May 11, 2009

In Phoenix, even their hockey team is bankrupt


Oh, the tale of Phoenix. The conmen, the hucksters, the Ponzi artists.

The Phoenix Coyotes are just another chapter in the REIC taking over a town, leading it to ruin.

The Coyotes were owned by a REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER, Steve Ellman. It was a land deal, not a hockey team. Aided by Phoenix's corrupt realtor mayor, Skip Rimza.

Ellman (and Rimza) moved the team out of downtown Phoenix - WHERE ALL SPORTS TEAMS SHOULD BE - and moved them out to to the middle of freaking nowhere in West Phoenix. Later to be joined by the disgusting Cardinal's stadium, which should have been in downtown Tempe.

Could have put them in downtown Phoenix. Could have put them in downtown Scottsdale. Could have put them in Tempe. You know, places where people would actually enjoy going to the games.


But no, it was about land. It was about developing strip malls. So Ellman and the Coyotes (and the Cardinals) went to the middle of nowhere.

And nowhere is where they went.

Like Greg Swann, the Coyotes have fallen on tough times. They bet the farm on Phoenix real estate, they didn't do their homework, and they lost.

Man, I hope they just tear those stadiums down and do the right thing. No way I ever move back until that happens.

Loss of Coyotes would hit hard - Glendale officials, NHL oppose bankruptcy filing, proposed purchase of team

The hockey team that launched Glendale's ambitions as a sports and entertainment mecca is on thin ice.

Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes, a Glendale resident, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization this week and raised the possibility the team could be whisked back to Canada.

The loss of the Phoenix Coyotes would hit hardest in the city the team has called home since 2003, but the loss would ripple to shops and restaurants along the Loop 101 corridor in Peoria and Phoenix.

18 comments:

Mammoth said...

Beep Beep! Ha ha this coyote is f*'d!

blogger said...

For the record, that photo is of the Cardinals stadium that SHOULD have been built in Tempe, that was built instead waaaaaaaaaaaaaay out west in the middle of nowhere next to the Coyotes failed stadium

Phoenix may be the most corrupt town in America. The REIC took it over, and ruined it for everyone. The REIC included.

Ross said...

I don't really mind the Cardinals stadium out in Glendale. I wish it were in the East Valley, where I live. However, just about every location they picked out was greeting with pissing and moaning by residents who lived nearby. I'll make the trek to Glendale for the NFL 6-8 times per year. The Cardinals are there to stay.

With that being said, the death of the Coyotes was when the South Scottsdale location was nixed and Glendale again stepped up and snatched them. Hockey doesn't really work in the desert anyway, but it would have worked a lot better in Scottsdale/Tempe.

Anonymous said...

gotta agree with the Cardinals thing and the weekend long party that got half ruined for the "school boys" WITH THEIR MOVE OUT TO THE BOON DOCKS of nowhere ,,,stupid...stupid..stupid....

Anonymous said...

Use that defunct stadium as a holding pen for Wall Street and DC Felons awaiting trial.

Tatoo trial number under armpit a'la Nazis.

No AC ever, like Katrina.

Zyklon B still available?

Time for shower....

Just a thought.

yoski said...

Is the ridiculus professional sports bubble in its early stages of deflation? I certainly hope so.

blogger said...

Isn't it funny that one of Swanndive's 21 reasons to buy Phoenix real estate was pro athletes.. And then their pro hockey team goes bankrupt and probably leaves the valley?

Everything comes full circle...

Humble Trader said...

...The Coyotes were owned by a REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER, Steve Ellman. It was a land deal, not a hockey team. Aided by Phoenix's corrupt realtor mayor, Skip Rimza.

Ellman (and Rimza) moved the team out of downtown Phoenix - WHERE ALL SPORTS TEAMS SHOULD BE - and moved them out to to the middle of freaking nowhere in West Phoenix. Later to be joined by the disgusting Cardinal's stadium, which should have been in downtown Tempe.

Could have put them in downtown Phoenix. Could have put them in downtown Scottsdale. Could have put them in Tempe. You know, places where people would actually enjoy going to the games.

But no, it was about land. It was about developing strip malls. So Ellman and the Coyotes (and the Cardinals) went to the middle of nowhere.

And nowhere is where they went...
______

This rant is incredibly stupid. You don't live here any more, Keith, but I do.

Glendale is NOT the middle of nowhere. It's easy to get to. The 101 gives Jobing.com and U of Phx Stadium easy access from all over the metro area.

The new area is called "Westgate" and I have spent time there with friends. It is a pleasant place to hang out, with a good law enforcement presence that keeps the place very civilized. Glendale cops are among the most professional in the Valley. I stop and chat with them when I'm there and all is good.

You go off in such odd directions sometimes!

Jerry Lee said...

You forgot to mention the Godfather of the Phoenix sports mafia-Jerry Colangelo.

Oops just read his wikipedia entry, sounds like Jerry was ahead of the curve and bankrupted the D-Backs and cashed out years ago.

Oh well who has time for sports when we've got the collapse of the world economy to entertain us.

This all makes me so glad I left PHX and moved back to LA six years ago.

PS Whatever happened to Frank @Scottsdalesucks.com?

Anonymous said...

The front cover of the Arizona Republic stated that a group of homeowners in the West valley are suing KB Homes and Countrywide for all the obvious reasons.

They got duped by Mozillo and company and they just figured that out ???

Prisoner No. 6 said...

There are going to be a lot more sports teams going under in the next year or so. Look for the hockey teams to be first, followed by baseketball, then baseball, and finally the NFL.

Follow the toppling dominoes: car companies are on their ass. Not buying any more "Like a Rock" commercials on TV sports broadcasts. Ditto the financial services companies. And real-estate companies. Even the beer companies are starting to feel the heat.

So the TV networks are sweating it out, because they've already pledged billions to the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL. They're going to start invoking some "back-out" clauses in these agreements after the ad upfronts next week.

The local cable outfits are the ones that are really on the hook. The various iterations of Fox Sports Net are reeling.

If they stop paying their bills to the sports teams ... then the teams quickly go under. Without TV revenue,these $250 million contracts to steriod-crazed third basemen are unsustainable.

The teams in major media markets will be able to hang on, via the sales of their merch to the big fan bases. But teams in vulnerable places - Phoenix, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta - are going to be making some hard choices.

Ross said...

Not to get too Cardinalsy on everyone, but has anyone else seen the organization praised for their thriftiness lately?

Talk about coming full circle. The Bidwills have always been bashed for not wanting to pay their players. They haven't given in to Super-Agent Drew Rosenhaus on re-doing the contracts of Anquan Boldin and Darnell Dockett. In the past this would have been met with comments like "same old Cardinals." However, now they look like trend setters. Pro sports salaries will have to come down sooner or later because even the Yankees are having to reduce ticket prices to sell out their games.

Maybe the Bidwills were right after all. Nahhh... I take that back.

Look for the thrifty Cards to win the division again and make another push for the Super Bowl. Every dog has its day.

Bukko Boomeranger said...

To add an international angle to what Prisoner No. 6 said about the looming failure of the sports economy, the Aussie pro basketball league is about to fold. Again. Not that b-ball was ever a major league sport here, but they've tried over the years to make a go of it. It used to be that there were enough deep-pockets people, lenders and media hype to at least stage some games. Now they can't even toss up bricks. Same for the odd arena football they play here and A-league soccer. All crapping out.

First the goofy sports go down, then minor leagues, and finally the majors will trim. That's when you'll know the Bush Depression has matured -- when big-league teams go out of business.

Anonymous said...

"Jerry Lee said...

PS Whatever happened to Frank @Scottsdalesucks.com?"

That dipshit probably couldn't pay his internet bill and is living in tent city USA.

Good, NO Great Riddance!

Mike Hunt said...

Keith,

You say you hope they tear those stadiums down and do the right thing. What, pray tell, is that?

You mean the right thing with the land where the stadium once was. What would that be? Repopulate it with rattlesnake dens and tumbleweeds???

-Mike

Ross said...

Frank@ScottsdaleSucks:

http://twitter.com/frankrumbauskas

http://nevercoldcall.com/services.htm

I think he's doing alright.

Anonymous said...

When the hockey team goes bankrupt, will the athletes still want to play golf? hahahhaa

Anonymous said...

I watched Kostya Tszyu KO Sharmba Mitchell in the then new Coyote Arena in 2004.
Great memories.

Anton Chiguhr

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