The KC Business Journal is reporting that Kansas City is again a part of potential talks surrounding an NHL franchise coming to town.
It's still a bit of a long-shot at this point, but there's a bit of a chance.
The Phoenix Coyotes is a team currently being run by the National Hockey League -- who took over the franchisse when it went bankrupt during the 2008-2009 season. The NHL has no desire to continue to own the team and is seeking to find a new owner by the end of June.
Ice Edge Holdings is one company mentioned in the negotions and Jerry Reinsdorf -- owner of the Chicago Bulls and the White Sox. Ice Edge holdings is a group that was formed with the intent of buying the Coyotes and keeping them in the Phoenix area - -however, has admitted that it would play some games in different areas of Canada in order to boost revenue (a couple of the owners of Ice Edge Holdings have ties to Canada).
However, also mentioned in the mix is Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) is a part of the NHL's backup plan. AEG runs the Sprint Center -- and would have a vested interest in actually filling the arena with an anchor tenent which they said they would try to do when the funding for the Sprint Center was approved.
Meanwhile, the city of Phoenix -- and specifically the arena in Glendale - is a horrible fit for the NHL. The warm climate, lack of overall interest in Hockey, and a suburban Hockey arena far from the majority of the population base of the city makes all of it an odd fit -- and difficult for people to get to weekday games in crazy Phoenix traffic. Because of this, the Coyotes have the lowest attendance of all the NHL teams at only 11,725 fans per game -- for a team that is currently 47-25. Nothing like not supporting a winner. This marks the three years in a row that the team has been in the bottom 3 of overall league attendence.
Meanwhile, Winnipeg has also been mentioned as a possible site for relocation -- as the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoneix in 1996 to become the Coyotes and has never drawn a profit there.
Now, it's still unlikely that a Coyote's move to KC is likely -- but it seems probable that they could move from Arizona. And it would be great for AEG to step up to the plate and deliver on an anchor tennent for the glossy new Sprint Center.
I'm inclined not to get my hopes up. It was clear early in the Sprint Center's life that teams were using the threat of moving to KC to extort new facilities out of other cities. We should play hard to get. Frivolous offers might drop off then Anschutz and KC could focus their efforts on serious offers.
Posted by: Midtown Skeptic | April 02, 2010 at 10:49 AM
Skeptic,
I agree with your skepticism. I never believed the Penguins were moving here when that came up last year. We were clearly being used. The Coyotes are different though -- this is a team that is ripe for relocation -- as they are currently dead last in attendence and have been in the bottom 3 for three years running (in spite of the team being very successful). Their current stadium location is not condusive to success in a market that, in spite of being large, is older and hispanic (neither of which is Hockey's core audience). They do need to move. I don't think this deal will probably happen, but this is exatly the type of offer we should be pursuing.
Posted by: Brent | April 02, 2010 at 11:47 AM
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Do you think so?
Posted by: Air Jordan | January 25, 2011 at 09:46 PM