I Thought You Quit.... Phoenix Coyotes Links

Yeah so by know you all probably know about the Phoenix Coyotes situation with Jim Basillie. Well if you are looking for more in depth reading, Here are some quality links:

- A solid summary by James Mirtle (From The Rink).

- The NHL is apparently really pissed off about this and this will all be heading to court (Mirtle - From The Rink). A couple of things about this...

I received the email he mentioned to by their marketing team, which kind of shocked me that I was considered a "popular hockey blogger." Still, that only shows that I can't do this daily because I was so far behind on the news that by time I read my email the news was a day old.

But more importantly is the power battle that is going on between the NHL and Basillie. Basillie has a little bit of leverage here because he has offered to pay certain debts (already), and has essentially put in the hands down best offer for the club with a clause that they have to move to Southern Ontario. BUT... the NHL has the legal rights to the club when Jerry Moyes basically gave up a couple of months ago. And there is no chance the courts will turn against that. This should be fun to watch...

- A Coyotes Call to Arms at Five For Howling.

- A small timeline of all that's gone on with the Coyotes since January (Puck Report)

- The official news release that I received (Canadian Press). Still can't believe they sent it to me.

So that's that. I'm considering a comeback now (it always seems to work this way, doesn't it?) for something small, but I would have to figure out how much time I could dedicate. You'll know by Sunday.

Coyotes Living Off NHL Funds

The Phoenix Coyotes are now living under the NHL's financial roof (AZ Central):

The day after the team agreed to loan terms Feb. 24 with the NHL, it paid Glendale nearly $351,000 in overdue arena rent payments that dated to late summer 2008. The money also likely was used to meet player payroll.

The loan, for an unknown amount, gives the NHL more control over the future of the Coyotes - including the possible relocation of the team. The Coyotes have never made money since owner Jerry Moyes became an investor in 2001, and annual financial losses have exceeded $20 million during his tenure.

Good and bad. Bad obviously because the league and other successful franchises are supporting the Coyotes in this horrid economy. Good because now this gives the NHL leverage to find a new owner or (preferably) move the Yotes out of Arizona.

To get money from the league, the team pledged all of its assets, including its management agreement of Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, as collateral, according to financial records filed with Maricopa County Recorder's Office. Glendale officials had no comment.

The league's investment ultimately could give the NHL leverage to move the team, according to one sports business expert.

And exactly how deep were the Coyotes in before this loan?

Public records do not indicate how much money the NHL loaned the Coyotes. The team already had borrowed at least $57.5 million since December 2003 from affiliates of MSD Capital, records show.

My emotions as I write this consist of rolling my eyes and just having my face in my palms. The NHL needs to figure this out in the long term ASAP, and I don't think keeping the Coyotes in Phoenix is a viable option.

- Enjoy another Hockey Falls commercial, where analysts go to get ideas apparently:

The Monday Memo

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.

- A summary of the Game 1 Local TV Ratings (Puck The Media). NYC ratings surprisingly low.

- The Blue Jackets are still operating at a loss (Business First of Columbus):

"Q: Will making the playoffs make the team profitable this season?

A: We’ll clearly operate at a loss. I’m not in a position to get into the details, but there are a number of factors that go into it. A franchise such as ours, we have to be above average in ticket sales and above average in our corporate support compared to larger markets because we don’t benefit from the media (revenue)."

- The NHL's credit is going up to just under $200 million in an effort to help the Coyotes (Globe and Mail). It is anticipated the club will lose around $35 million this season. The credit crisis is likely to get worse, and the league is taking more of it? Ugh...

- The Subway Ad's on the Madison Square Garden glass will be back for Game 3 and 4 starting tonight (Sports Business Journal). They may be back for all of next season too.

Some Ranger fans are really upset about this. I can deal with it, because I watch for the hockey. But many make a good point that it might be a slippery slope to over-advertisement.

- Finally, an amazing Versus NHL Playoff promo:



A little NYR inspiration. Also, that is a hook Scotty.

The Friday Memo

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey

Slow day today, and with my first free weekend in a while, I'm not sure how much I'll be around until Sunday.

- One thing I do plan on doing is catching the NCAA College Hockey Tourney on the various ESPN networks. If I was home I would be able catch em all, but ESPN 2 will do for today and tomorrow.

- An updated look at the NHL and Olympic situation (Globe and Mail):

"But Bettman said: “It's not so easy to simply say ‘Let's go to the Olympics'. We shut down our season for two weeks to 17 days and there is a momentum to our season that is lost...it all comes to a screeching halt and we go off to the Olympics.

“No other league stops to go do this. In fact, baseball doesn't do it and it's no longer an Olympic sport. This is hard, it's not always a good experience and the benefits we've sometimes seen were not always worth what we've had to sacrifice."

Personally, I am more for a soccer-style setup where only 4-5 (its actually 3 in soccer) senior-team (top leagues) professionals can play for their country, while the rest are prospects. But we will save that debate for the long days of the off-season.

- Commissioner Bettman re-states that the Coyotes will be staying in Phoenix (ESPN):

"Our goal is to bring in new capital and make this franchise solvent," Bettman said Thursday night while attending the Coyotes game against the Edmonton Oilers. "That's our direction, and at this point moving the franchise elsewhere is not on the table."

The Coyotes have reportedly lost $200 million since current owner Jerry Moyes brought the team in 2001, and are projected to lose another $30 million this season."

- Finally, the NHL takes men and makes them "real men:"

The Wednesday Memo

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.

- Smirnoff Vodka drinkers can catch the Coyotes host the Blues on April 7th due to the latest Coyotes ticket promotion. (Coyotes.com)

- Wayne Gretzky admits the Coyotes financial troubles did creep into the locker room this season (Versus.com):

“We tried to keep it out of our locker room as much as we could,” he told Versus.com. “Going into the All-Star break, it was pretty exciting and there was a real strong buzz. Not to make any excuse, but it sort of seeped into the locker room. Some of the guys we traded, players looked at it, like, ‘What’s going to happen here? Are we going to be here?’ It creeps into the locker room.

- A review of the environmental issues facing the Lighthouse Project on Long Island (Let There Be Light(house)).

- The Detroit Red Wings have a big decision this off-season; to stay in Joe Louis Arena or to build a new one? (Freep.com)

- James Mirtle does what I should have done and creates a nice chart to keep tabs on Ticket Prices (From The Rink). I will be doing this over the off-season as well probably.

- Finally, Dan Cloutier makes his best glove save ever in this old Nike Commercial:



More later.

Update, 2:30 PM EST:

- If the playoffs started today, TV/Media Edition (Puck The Media)

The Tuesday Memo

News and Notes around the Business World of Hockey...

- Players are expected to forefit around 13% of their salaries (through escrow funds) in order to cover revenue shortfalls this season (Globe and Mail). However, because of the raise from 13.5% to 22.5% for the second half of the season, the players will recieve money back plus interest over the off-season:

"If the union and league projections prove to be correct, the players will keep just 87 per cent of this year's salaries. That would be after they receive a refund of about 5 per cent of their salaries plus interest, Kelly said in an e-mail message."

My question would be, how short are we talking here, and which teams are in the most trouble? I was really expecting the league to stay flat in terms of Hockey Related Revenue this season, but with so much money being taken out of the escrow funds, it doesn't look so anymore.

- Tonight at Jobing.com arena the Coyotes take on the Canucks at 7 PM PST, and it is 1980's night. Paul Kukla thinks the Coyotes should have Gretzky play to make it more realistic (KK Hockey).

- A fanpost at James Mirtle's From The Rink dives into European Attendance figures, which are "up" this season:

"In a press release last week, IIHF president René Fasel trumpeted a "substantial increase" in attendance at European club hockey games. What Fasel didn't say and a closer look at the attendance figures reveals is that attendance actually declined for 37 of the 64 teams for which year over year comparisons are possible.

...

A fairer statement about European hockey attendance would go something like this:Attendance at European club hockey has plateaued at slightly over 70% of arena capacity and is at risk of trending downward."

Oh, and hockey is more popular in North America than Europe:

"The NHL reports attendance of about 21 million for 1230 games involving 30 teams in metro areas with a population of about 117 million. The six major European leagues report combined attendance of about 13.7 million for 2512 games involving 92 teams in metro areas with an estimated population of about 96 million.

And for those who like really big numbers, try this: North American hockey attendance at 11 leagues (including the three major junior leagues) with 201 teams is approximately 44 million per year. European (including Russia and Great Britain) attendance for the 301 teams listed at Hockeyarenas.net is about 18 million."

- Finally, the NHL was once the "coolest game on earth" with coy ads such as this one:



More later.

The Saturday Memo

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey...

One big story to report today...

- The Coyotes have apparently paid their bills (Arizona Republic).

"The team suspended its payments on Jobing.com Arena last August due to contract negotiations, Coyotes and city officials said last week. Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes is in talks with investors about taking a majority stake in the NHL team...

The Coyotes pay the city a $42,708 arena lease fee each month, plus a percentage of parking fees, sales tax, security costs and repairs. In return, the city took on $180 million in debt to build the arena five years ago."

Good news. Like I've said recently, the situation seems to be calming down and will probably stay quiet through playoffs. But after playoffs the Phoenix situation will be open season for the especially interested Canadian media.

- The cup changed everything last year for the NHL, as that was there promo slogan for the 2008 playoffs. Below is one of the ads which focuses the feeling behind each shift in a game:



With the season coming to a close in about a month, I'm sure the NHL has something lined up so be on the lookout.

Hopefully more later.

The Tuesday Memo

News and Notes from around the Business World of Hockey.

Somewhat of a slow day today, Playing Below Capacity will be coming up soon.

- An update/collection of all the ticket pricing news from the NHL and NBA (Sports Business Journal). They made this handy-dandy chart:



- An opinion piece where Shane Morin-Farraway wants four teams to be contracted from the NHL (Bleacher Report).

"Which leaves us with four possible candidates for retraction: Atlanta, Florida, Nashville, and Phoenix.

Although it could be argued that these teams have a chance to succeed in their respective markets, tradition dictates otherwise. The NHL, when all has been said and done, have failed in their Southern ventures."

Personally, four is too many. That robs the NHL of perfectly good revenue. If I had my way, Atlanta and Phoenix would be gone, and Florida would be moved. But lets save those rants for the long summer days of the off season.

- Another opinion piece by Sean Paddison where he is looking for coaches and managers of the future (Bleacher Report). One part I liked:

"Modern technology and research techniques allow coaches to develop solutions to help them beat previously-unbeatable teams. The Penguins record this year is a strong example of what happens when coaches have enough time to learn how to beat other teams."

Very true.

- Finally, a classic Nike Hockey promo:



This could be updated later so check back.

- Update, 12:30 PM EST:

The Mayor of Nashville is asking Gary Bettman to hold the 2015 All-Star game in Nashville (Tennessean):

"(Mayor Karl) Dean used the proposed new downtown convention center to make his pitch when Bettman visited on Feb. 19, said David Freeman, who leads the group of investors who bought the Predators in 2007. Previous inquiries about hosting the All-Star Game have fallen flat because the city doesn't have enough convention space or hotel rooms to accommodate the fans, media and others who would be here for the game and related activities, Freeman said."

Hey, I think they deserve it. Why not.

- Update, 2:05 PM EST:

The Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild, might get a big boost in value soon as $33 million of loans might be wiped clean in an effort by the city of St. Paul to line up funding for another ice rink to be built across from the Arena (Star Tribune).

"The idea is to provide a place for the Minnesota Wild to practice, to host amateur ice hockey and figure skating events, to handle overflow from Xcel Center events and to give downtown visitors another reason to hang out and spend time and money."

NHL v. NBA Attendance Update; More Coyotes News

Seeing that a report recently caused some traffic to one of my NHL v. NBA attendance charts, I figured I would update it tonight. The previous chart showed that the NHL was outdrawing the NBA in terms of capacity attendance in five out of the ten markets the NHL and NBA directly (meaning they share the same building) share. This is still as of today, but in Denver the Nuggets of the NBA have recently taken an edge on the Avalanche; as they were previously virtually tied in capacity. Take a look:



As for the Los Angeles situation, I call it a moot point. The Lakers are obviously more popular than the Kings, but the Kings are at least even with or more popular than the Clippers. When I get some time this weekend, I'm going to take a look at comparing these teams averages, as NBA teams typically have more seats to fill in an arena due to the fact that an ice hockey rink is larger than a basketball court.

In other news; Glendale, Arizona is going to be giving the Phoenix Coyotes a break in the form of $15 million a year towards the new lease deal in order to keep the financially struggling club in town (Sportsnet.ca). Along with this, the report states that the Coyotes have received one formal offer to buy the club, and they hope to have a new owner by the 2009 Draft in Montreal:

"Sources also say principle owner Jerry Moyes has had three separate out of state groups show interest with one already making a formal offer. A league source tells Sportsnet they hope to have a new ownership group finalized by the 2009 NHL entry draft in Montreal."

After weeks and weeks of bad news after more bad news for the Coyotes, there is a glimmer of hope in the Desert.

- Update: 8:45 PM EST

According to Red Wings GM Ken Holland, tickets for the Blues and Wings in Stockholhm, Sweden for the NHL 2009 Premier sold out in less than an hour today (Freep)

Well, that was quick.

That's all for tonight, more tomorrow.

Tuesday News and Notes

Playing Below Capacity: Florida Panthers, will be coming up soon...

- The City of Glendale, AZ has been quietly bailing out the Coyotes for the past several months.

"A record of lease payments by the Coyotes shows the city has been letting the team play virtually rent-free at Jobing.com Arena for seven months. Based on past payments, the break could be worth up to $4 million over the course of a year...

The Coyotes have not delivered the lease revenue. For example, the lease requires the team to pay an arena parking fee to Glendale of $2.85 per ticket sold. That parking fee makes up almost half of the team's $16.8 million in lease payments since 2003 -- $7.75 million to date. But that's $10 million short of the $17.8 million in parking fee revenue the Coyotes were projected to deliver."

What can I say? Something has to be done about Phoenix this off-season.

- Calgary billionaire Brett Wilson is to buy a share of the Nashville Predators.

"We shook hands on the deal -- we just haven't got it papered," Wilson told the Sun yesterday, cautiously optimistic the lengthy approval process is a mere formality..."

No word on how much of a share Wilson would have yet.

- On-Ice Ranger news: the Sean Avery situation should be sorted out in a week, according to Glen Sather.

Sather said he hopes to have Avery's status sorted out within a week. Tortorella has said publicly he is not an Avery fan but Sather said the coach "can learn to love him like I did."

Yesssssssssssssssssssss.

Check back around lunch.

Busy Day - Coyotes Update

Sorry about not posting all day, I had a busy day starting in the morning and has really turned sour with some family-related news. Not much to report anyways besides Nashville-relocation rumours that started out of nowhere just because Gary Bettman visited Tennessee and hosted his XM radio show, NHL Hour. (TSN, NHL.com).

Work calls at 3:30, so maybe something later tonight, but otherwise enjoy your Friday evening.

- Update: 10:30 PM EST

Want to buy the Coyotes and move them out of Phoenix? I hope you have at least a Billion dollars...

Mike Sunnucks of the Phoenix Business Journal shed a little more light on the offers to buy the Phoenix Coyotes, claiming there are at least five serious investment group.

In addition to this, most of you know that there is almost no possible way the Coyotes can move out of Phoneix because of its ridiculous lease with the city of Glendale, Arizona and Jobing.com Arena:

Those sources, who asked not to be identified, said the team would have to pay a $750 million penalty if it broke its 30-year lease with the city of Glendale. That factor lessens the possibility of the hockey team leaving the Phoenix market.

Looks like for the time being the Coyotes will remain the Coyotes.

Thursday News & Notes

- Rangers/Flyers from last Sunday draws a 0.9 rating. Still up 13% from last seasons matchup of Stars/Red Wings at 0.8 (Puck The Media).

- Let's start the Coyotes fun! After Dredger's original TSN report, Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes did confirm that they have received interest from investors. Yes, there is an s on the end of investors (azcentral.com).

- In response to this news, David Shoalts writes an article which, oh how do you say, doubts the situation? (Globe and Mail).

"Who would make an offer on that team?" one source said, referring to the total losses of the Coyotes, said to be as much as $250-million since Moyes took control of them in 2001.

- In response to Shoalts, Odin Mercer writes on how he thinks Shoalts wove his article just to bring out more negativity around the Coyotes. I'm still laughing at the picture at this top of this article. (Five for Howling)

- Rangers @ Bruins is on tap for NBC's Game of the Week next Sunday, March 8th (Puck The Media). This Sunday it is Pittsburgh @ Washington (Capitals.com). I am so far two for two with my Game of the Week predictions.

- Update: 1:35 PM EST

Gary Bettman will host his show NHL Hour today from Nashville.

Members of the Nashville Predators organization scheduled to guest on today's show include Chairman David Freeman, President of Hockey Operations and General Manager David Poile and Head Coach Barry Trotz.

Click here if you want to listen to it at 4 PM EST. Once the NHL Network Online window loads, click on the "NHL Radio" tab and click the first "NHL Hour" tab on the right at the top of the list, and it should load.

I already sent in a question regarding some financial issues, so lets hope we hear some good stuff.

- Seeing that Alex Ovechkin might have had the goal of the year last night, I will leave you with one of his first commercials stateside from back in (I think, not 100% sure) 2007:

New ESPN "NHL" Commericials

Seeing as the "worldwide leader in sports" doesn't promote hockey, the fact that they use their usually funny "This is Sportscenter" with hockey-themed objects (in this case, mascots) is somewhat of a shock. Below are two "new" ads, I say "new" because I'm not exactly sure when they debuted, but I've seen ad each once in the past two days. There pretty funny as well:





I like the second one better.

No updates that I know of in terms of last nights "offer" to buy the Coyotes as reported by TSN's Darren Dredger. If anything comes my way it will be up ASAP.

More later.

Will the MLS pass the NHL and NBA in Average Attendance?

The Sedin twins kickin' it.

Messing around on the 'net today, I found an article from October of '08 stating that in 2009 the MLS will pass the NHL and NBA in average attendance per game. Naturally, this got my wheels turning, as this is very much a possibility.

Below is the chart that the blog Synthetic Turf provides for their argument:

I thought this might be possible with the relatively old news that Major League Soccer's new franchise this season, Seattle Sounders FC, have sold over 18,000 season tickets for this upcoming season of MLS, and expect to average around 20,000 a game. In 2008, the MLS averaged 16,459 spectators per game; down just about 2% from 2007. By looking at the chart above, Synthetic turf is projecting an average attendance below/around 17,500 per game for the MLS over the summer of 2009. Now I'm not sure what number he used for the new Seattle franchise to come up with a the projected number for MLS in 2009, but using the season-ticket sales number (18,000) for Seattle FC, I came up with the following three projections:

1. MLS '09 (down another 2%) - 16,885
2. MLS '09 (flat difference) - 17,229
3. MLS '09 (up 2%) - 17,574

Remember, that includes the additional 18,000 (which may be bigger) per game that Seattle Sounders FC will account for. Now MLS teams have either 19 or 20 home games depending on their schedule, or roughly half the home games NHL and NBA teams have. Seeing as I don't follow the NBA with enough detail, I won't compare them to the MLS; but I can speak for the NHL.

With all NHL teams having played past the statistical "halfway point" of 20 home games each, I will use this average. According to my excel graph, the NHL average for the first 20 home games, or 300 games this season, was 17,242 per game. Compared to my 2009 projected MLS numbers, only a raise in attendance (1-2%) for the MLS will put them over the NHL average attendance mark. But, this neglects the second half attendance boost the NHL receives, which as of tonight before the games were played was up from 17,242 by a little over 1.5%, or 17,512.

Could the MLS pass the NBA and NHL in average attendance per game? Absolutely. Is it fair to compare these numbers? Absolutely not. The amount of teams (30 for NBA and NHL; 15 for the MLS) along with the number of games (82 each for NBA and NHL; 30 league games each for MLS) make the attendance comparison unfair. If the MLS ever gets near the total fans for each sport (According to my spreadsheet, just under 10.4 million fans went to NHL games in the first "half"), then maybe we will talk.

- Update: 11:35 PM EST

According to TSN's Darren Dredger, an offer has been made to buy the Phoenix Coyotes. Someone must have been drinking somewhere...

More on this tomorrow (hopefully).

Gretzky on HNIC and Thrashers Ownership Troubles Resurface

First of all, the Rangers suck. Tom Renney is eventually going to take the fall for Glen Sather's awful GM decisions, and its a shame. He has overachieved with this club and brought the club back to life the past couple of seasons. End the Sather era in New York.

Anyways...

Wayne Gretzky spoke with HNIC's Inside Hockey last night. They started with the state of the Coyotes and eventually led to his future plans. Take a look (business related stuff up to the 4 min. mark and after the 6 min):



Gretzky is confident the team will still be in Phoenix next season. The biggest news maker came out after the 6 minute mark, where Gretzky said that if the team did move, he wouldn't be going with it as coach. Finally, he acknowledges the fact that a team or teams would most likely be successful in Southern Ontario. Nothing too shocking.

In other Gretzky news, the Globe and Mail reported Saturday morning that he was getting paid close to 8 million dollars to coach the Coyotes. Gretzky dismissed this Saturday night before the game, saying:

"The reality is my partnership with Mr. (Coyotes owner Jerry) Moyes is pretty unique. My partnership goes along the lines of coaching and corporate work for the hockey club -- part of the salary goes into ownership."

Well OK then.

The Thrashers ownership battles are back in the news as they go back into courts as well. James Mirtle and The Falconer had their takes over the weekend. For a little history on this, Puck Money reader Jennifer sent me two great articles back in late January. Supposedly, a man named David McDavid (heh) won the original lawsuit to make him the rightful owner, but that didn't happen. Finally, a little more history as here is the original story of the Atlanta owners attempting to buy each other out.

To sum it up, the Thrashers, Hawks, and Phillips Arena are essentially a package deal. Because of this mess and their individual performances in their respective leagues, they are easily worth more than they are to purchase. I will either touch on this more later tonight or further on in the week, or when it comes the Thrashers turn for my Playing Below Capacity Series.

Either way, more later.

Update, 6:15 PM:

I don't know how I missed this, but the Kings join the bandwagon in freezing season ticket prices for next season.

A summary of ticket price announcements (for next season) thus far:

- Wild freeze prices
- Oilers will slightly increase
- Bruins will slightly increase

More later.

Coyotes/Thrashers Go All Out With Discounts

Mirtle found the following image yesterday, showing how the Thrashers are discounting ticket prices along with stringing a deal for next season:


A great deal, for sure, but I don't think it will work very successfully. Why? Well because there in Atlanta, for starts. Atlanta is just above the 14,000 threshold for revenue sharing, but is under 80% in capacity (team has to have one or the other to qualify).

The Coyotes are cutting ticket prices as well - up to 40% off. This ploy has a greater chance of working than the Thrashers one, only because it isn't such a lump sum of money.

As for this tactic of cutting ticket prices, I don't mind it; but only to an extent. I think what the Thrashers thought up was innovative and a really good deal, while at the same time they will make a good chunk of money. On the other hand, cutting your tickets by up to 40% like the Coyotes, I do not support. Enough tickets are given away down there, and I doubt 40% off a $30, 300-level ticket is going to provide the "infusion of capital" into the Coyotes books to really help them.

Long day of travel, hopefully more later.

Report: Bettman 0 for 3 for Phoenix

Gary Bettman is 0 for 3 according to the Globe and Mail in attempts to lure owners to buy the struggling Phoenix Coyotes franchise.

The sources say the NHL commissioner was turned down by Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, by Phoenix Suns majority owner Robert Sarver and by Ken Kendrick, the managing general partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, on separate occasions. All three were said to have backed out after looking at the books of the Coyotes, who are expected to lose as much as $45-million (all currency U.S.) this season.

Yikes. Obviously, this just adds fuel to the fire down in the desert and may stir the interest of the NHL Board of Governors, who have obviously been keeping a close eye on the situation.

We will see what kind of response this news gets tomorrow.

Good night.

Playing Below Capacity: Phoenix Coyotes

Welcome to the fourth edition of my little series here at Puck Money called Playing Below Capacity. Playing Below Capacity is where I take a look at teams that are playing in front of crowds of less than 85% at home (as of December) to see what they are doing right and wrong to try to get people in the seats. The first edition was the Devils, followed by the Kings, and most recently topped by the Predators (featured on Yahoo's Puck Daddy!). Today, its off to the desert of Glendale, Arizona; where the Coyotes are obviously in a boatload of financial concerns as of late. I will do my best to steer clear of those and focus on the attendance issues at hand. Phoenix is 25th in attendance ranked by capacity, with a rating of 84.6% through 24 home games. Let's begin.*

*Warning: Please remember that I'm a young college kid who thinks he knows what he's talking about. Any "problems" that I suggest the Coyotes have are my opinion and are most likely not that accurate. Also, any information I used can easily be found on the Internet as I am a typical lazy college kid. With that said, enjoy.

Here are the ideas I came up with that could be problems with getting people to go to Coyotes game on a regular basis...

• Arena Location/Age
• High Ticket Prices/Poor Promotional Events
• Metro Population
• On Ice Product
• Location/History of Franchise
• Other
  

Before we get going, some facts of the Phoenix Coyotes (wikipedia):

• The "Coytoes" moved to Phoenix in 1996 after being known as the Winnipeg Jets since 1972. The Jets were apart of the WHA from '72-'79 and then merged into the NHL.
• The Coyotes have made the playoffs five times in their 11 seasons in the desert. All five playoff appearances came in their first six seasons, their last in 2001-2002.
• They originally played a the US Airways Center in Phoenix for seven years until 2003. The team then moved to Glendale to the new Jobing.com Arena.
• The Capacity for Ice Hockey at Jobing.com Arena is 17,799.

And so we move on...

- Arena Location/Age

With Jobing.com being only six years old this season, I'm sure the quality of the arena isn't keeping fans away in the desert. What has been debated though is the location of the Arena, in neighboring Glendale, about 20-30 minutes away from Phoenix. Here is a screenshot via Google Maps (click to enlarge):


Jobing.com Arena is noted by the arrow labeled "B" in the picture. I asked Google for directions from Phoenix to the Arena and the blue line is what popped up, a 23 minute ride by car.

The Arena is on the outskirts of town, but Phoenix is surrounded by residential areas full of possible 'Yotes fans. Take another look at the picture. Downtown Phoenix isn't anything to imposing. Phoenix is basically set up like a giant retirement community. The roads are straight and the blocks are perfectly square, and like I said, residential areas all around. One thing I think that could make a difference is not playing in downtown Phoenix at the US Airways Arena, where the Suns of the NBA play and have always had better attendance.

To an outsider, it may seem like an issue. Some Coyotes fans in the link I provided above about the Coyotes home being debated about seem to think its really a non-issue. Take a look at this picture now (click to enlarge):


Many fans point out that the Jobing.com Arena sits right next door to the University of Phoenix Stadium; where the Cardinals have sold out every game and many college basketball games do well. This is a fair argument, but I still think that if the Coyotes were playing in downtown Phoenix, they might get a slight attendance boost.

I also wanted to mention the parking aspect at Jobing.com Arena. According to thesportsroadtrip.com, parking at the Arena is free, the only team in the major four to do so. There have been rumors that the Coyotes might start charging for the space, but none that I can link to.

- High Ticket Prices/Poor Promotional Events

The Coyotes made famous the "All you can eat" tickets, in an effort to draw a nice crowd on New Years Eve, 2008. It worked, somewhat. They saw their second highest crowd since opening night, with 16,199 packing into Jobing.com Arena to watch some hockey and eat their hearts out. As for ticket prices, the Coyotes don't (and really can't afford to) kill you. In 2008-2009, the Coyotes rank 28th in the Fan Cost Index at Teammarketing.com. The Fan Costs Index:

comprises the prices of four (4) average-price tickets, two (2) small draft beers, four (4) small soft drinks, four (4) regular-size hot dogs, parking for one (1) car, two (2) game programs and two (2) least-expensive, adult-size adjustable caps.

This years FCI for Phoenix is only one of four teams to decrease from last season. Their FCI is at $221.80, which is about $65 below the NHL Average. Their average ticket comes in at $37.45, about $12 below the NHL Average. Finally, which was a shock to me, their average premium ticket price is $129.23, about $15 above the NHL Average. Along with the low ticket prices, the Coyotes do some nice giveaways (mostly in the first half of the season), plus some great discounted prices (Only $20 for a lower-level ticket for students and military, wow).

Do I really think the ticket prices and offers are keeping fans away? No. The fact of the matter is, anyone that really wants to go to a sports event, especially hockey fans, will find the money to do so. But hey, at least the Coyotes haven't been accused of buying their own tickets like the Predators, yet.

- Metro Population

The cities of Glendale and Phoenix combine to have a population around 1.7 million people, with almost 50% of the population in Phoenix being non-Hispanic white, the NHLs main demographic. Glendale is ranked 28th by Statshockey.net in city population size in the NHL, but the Phoenix Metro Area comes in with just over 4 million people.

4 Million ranks Phoenix about average in the NHL in terms of Metro population. And as I showed you with the demographics clip, there is plenty of possible hockey fans. So the people are there, that's fore sure.

- On Ice Product

Everyone loves a winner. Take a look at this chart and graph below (click to enlarge):


As you can see, the real Attendance boost came in '03-'04, when the team had post two consecutive solid seasons and got their reputations up. Now that the Coyotes have an achieving young core poised to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002, the 'Yotes may really help their bottom line come this spring.

I think the On-Ice product is an issue. It is not THE issue for the Coyotes, but it definitely doesn't hurt to have a winner in what I like to call a "Bettman" market. I'll touch on that more later. If the Coyotes stick around in Phoenix, the crowds will be dazzled by Turris, Mueller, and Tikhonov for years to come. Throw in some solid goaltending by Ilya Bryzgalov and some pest-work by Daniel Carcillo and you being to see why the Coyotes are currently sitting in 5th place.

The Coyotes need to finish this season off strong on the ice to take some pressure surrounding the team and its ownership off the ice.

- Location/History of Franchise

It's the (favorite fun word here) desert. The Coyotes are in Phoenix because back in the late 90's player salaries got out of control and the small but constantly sold-out MTS Centre in Winnipeg couldn't support the Jets. Now, the fifth largest city in the United States, with a perfectly good arena and hockey club (this season at least), cannot support the Coyotes. Hockey is really only prevalent in Arizona because of the Coyotes and because of any retired folk there. I'm sure the Coyotes have grown the game a bit, but from my experience with USA Hockey (reading the monthly magazines, playing), you don't hear a lot about quality youth hockey being played in Arizona. What I will give the state is that they have the same amount of rinks of Tennessee and Georgia, combined (click to enlarge):


Off-note: 920 rinks in Ontario. Enough said.

- Other

I added this Other section because I have to share these photos when were talking about Attendance issues and the Coyotes. Plus I wanted to touch upon their meaning:


I took a look at who I think is "telling the truth" when it comes to reporting attendances back in December. The Coyotes fell into my "liars" list, naturally. Above is the Coyotes November 1st tilt against the Minnesota Wild. The reported attendance was 14,817. Now I have mentioned before on this site that it is really the clubs decision whether to announce the true attendance or the paid attendance. Some clubs, like the Coyotes, have to announce the paid; otherwise the team would be halfway to Ontario to play in one of its 920 rinks.

The above is truly a sad sight, but it is the results of a Bettman market. Phoenix is a great big US city with lots of televisions. This, contrary to Commissioner Bettmans hopes, doesn't necessarily equal a successful hockey market. Buffalo and Minnesota are successful hockey markets because the game is loved and put above all else there, and teams should always be in those markets because of this.

The Coyotes will obviously be receiving nice checks in the form of revenue sharing this season, no doubt about it. But when a team in the 5th largest city of the US is dead last in overall team value and has lost more money than one would care to know, along with being the only team in the league to actually lose value last season, why does Bettman insist on keeping this franchise in the desert? I know a lot of this is easier said than done, but how he can keep ignoring the fact that some of his Southern Expansion markets are just not going to work in the long run is beyond me (Atlanta and Florida are also to me not going to work).

- Conclusion

Attendance in Glendale and Phoenix has not been great since the turn of the century. But to be fair, neither really have the teams been either. To me, beyond the fact that the On-Ice product hasn't been great (with this season and '01-'02 being the exceptions) and the team moved 30 minutes outside of Phoenix, the bigger problem is clearly the market. And this isn't news, but more or less just a conformation. All the money news swirling around the club off the ice has surprisingly not affected the locker-room, which is promising. If the Coyotes continue down this path and cannot find a new owner, Mr. Bettman may have to concede to the very thing he seems to hate, relocation.

One last thing. Bettman seems to be content on selling the Coyotes to anyone who is willing to put up the cash (unless your name rhymes starts with a B and ends in alsillie). I'm sure fellow NHL Owners cannot pleased about this, as this may not be the best business strategy.

So that about wraps up the fourth edition of my series here at Puck Money, Playing Below Capacity. Be sure to check back next week as we should have another fun, relocation rant filled edition as the New York Islanders are next up on the list. Please feel free to comment and let me know if I made any mistakes.

More to come later, by the way.

Great Gary Speaks and My Opinion on the All-Star Weekend

Gary Bettman clarified some situations Saturday night about Phoenix, Nashville, Expansion in Southern Ontario, and the NHL in General.

On the Coyotes, Bettman said there are no plans to relocate them, or any team for that matter. He also said that "...there are some cash-flow issues." I'd say that's a safe statement.

Bettman said the following about the reports of Nashville buying their own tickets to qualify for revenue-sharing:

"They did not do it last year and they have not done it this year. We monitor very closely how clubs report [revenues],'' he said. "We are not going to encourage anyone to play games with the rules, in particular how it relates to revenue sharing."

As for Southern Ontario, he said that putting a team in such a market is "...not that simple." For once, I do agree with Mr. Bettman. Everyone looking from the outside in doesn't understand that relocating a franchise is so much easier said than done. Hell I don't even really know what it completely takes. Mr. Bettman did insinuate though that Hamilton would need a new arena if it became a possibility.

And Finally, Bettman predicts growth of around One percent. Some see this as a bad thing, but I don't really understand how, as a hockey and NHL fan, one cannot be grateful that the economic downturn hasn't struck down on the "smallest" of the big four.

Either way, some interesting comments over a slow All-Star break. Speaking of which...

I came up with this "idea" over the Summer 0f 2008 after the first Winter Classic. As a kid, I always liked watching the Skills Competition over the All-Star game. I watched the Skills last night and I will try to catch the game tonight. Either way, this weekend is important for fanfare and especially important for the kids, who are the future support of the league. So, here's my idea.

Scrap the actual game all-together. You move the new "Winter Classic Break" to start on Christmas day, going until New Years Day, when the league resumes play. You do the "Winter Classic Skills Competition" at the site of the Outdoor Classic either on the afternoon of New Years Eve or the night of December 30th.

Every major sport has a debate over whether to have an All-Star game or not every season, and with the success of the Winter Classic, you could use the outdoor game to highlight the league and what it stands for.

Maybe I'm just talking crazy, but I don't see how it couldn't work. I understand the All-Star weekend is also a lot about the money it brings in to the city that hosts, so once again it is easier said, than done.

Check back tomorrow and then Tuesday for another edition of Playing Below Capacity.

Capping Off the Minor Comeback...

Checking my blogs right after posting, I found this amazing article at the New York Times' Hockey Blog, Slap Shot.

Stu Hackel has posted a fantastic piece centering on the Phoenix Coyotes mess. It is a nice compilation of all the reported news of the past 2 months, along with a look back at financial troubles of past teams in a similar position like the Coyotes. It also digs a little deeper into some of the decisions Coyotes' heads have made over the past decade or so.

How Did the Coyotes Mess Happen? - By Stu Hackel

My favorite part of the article:

“Historically, the Coyotes are a symptom, not the disease,” Brunt writes. “They exist in their current straits because of the N.H.L.’s rose-coloured aspirations to conquer America, aspirations that had been kicked around for decades but really took flight after Gretzky was sold to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988 and set off hockey mania in Southern California. The Phoenix franchise shifted from Winnipeg because the league had in theory outgrown that city and the market. The question of solid, grassroots hockey interest was beside the point; the sport packaged properly, the conceit was that the league could sell it to anyone.”

A great way to put it.

Finally, great news about the NHL Network today from Sports Business Journal.

NHL Network is about to announce a distribution deal with AT&T’s U-Verse system, a small agreement that will see the league-owned channel add about 250,000 homes to its distribution platform.

The deal, which pushes the network closer to the 12.2 million-home distribution mark, could be a good omen as the channel tries to double its distribution and complete a relaunch by next fall.

Oh, but there is so much more:

“Our plans call for us to be in 30 million homes by the start of next season,” said NHL COO John Collins.

How to do all this?

Now, league executives will try to increase distribution by convincing cable and satellite providers to move the channel from sports tiers to better distributed digital tiers. To entice the distributors, the network is offering an equity stake in the channel, Collins said.

Yee Haw! Now so I don't get myself into any more quoting trouble, I'll do a quick summary. The Network will be launching Eight (Yes, 8) new shows over the summer, which range from talk shows to replaying classics. It is also adding programs with new deals involving CBC, USA Hockey, and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

Sweeeeeet.

Along with this, a new studio that should be ready by mid-September for the Network re-launch. Looks like Puck The Media's message got to them.

I'm officially looking into ordering the NHL Network if this happens.

Have a good night, and I hope I can be around more.