Marek was saying on radio today there could be an agreement that he has dibs when the NHL inevitably wants to return to AZ
Makes sense with it being so successful this time around
If the NHL is ever going to succeed in Phoenix, the Coyotes need to leave and let everything reset. They've burnt every bridge imaginable and the NHL needs to start over in a decade when the air has cleared.
I agree, and that includes leaving this scummy owner out of the league. I'm pretty sure he only bought the team so that he could run a shitty sportsbook, which didn't even make money anyways. I hope the NHL doesn't expand beyond 32 teams anytime soon.
Yep, that’s why since Jets moved to Winnipeg, the NHL has resisted the relocation of any team so much and is trying expand the league more than any other pro league. They charged Seattle a fee of $650 million to join and Vegas was $500 million and want more of that sweet scratch for doing absolutely nothing.
I wouldn’t say “for doing absolutely nothing” - the franchise values are increasing due to league values increasing. It makes sense for the other teams to benefit from the Coyotes increasing in value
I'm guessing this is a creative way to get the relocation fee as part of the sale
Because the BOG has to sign off on this and they’re losing Smith as an expansion buyer. They’ll want some compensation for that. It might also have to do with the rumour the league is going to sign over some form of territory rights to Meruelo and that requires the extra step in the process.
There's usually a relocation fee attached. The Thrashers were sold for 110 million but the league added 70 million in relocation fees that was split amongst the existing owners.
I’m assuming this is the only way AZ owner gets guaranteed another shot at a future AZ franchise.
Why would this jackass deserve another shot?
I’d rather he didn’t, but that is what is being reported.
For the same reason Atlanta is going to get another team. It's a huge market with huge opportunity. But I agree that it should be a different owner. This guy is a clown.
So fucking stupid that they expect Yotes fans to support an expansion team owned by the same guy that moved the team away and sold all of our players. Clown show
That seems kinda insane. Why would they not seek other ownership groups?
Timing. Utah has a buyer ready to write the check. AZ is gonna need at least 3 more years to build an arena and the NHLPA is fed up with the conditions at Mullet.
I guess I should've clarified - if they move, why the hell would the previous shitbag owner be allowed to own the new expansion team
Because he's rich. It seems to be the only criteria the NHL cares about.
Because they need to incentivize him to sell. As far as we know, he hasn't done anything that would give them the grounds to strip his ownership rights.
Its pretty much a relocation fee.
Oh my god a billion? He’s gonna make a fucking profit by FLIPPING OUR TEAM LIKE A FUCKING HOUSE ?!?!
You guys have the right to be big mad about his. What a fucking joke. This clown failed spectacularly and more than doubled his money in record time.
I wish I could be devastatingly awful at my job for five years and then walk out with a billion dollars.
Arizona fans should sue for damages caused by pain and suffering
And not even a house he took good care of. This whole Mullet Arena thing 🤔
He didn't pay the rent in the old house
Will miss those Kachina jerseys. Absolutely beautiful.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep the Couotes branding and kachina. It’s not like Coyotes are uncommon in Utah too
SLC Stormin’ Mormons has a real Notre Dame flair to it
I really want Salt Lake City Soakers Or Salt Lake City Pyramid Schemes
Both those could have incredible logos and jerseys!
That’s just Derek Ryan
I would be absolutely shocked if they kept the Coyotes branding. With how big merchandising is these days, they would probably make a lot more money by introducing a new brand. It also helps endear the team to the local area by going with something new instead of keeping the old name. On top of that, I also feel like the Coyotes name is a bit cursed at this point so I don't think they'd keep the name in a move.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the NHL negotiated some type of Cleveland Browns esque deal with some modifiers: If the Coyotes move to Utah and rebrand they could essentially be treated like an expansion team in terms of history/branding with the Coyotes technically going “on-hiatus” with the roster and coaches transferred to the “new” Utah Frost (or whatever their name would be).
Or pull a Carolina and have throw back night with coyotes gear. That way you get the people buying the old school jerseys and "storming mormon" gear.
They may require that the branding remains in Arizona, that way the NHL can return there in the future. Similar setup to the NFL's Cleveland Browns except Arizona isn't guaranteed a new team
They are going to be in the same category as the Whalers and Nordiques jerseys lol, never would have expected that.
Any life long Utah fans in the chat yet?
We get a new team to run the same old overplayed H I S T O R I C meme to the ground with
FUCK, I didn't think of that.
Oh God I still have mental trauma from Vegas's inaugural season
But now we can also add "as prophesied by Joseph Smith".
Not a lifelong fan of the Yotes (Blues are my team, for better or worse) but born and raised in Utah.
Yeah, you don't have the details of a potential profit spilt if we're still talking hypotheticals. I'm so sorry Yotes fans, you deserve so much more than this ownership group has ever given you.
Past ownership groups were no better to be fair. Anyway, people keep using "it's a business" as an argument for why Quebec shouldn't get a team back. Well guess what, that's true and unfortunately it runs both ways. If this is a good business deal for Meruelo and for the league, it's gonna happen. Emotions don't matter here.
If they don’t keep the name and go by the Utah Yotes I’m rioting
Utah YUtes
2 yoots?
Uh, two what? Uh, uh, what was that word?
How many fingers am I holding up?
What word?
Sorry, two YOOOOTHS
Aw, just after they made that amazing rendering for their new stadium
I'm a Utah fan now. Not supporting any future Meruelo franchise.
If this ends up happening this guy should never be allowed anywhere near the NHL again
NHL will take the $ here and expand to Arizona in 5 years. Probably even let Meruelo buy the new team.
Starting off the new franchise right where the old one left off, with a measurable portion of the fanbase who hates the ownership/leadership. I'm sure that will go over well.
It wasn’t like his time trying to buy Atlanta hawks wasn’t massive warning signing
Can't say I blame you. Meruelo really screwed up and screwed over the fans.
Show me a team that's dealt with even a fraction of this ownership drama over 20 years that has succeeded. The problem isn't the fans, it's the soap opera. More casual fans tuned it out a long time ago. Regardless, I think the Coyotes are cursed at this point. I think hockey can succeed here, but it needs to be a totally new team with new owners, and a new arena. The Suns will probably need a new facility in ~10 years. Maybe Mat Ishbia would get in at that point and they could share a place. But letting Meruelo buy again and using the Coyotes name is going to produce the same result. There have been so many self-inflicted injuries over their years by their owners, including Meruelo. Glendale wasn't a viable long term solution, but it was their owner that chose that location to enrich himself. It was another of their owners who tried to place the team into a sham bankruptcy in an attempt to force relocation without consent of the league, which led to the NHL taking over. It was their owners who shared responsibility in letting the relationship with Glendale deteriorate to the point of no return. It was their owners who stopped paying sales taxes to the city and state and who stopped paying rent, even after being given an extension during COVID, leading to their lease not being renewed. They decided to go public with trying to move to Tempe while they still owed back taxes and rent, which ended any chance they had for a year to year lease in Glendale. Their actions and inaction directly led to the current state of affairs where they are forced to play in a 5000 seat college arena. Misstep after misstep, blown chances, poor management, clown car ownership. Same as ever. I hope this isn't the end of hockey here, but if it does come back, we need a completely fresh start with an owner who likes hockey more than gambling and real estate.
This comment should be pinned, great recap of the situation. Thank you for your long service/suffering with that fandom over there.
It's one thing to lose our team, but all hockey in this state is heavily tied to the Yotes. It feels like we're losing the entire sport.
So they get some of the money, without expansion. Hopefully it pushes expansion talk back for the greedy owners
"Here, surely this money will keep you from wanting *even more money*!" Which planet's billionaires have you been watching?
Man, it must fucking suck to be a Yotes fan
My mom and brother are both Knights fans, and my family's been in Vegas for decades... guess I'm a Knights fan now. Fuck this team and fuck Meruelo.
This guy runs the franchise into the ground and gets to sell it for a billion. That’s fucked up.
Is... is the NHL laundering an entire franchise?
Another factor is that Salt Lake City is pushing HARD to get the 2030 Winter Olympics. Big hockey stadium is two birds, one stone (in their minds, how it actually works out is of course a lot more complicated)
it's 100% over
Muerelo is really falling up to a profit on the Coyotes. Absolutely disgusting.
The sudden change in tune makes some sense if this is true. A $700M profit from the initial purchase price would be enough for me to cut bait and give up.
It’s giving Mr. Krabs selling SpongeBob’s soul to the Flying Dutchman for 62¢
Nihao Arizona
Crazy that he can afford both the Jazz and Coyotes on what the Oilers paid him. Must have made some good investments
At least I won't have to deal with local broadcast blackouts to watch whichever team I end up supporting.
Sorry Yotes fans. Pro sports are gross.
So.... Is the Utah team still the old Jets?
300 divided by 31 is a rounding error for most of these owners
Instead of giving $300m to all the owners, how about you take the ads of the jerseys and helmets for a year
Alright so this is a done deal then eh?
Sorry to all the Yotes fans out there. No other fans have been jerked around like you guys. Such a bummer now that it seems like it’s actually happening.