In Phoenix, Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Propaganda value aside, it was never about how many fans the Phoenix Coyotes could draw to its home opener.

With deeply discounted tickets and free t-shirts, that was easy.

It was about the second game and beyond, and last night's numbers against the St. Louis Blues at jobing.com arena illustrated where this bankrupt franchise is really at.

Just 6,899 customers gathered to watch the Yotes beat the Blues in OT, the smallest, non-weather related attendance for an NHL game in recent memory. Years ago, when Carolina was playing out of Greensboro before moving fulltime to Raligh, the Canes drew a few tiny crowds.

But at under 7,000, we now know how much destruction was done to the Phoenix hockey business over the summer months as the battle between the NHL and Jim Balsillie dragged on. The opening night sellout/whiteout really meant nothing.

Now, we'll see if they can gradually build with the threat of relocation still hanging over the franchise.

Comments

[La La La, Not Listening]

Captain Clueless Gary Bettman has selective amnesia. After all, everything is rosy in Phoenix after a "sellout" for the Coyotes home opener, isn't it Gary? The real attendance figures will show, especially if the Coyotes bottom out in the standings?.

[Pete]

OK, hands up all of you who give a flying fig whether the Coyotes survive in Phoenix or not. I say the sooner they go under the better; the Leafs need a captain and Shane Doan would look great in a Leaf uniform.

[CJ]

Anyone would look good as captain of the Maple Loafs. As you stated, Damien, the team of Moyes/Balsillie managed to cause tons of havoc in our area and the fans werent lining up to get tickets. If the NHL can get a stable ownership group here that knows how to run a sports franchise and not a trucking firm, this franchise has a chance. Only time will tell....

[Brian]

I was watching that game on television - 6,899 is a real stretch! It looked more like 2,500 - 3,000 actually in the seats. Kansas City here we come!

[2nd Guess]

Hey, CJ:

As an Expos baseball fan, I share your pain. At the end, it was a miracle anybody showed up for games at all, given that MLB was running the operation with the stated objective of relocation. That seems to be the same situation facing Phoenix hockey fans -- even diehards have trouble justifying giving their hard-earned dollars to people who have essentially said they want out.

From the outside looking in, we see no hope for the Coyotes. They could conceivably succeed downtown or in Scottsdale, but there's no escape from Glendale, what with the new arena and zillion-year lease -- and we're told there's simply not enough money in Glendale, and it's too far from the aforementioned areas to be convenient.

Are we wrong? Realistically, what's the hope? I can't imagine anyone willing to blow their brains out financially to keep the team in Phoenix. Sadly for you guys, the franchise has lame duck written all over it. The NHL may not be thrilled about moving more teams into Canada, but they're even less thrilled about pouring millions into Phoenix -- I imagine someone with cash who wanted to set up shop in Kansas City, Las Vegas or Seattle would be welcomed with open arms.

[Mario]

I don't think you can really blame the summer happenings on people not showing up.

If a Canadian franchise was under threat of being moved I'm sure the fans would show up to save it for a lot longer than one game.

It goes to show that Phoenix isn't a hockey market.

[Gman]

Having lived in sunny SoCal for 5 years after 38 in the North Country of NY, I learned that major leaguie sports need LA (and by extension, any place where the beach or golf course is available 24/7/365) more than those places need major league sports; there's just too much else to do.

It was a crime and abomination against nature that resulted in teams in Miami, Atlanta, Nashville, and Phoenix and none in Quebec and Winnipeg. The universe is, in the long run, in perfect balance; hockey will come back to where it belongs somehow, someway.

[bill smith]

We all have been discriminated against at one time or another. Mr. Balsillie, who has more money, than Scotts has paper would have purchased the Phoenix team for 242 million dollars and all creditors would have been compensated, in some reasonable fashion, but, Mr. Bettman did not like Mr. Balsillie and went to great costs to block the purchase. Now, the NHL is holding a commodity, which in reality, is worth very little, in the "struggling" american economy. That is about all that can be said about this fiasco,for the moment.