Interesting article in the Phoenix Business Journal. They are reporting that Jamison still looking for investors to come up with the funds needed to buy the Coyotes from the NHL. This could be very troubling for Jamison and the future of the Coyotes in Arizona. Last month, the city of Glendale approved a lease agreement with the Jamison group that was very favorable for the group. The incoming city council that takes office in January has been vocal in the opposition of the deal so if the deal doesn’t close by the end of January the Coyotes days in Glendale could be number. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I do not want to see Phoenix (or any city) lose their team. I believe in the sport and think that under good management with the approved lease terms, the team can be successful down there. If these deal falls through, the direct impact to Seattle landing a team will be minimal. I would predict that the team will play out the 2013 season in Glendale and then relocate to Quebec City, assuming decent ownership group. Seattle is not ready for an NHL Team since could not legitimately play in Key Arena while another Arena is being built.
results of a poll from http://www.tomfulery.com/ (Check it out)
The long term impacts could be that by Quebec City getting a team, Seattle becomes the leading candidate to get a franchise. My general theory has been the league wants to get to 32 teams. As such, Quebec City and Seattle are awarded NHL Expansion Franchises in 3 to 4 years. That theory goes out the window since you need two to tango in expansion. The Greater Toronto Area could certainly support another team but with the Leafs territory rights it might be too expensive to land a team there. (TSN estimated that the expansion and/or relo fees could be close to a billion dollars). That is a lot of money & they still don’t have an arena that would cost at least 500M. After Toronto, I don’t see a lot of options. Let me know what you think?
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