Phoenix Rising? Not Likely

You could blame the weather, although it's pretty much always perfect in the desert.

You could blame the opponent, although the flashy L.A. Kings are a divisional rival of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Maybe it was the wrong day of the week.

Or, maybe, people in the Valley of the Sun responded to yesterday's big news that the NHL was now firmly in control of the Coyotes by turning out in record numbers. Or by not turning out.

That was indeed an audience of 5,855 patrons last night in Phoenix to watch the Coyotes drop one to the Kings, a remarkably pathetic number ever for this godforsaken franchise. In the past four games, the Coyotes have seen their attendance drop on a game-by-game basis, from 11,938 (Oct. 22, Detroit) to 7,968 (Oct. 24, Los Angeles) to 6,495 (Oct. 31, Anaheim) to last night's figure.

The NHL, which bought the team out of bankruptcy for $140 million, would argue this is the result of Jim Balsillie's work, that months of uncertainty in the desert destroyed the ticket base the Coyotes had that allowed them to average 11,000 paid customers last year, plus about 3,900 giveaways per night.

Balsillie's pitch to move the Yotes north obviously didn't help the team's sales efforts in Phoenix. But there may be other factors.

First, it sure looks like this team is moving somewhere at the end of the season. When the NHL governors convene in December, Gary Bettman will deliver a status report on trying to find local buyers, and this time around the questions are going to be tougher when he tries the "all is well" speech.

Second, any sex appeal this team had is gone because Wayne Gretzky is gone. Dave Tippet's a heck of a good hockey coach but he's not Gretzky and the media interest there once was in the Coyotes because of Gretzky is now gone.

The team is 9-5-0 despite last night's loss, a terrific start by all measures. But the Coyotes play in a tough division and a playoff berth seems unlikely. Yes, they were in fifth place in the Western Conference last January before plummeting, but that was before they dumped a bunch of capable veterans at the trade deadline. Shane Doan and Ilya Bryzgalov can only carry the team so far.

Finally, nobody outside of Phoenix has any interest in this team unless it is moving, and the sale of the Coyotes only created intense interest in Canada over the past six months because there was at least the glimmer of a possibility it might re-locate to Canada and stirred some patriotic fervour in some corners.

Now the Coyotes can go back to being completely ignored, both at home and away.

Comments

[Carl]

Some thoughts:

1. The only publicity "The Great One" brought to Phoenix was a gambling scandal involving his wife and best friend turned assistant coach.
2. The local Phoenix media has always covered local high school football more than the Coyotes. Last night's game wasn't even mentioned on at least two separate local affiliate sports reports.
3. As stated, Jim Basillie and Jerry Moyes decimated the season-ticket holder base (down some 90% from last season) because of their train wreck attempt at relocation.
4. It took until the day before the season opened to get a television contract. And please, Tyson Nash should not be allowed on as a color commentator.
5. The Phoenix metro area is one of the hardest hit by the U.S. recessions due to the excessive foreclosures and high unemployment. Even the Arizona Cardinals (who made it to the Super Bowl (tm) last year) are having problems selling tickets.

So is all well in Phoenix hockey? Of course not but at least there is some glimmer of adult supervision now with the team.

[AzYotes]

this article is a joke.

I'm not even sure it deserves my comments because of the nonsense written in it. I'll bite though.

Oct 31st was halloween, look around the entire league's numbers, it went down because people were out with kids.

Last nights numbers...well, a Monday night isn't going to draw crowds here in Phoenix. Look at attendance for all other major sports here in the valley for a Monday night draw..your not going to find high on any of them.

I'm not making excuses but for the type of comments you are aluding to that the on ice product is somehow just as crappy as the attendance is compltely false. I believe your going to be writing a different story by the end of the season.

Go visit some Coyotes Fan blogs and you'll find the true facts of what is actually happening in Phoenix.

You should be ashamed of what you just wrote.

[West Coast Hockey Fan]

Judging from Carl's comments, all is well with hockey in the desert. Disinformation is @ the root of the problem, not a complete absence of interest. Baghdad Bob must be the 'Yotes new PR Man. Another shrewd move by Gary Bettman & the rest of the brain trust @ the NHL's NYC HQ.

[mario]

Hey Damien,

Now that the NHL is in control and if there are any buyers to move the team does Balsille get first pick, or can he just be left out in the cold with no legal recourse.

Is it Las Vegas for the new team, and did Bettman have this all planned out when the sent the NHL awards to Vegas. I would not put it past him. He should not be fired because he is bad for the league, it is because he has his own agenca and he plays it to close to his chest.

[Vsem]

I think the comments by the Coyotes supporters is just crap. You can make all the excuses you want but 5000 fans is pathetic no matter what...this is why you guys are losing all the teams, because you aren't supporting them. Same with the Cardinals. You can whine and cry all you want but in the end it all comes down to the fact that Phoenix doesn't seem to be a good sporting market for any teams.

Damien didn't write anything wrong at all. If you don't like what he said then you only have yourself and your fellow fans to look at. I say you guys put your money where your mouth is and actually go out and support your teams.

[Ranter]

It would be cheaper and less messy for the league if they contracted the team due to lack of buyer interest, and then turned around and awarded an expansion team to Vegas or KC. They could also suspend operations for next season if no buyer steps forward, rather than continue to hemmorrhage more money.

If I was a Phoenix fan, I'd stay away as well. The bankruptcy only demonstrated the team is a financial sinkhole, and the only buyers who want it either want to move the team to greener pastures, or a league forced to step in and prevent it. The league stepchild.

[RR]

It amazes me that after everything we've been through this summer, the childish foot-stomping and holding one's breath until one turns blue because someone didn't get their way is still being practiced.

The Coyotes are still in Phoenix not because the NHL is 100% committed to keeping them here, but because Jerry Moyes and Jim Balsillie sought to change the way a sports league decides who owns teams and where they play. And like any good league, the NHL fought that fight.

Trashing local fans might make some of you feel good, but it's pointless and hypocritical, and you know it. We could sell out every night beginning Thursday against Chicago and you'd still contend Phoenix is not a hockey market. With some of the least expensive ticket prices in the league still no way team can profit, you'd say.

If someone steps forward to buy the team with the intention of keeping the team here, you'll call them stupid or a liar.

And if the team does move and does not end up in Hamilton, it will have been the NHL's plan all along to protect the Leafs, or reject Balsillie, or Bettman and the league being anti-Canadian. Or all of the above.

So, let's have some intellectual honesty here for a change, shall we? The franchise has been seriously damaged and repairs are under way. It may not be able to be repaired and the Coyotes may play somewhere else next year, the year after, or the year after that.

If a local owner steps forward and fans don't support the team, it will be gone. If fans do step up then the team might stay, or it still might go elsewhere. If no local owner steps forward then, just as it was in Winnipeg, the team will go elsewhere. We get that there are no guarantees regardless if people show up. Why don't you?

Admit the story is far more complicated than daily attendance reports as the season progresses, and place your anger elsewhere rather than on those of us, regardless of our number, who passionately love this game as much as you.

[Nox]

The real question is: How long will the NHL owners pony up to support this mess? Find local owners - good luck with that one.

[other mark]

News Flash! Stop the Presses! Headline: Phoenix Fans Stay Away in Droves! Geez what a surprise. Who could have predicted that? Com'on Damien. Not only is this not news.... it's not news about a subject everyone is fed up hearing about.

[tofanner]

people here still think Hamilton would work?...only whenthe cdn $ is high or even with yankee....have people already forgotten when the $$ was 60 cents to the yankee...and Edmonton and Calgary were an inch of folding.....why would anyone want to watch a game there...bring the team to toronto

[Danno]

How about we ship the entire Leaf's team Phoenix and bring the Coyotes to Toronto. Sounds like we'd at least see some better hockey.