Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve-o
And FYI, hockey has been in the PacNW for a looooooong time. Even the Thunderbirds are quite popular in Seattle and look how popular hockey is in Vancouver, immediately to the North. 
Move the team out of PHX, immediately, IMO. Theyre a failure with a 1/2 empty stadium and a garbage coach. Most of the fans that attend games are for the other team anyways. 
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Well, let me add my two cents. If is someone who bought a house and lives in Scottsdale, AZ. So I know a little about that I am talking about, whenit comes time to discussing the Phoenix market.
Steve-O, you are right about "Fans that attend the games are for other teams"
Back when the Glendale Arena was being proposed, the rink had approval and was going to be built in Scottsdale. It went up for vote to all of the tax payers with the city and everyone except the city council wanted it.
The city wanted to look at the builder books and the builder told the city council to go screw themselves and the city said..."Fine, you can't build it here!" So the builder who owned the land, was going to give the land up to Sheriff Joe to build a tent city.
But the voters were so mad at the city council for reneging on the deal, they were afraid to step out of city hall...a**es.
So they tried to find a location close to Scottdale. Why Scottsdale? Hello that's where all of the people that can afford to buy the tickets live....hello! But NOOOOOOOO, they had to build the POS in Glendale.
Is Glendale is an up and coming city, but it dosn't have the upper middle class that can buy the tickets. From my house, it takes 45 minutes to go see a game. Yes, that not a big deal. I drive it anyways. But it the people that have the income that's going to make it work.
Yes, were driving 45 minutes to go to a game, but not all 19,000 seat are being taken up by people from Scottsdale. This is where one of the problem lies.
The other is...well....the team. The same thing happened to the Cardinals. Sorry for bringing up a Football team into this, but it's a perfect example. They sucked for years. Now, you can't get a seat.
NO one, I mean NO one like a losing team. Yes, there are those die hards that drive around with team logos pasted to their foreheads...fine. But that don't make the rest of the world fair weathered fans. What it means is, we don't want to invest our money in that type of entertainment.
Have you ever noticed when a team leaves a city and moves, they all of a sudden start to win!
The Phoneix Coyotes should have cut Wayne loose years ago. Oh, don't get me worng, he's a nice guy, it just that maybe he doesn't know how to run they type of a program.
Oh, he might be the greatest hockey play that put on skates. But just because you are pro hockey player, doesn't mean you can coach.
It takes a special talent to communicate your ideas and vision to the team. Plus, everyone has to buy into the concepts or you will beat your head against the wall.
Too make a winning team, they need to get someone in there and ruffle up a few Coyote feathers...or coat. They need to fire a couple of management staff and get rid of some dead weight players.
Then they need to think out side of the box to get the fans back into the seats. There are a million ways to do that....just get a little creative.
Ok, now lets look at a team that has been pretty successful revamping itself...Chicago Blackhawks.
Steve-O will probably agree with me on this one. For years, they had OK attendence. But after the old man died, god rest his soul, the sons changed something and put butts in the seats.
Plus, they went out and got some young kids that have a fire in their belly. This is what the Coyotes need.
There is nothing better then winning more then your fair share of your games.
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