The Coyotes Are Trying To Move In To Arizona State's Rink That Only Holds 5000 Fans
Per sources, the Coyotes are negotiating on a three-year deal with an option for a fourth year if construction of the permanent arena takes longer than hoped. ASU’s new arena will only seat 5,000 spectators so the venue is significantly smaller than other NHL arenas, or even Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which currently seats about 10,000 because some of its risers have been decommissioned and removed.
I can just picture the real estate agent walking the Coyotes through the Sun Devils stadium calling it things like "charming" and "cozy" and "intimate". Selling them on the low maintenance and low taxes as they downsize.
FIVE THOUSAND!!! I mean what the fuck is the NHL even doing at this point. If this is the best option the Coyotes owners can come up with for FOUR YEARS then maybe they shouldn't be owners. Enough is enough. A handful of owners, a few bankruptcies, multiple arenas, virtually zero on ice success, and after alllllll of that the NHL is still so committed to Arizona that Bill Daly is apparently cool with an NHL franchise moving into rink that might not even have the capacity to host a high school graduation. I mean let's just have the Blackhawks play in Fox Valley Ice Arena. Unbelievable. The sad thing is that they still won't sell out. They'll talk about 80% capacity in a 5000 seat rink as a success.
Just put the team in Houston or literally anywhere in Canada. Guarantee you could get more than 5000 fans if you put a rink in the Yukon Territories. The fact that Bettman will DO ANYTHING to keep the Yotes in the desert while ignoring markets like Houston, KC, and Quebec is beyond me. Arizona is a drag on the league. If you're revenue driven, which you should be if you're the commissioner, then you need to step in and stop rescuing them.