As the news starts to break on the Jamison group not being able to come up with the funds, I wanted to send a note to the Coyotes fans who have been loyal through this whole ordeal. Hang in there, the coming days, weeks and maybe even months will not be kind. I’ve always rooted for you guys and would love for you guys to prove the world wrong by building something great down there. The future is getting very cloudy for you and no fans deserve to go through what you have already been this scenario. No one can question your loyalty & loyalty is something I value dearly.
I also want to call out some data points:
- In the 2003-04 Season your attendance was better than Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh and New Jersey
- For 3 seasons, 2003 – 2007 you out drew Chicago
- Only in the 2009-10 season when the future of your team looked in Jeopardy did you attendance drop below 600,000. No one can blame you for bailing on a franchise that looked like it was bailing on you.
There are plenty of lessons here: location, single anchor tenant for the arena, poor ownership, Goldwater & even housing bubble had a part in this ordeal. None of those things were the fans fault. I radically believe in the game and I still think the NHL can work in the desert. You may see things differently but I believe the league really tried to make this work and try not to be bitter at them. They kept it going and tried to make it work for almost 4 years.
It might still work out but I, like a lot of people thought this is the final chance to save the franchise. I would love to see you guys prove us wrong.
You deserve better. Hang in there.
-John