Balsillie Makes Offer To Purchase Phoenix Coyotes

[21pro]

well, I am among a group (a very small <2% participation) including Royal Plastics founder Vic De Zen or (DiSano is another aka) trying to get an expansion team into the GTA market... it seems there is much competition to get a piece of the pie before 2012 when interest rates are expected to climb to double digits- if this does occur and we all believe it will to cover the printed billions... many NHL franchises will be in trouble unless they have alot of $$ in their kitties.

Now, we have competition coming from Atlanta Thrashers silent owner and a Canadian investor, Tom Gaglardi, and River City Hockey Inc., a five-man group including NHL stars Jarome Iginla, Mark Recchi, Shane Doan and Darryl Sydor, owners of the Kamloops Blazers. They are reported to be interested in the Hamilton area, but do know they have contacted Vic De Zen regarding a 'partnership' that would bring a team to Vaughan...

I'm not really a player in the episodes... I have invested with De Zen on a few other projects and he knows I'm a hockey guy... that's about as far as it goes... I'm not on a phone-call basis with any of these guys so I don't know what's really going on. alot of false stories in the media... you can tell by how one source contradicts another... I really don't know what's going to happen. but i do believe the time is coming soon for a 2nd NHL franchise in Ontario and a possible shrinkage of the NHL from 30 teams to 26 or so. if no 2nd team can come to the GTA, I wouldn't blame the NHL... rather MLSE from preventing this from happening and if so- and if it can be proved, is illegal activity.

imo Vaughan is the ideal location for a franchise and economically supersedes Hamilton (but so would London, lol) and is located in a stronger demographic area than K-W area... Vaughan has the space allocated for a state of the art NHL arena and plans in place, if not, I'd say Mississauga would be a good location but the benefits are far greater in Vaughan.

 

[21pro]

did you hear in the news recently how the Ontario government is throwing around so much money right now that they can't keep track with how to spend it all?

I'm considering moving to a tax haven... but one that has hockey...

 

[rafterman]

Also if a team is allowed to place a team in Southern Ontario wouldn't it be better if it was an expansion team that every league owner gets an expansion fee sum but this way nobody's pocket gets richer ...

Then they have to fold the Phoenix franchise because nobody is going to fork over +/- $200M U.S. for a business that is cash flow negative to the tune of
$30M per year.

If they keep it there they are going to have to feed it indefinitely. The move as proposed by Balsillie doesn't give them any cash but cuts off the drain.

.

 

[hunter001]

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday he would “love” to see another Canadian team in the National Hockey League and said southern Ontario in particular is ripe for a franchise and could support one.

Wasn't Ontario declared a have-not province recently? (In terms of money, jobs, resources... not hockey teams.)

I guess all the unemployed workers will have extra time to spend their E.I. benefits on gold seats.

 

[The LoLRus]

I hate Bettman, he has IMO ruined hockey!

He over-expanded
He keeps changing the rules
He made the season too long, whoTF wants to watch hockey in June when its 20C ??!!
He hasnt done anything to rid trap defense, which makes hockey low scoring and dull
He's failed to bring in a large TV deal
He moved Canadian clubs to the States, in places where they shouldnt be (Florida, Arizona)

Etc...etc

I wish he pissed off already!!

I left out 'too many teams make the playoffs'.

If baseball can make a straight 8-team quarterfinal postseason work, so should hockey. 16 Teams is fucking absurd, why even bother having a regular season if the majority of teams are rewarded with playoffs anyways???!!!
It should be the top 4 teams of both conferences, and thats it!

 

[johnhenrygalt]

I left out 'too many teams make the playoffs'.

If baseball can make a straight 8-team quarterfinal postseason work, so should hockey. 16 Teams is fucking absurd, why even bother having a regular season if the majority of teams are rewarded with playoffs anyways???!!!
It should be the top 4 teams of both conferences, and thats it!

Under Bettman's stewardship, the percentage of clubs making the playoffs has dropped to an almost all-time low.

From 1979 -1992, 16 of 21 teams made the playoffs; it is now 16 of 30. The only season in which only 50% of the clubs made the playoffs was 1973-74 where 8 of 16 made the playoffs.

You may not like the playoff format, but it is not Bettman's doing.

 

[oral.com]

Was listening to the radio and they brought up a good point .... The league governers will vote this down because if Jim Balsillie is allowed to do this ie go into Southern Ontario then what is stopping somebody from buying a team and planting it in Boston, Detroit , Vancouver etc ., The league has to protect
teams territories ... Also if a team is allowed to place a team in Southern Ontario wouldn't it be better if it was an expansion team that every league owner gets an expansion fee sum but this way nobody's pocket gets richer ...

Am I wrong to say that the NHL should represent the fans of the sport as well as the owners. The NHL needs to be reminded that their primary fan base is in Canada.

The NHL governors remind me of the Catholic Church. Resistant to change despite obvious proof, they excommunicated Galileo because the Sun cannot be the center of the universe.

 

[mac]

For about 100 years the NHL only has had one team in the Toronto region but after 100 years now their is a cry for two teams in Toronto region ? You know why Southern Ontario looks so good now ??? Cause the majority of places that Gary put teams look ugly right now ??? We have two teams in Ontario and
so why not cry that we only have one team in Quebec which is more of a hockey market then Southern Ontario ...

ya...i guess the population density of southern ontario compared to 100 years ago and quebec has nothing to do with it.

 

[RobertCortez59]

Bettman should just swallow his pride and give this guy a team already!

 

[spankingman]

If a sports team is a BUSINESS why can't the owner do with what he wants? If he wants to file for bankrupty or sell move his team who is the NHL to tell him he cant. I thought FREE ENTERPRISE was the cornerstone of the American way of life!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mac]

We have hockey in Southern Ontario ( 2 AHL teams and 3 Jr A teams ) and we ignore all of them and so it's not like our actions cry for more hockey ....

are you even thinking before you write thiis stuff? Because we don't care about AHL and OHL, we don't have an appetite for another NHL franchise. You're right...that pretty much proves it for me too.

 

[blueline]

The GTA, for the most part, will only support NHL hockey. As for having 3 OHL teams, there are actually 7 within an hours drive from the GTA. Then for Hamilton, I am suprised the Bulldogs have lasted as long as they have. I gave them 5 years max. when they arrived. Good for them. Junior hockey has failed several times. The only game Hamilton will support is the NHL.

Personally, I won't get excited IF/when a team does come here. Over priced tickets, if you can get them that is. For me, junior hockey is the best game in town. I could care less about having the NHL here.

 

[johnhenrygalt]

If a sports team is a BUSINESS why can't the owner do with what he wants? If he wants to file for bankrupty or sell move his team who is the NHL to tell him he cant. I thought FREE ENTERPRISE was the cornerstone of the American way of life!!!!!!!!!!!

Part of "free enterprise" is the freedom to enter into contracts and the responsibility to be held accountable to and bound by one's contractual obligations. The Coyote's contract with the NHL requires approval from the league before there are any ownership changes. No one forced this guy to buy the Coyotes or to sign the contract with the NHL. He chose to agree to the NHL's terms, now he is stuck with the obligations.

 

[Neverenuff$]

"I have a theory that we have a huge appettie for everything Toronto Maple Leafs ... The ratings of NHL hockey is very low " right now " in Southern Ontario cause why ?? Cause the Leafs are out ..."

GR may have a point ... there are Tons of leafs fans but very few Hockey fans

 

[johnhenrygalt]

What is crazy is the Grey Cup out draws the NHL playoffs ...

This is not surprising. The Grey Cup is one game. We already know when and where it will be held. It is always on a Sunday, a day when most people do not have to work. To watch the game on the television, it involves a three-hour investment of your time, following which the Championship will be awarded.

The Stanley Cup Finals are a four to seven game affair. Games are more often than not on weekdays. While the Cup can be potentially awarded once a team achieves three wins, only a game 7 presents the fans with a spectacle where the winner of the game is awarded the Championship - and the last two game 7s (2004 and 2006) were held on Monday nights. Last year I watched most of the Finals, but missed game 6 when Detroit won since I had a business meeting. A business meeting would never prevent me from watching a Sunday single game Championship like the Grey Cup or SuperBowl, or World Cup soccer final.

The Grey Cup also benefits from the season. It is held at the end of autumn, beginning of winter. We are more likely to want to stay indoors and watch the game. In spring/early summer when the Stanley Cup Finals are on, after another long cold Canadian winter, getting outdoors to cycle, play golf, go sailing, talk a walk along the lake, clean up the yard etc. Indoor television viewing isn't as high on the list of priorities.

 

[calloway]

Bettman should just swallow his pride

Bettman apparently doesn't swallow.

 

[mac]

I have a theory that we have a huge appettie for everything Toronto Maple Leafs ... The ratings of NHL hockey is very low " right now " in Southern Ontario cause why ?? Cause the Leafs are out ...
..

this is probably true about any sport in any city. The home team is bounced and interest is reduced. But I can assure you that there are still a higher percentage of Ontarians interested in the stanely cup playoff than Floridians or Arizonians or Minnesotians or even North Carolians and Bostonians. Face it....hockey is Canada and it ranks way down there below Area Football in the states way below NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball, NASCAR, Pro Bowling, SUper Poker, Mork and Mindy reruns...etc

 

[pdson2]

It was not a good day for Jim Balsillie's public relations offensive.

First, sources indicated yesterday that Wayne Gretzky is "supportive" of the plan presented by Chicago sports czar Jerry Reinsdorf to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and keep them in Arizona. Gretzky would stay with the team as head coach under the ownership of a group of investors headed by Reinsdorf that would conditionally offer an estimated $130 million (U.S.) for the troubled Phoenix club.

Second, despite North American economic conditions some suggest are the worst since the Great Depression, Balsillie is reportedly seeking more than $120 million (Cdn.) in federal and provincial handouts to renovate Hamilton's Copps Coliseum if he can purchase the Coyotes out of bankruptcy and bring them north.

$120 million is a drop in the bucket compared to the tax money the franchise would bring in to the local economy.

 

[pdson2]

Exactly ... The days of putting public money into building sporting facilities are gone and especially in this time ... Nice to see Mr Canada Wayne Gretzky backing a group to keep this franchise in the U.S.



Let me get this staight ... Balsilie's is going to take 200 + million dollars and put it into the American ecomomy and
our government is going to spend 120 million dollars to fix Copps ...

Must i remind you that the 200 million dollars is HIS money.Have you heard of the saying sometimes you have to spend money to create more money. The new franchise would create jobs and boost the local economy in Hamilton. As a citizen and taxpayer of Hamilton Wentworth and seeing this community get the shaft every year from the provincial and federal governments if it costs 120 million to boost the economy in my home town then all i have to say is it's about time.

 

[oral.com]

If he's expecting funding to come from the provincial and the federal levels, then it's not just Hamiltonian's votes that count.

If they're going to do it, then I'd like to see a more creative way of doing it: I think it was San Diego which charged a tax on hotel rooms and airport tax so that it was accumulated in large part by tourists rather than the locals, many of whom do not want their tax money going to fund pro sports.

I believe the city of Toronto is charging Tourists up to their eyeballs on hotel taxes. Of course this money funds the mayors junkets to the Olympics. (this has nothing to do with Hamilton sports teams just my anti-Miller rant of the day)