NHL Coyotes move to Houston?

The Satellite
41

Why we need hockey in Houston.

https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1468393280043954179?s=21

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42

Go Blues!!

43

Meanwhile, the Coyotes are facing eviction.

44

Man, its like we just want someone to move into that vacant house next door. Then we find out he president of the Panhandlers’ Guild.

45

one report said the franchise is for sale. that would be the only way it moves to Houston

46

Paid

47

Nope, wrong guess. Stars current and former ownership would love a Houston team. If Houston gets a team it will be because of the success of the Dallas market along with current ownership pushing for it. Years of flying to the west coast for division games was terrible. Still Nashville and St. Louis are the closest opponents.

48

Fair enough. Then let me ask you this.
Houston has wanted an NHL team since 1492. Who has stopped the NHL moving into the greater Houston area?

49

Answer: Gary Bettman (who is obsessed with keeping a failing franchise in AZ and not moving it to a better place like Houston) and Les Alexander (who required that he own any NHL franchise that uses the Toyota Center for a long time, basically preventing anyone else from getting one).

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50

But Mr. Fertitta has owned the Rockets for a few years now.
You do not think some other NHL franchises want to relocate?
Which ones other than the Coyotes would want to relocate?
It would be awesome for Houston to get a team.

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51

The Coyotes are the most obvious candidate, given their Arena woes and past bankruptcy.

If they can’t get a new arena built in Tempe, then they might be on their way out.

Florida is another franchise that hasn’t been doing that great.

52

Lots of noise the Quebec Nordiques might be “resurected” in Quebec.

53

Insider affirms relocation IS on the table.

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54

What is the long term play for owning the AZ Coyotes?
@ 14: 20 to 18:00 is the relevant part.
https://podcast.sportsnet.ca/31-thoughts/whats-going-on-off-the-ice-in-arizona/

-Under a rule change, a pro sports team in AZ gets you some variation of a casino/sports betting license in AZ in a few years.(he already owns the Sahara Casino-Vegas)

He would have to be dead broke to give up that opportunity by selling the team.

"Elliott Friedman spill the beans today in his awesome 31 Thoughts he does every week.

So once and for all no way the Coyotes move. It is not about the team it is about the Casino

There is only two ways to get this license in the state of Arizona - 1) you own a Professional Sports Team or you are a Native American Tribe.

They can have the casino is three locations

  1. in the Arena
  2. in a retail location no further then 25 miles from the Arena
  3. and of course online.

Major revenue is on the way for the Coyotes"

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55

The NHL is like a hermetic enclave. They hate expansion and protect their brand above even cold cash.

Their problem is there are always one or two franchises that completely implode and make them look bad.

56

Houston would be the largest city in Canada. We have suburbs that are bigger than some of the cities that have teams.

I can only think that Houston without a team gives existing franchises leverage to shake down their current municipalities.

57


the NHL has expanded in the last decade. MLB, the NFL, and the NBA haven’t.

58

The NHL TV and digital rights aren’t worth nearly as much as for NFL, NBA, and MLB. Live gate is critical. Gotta try to place teams where they draw crowds. Only so many of those places. The original franchises pack 'em in. In 2019-20, Coyotes filled just 82.8% of seats averaging 14,104. Dallas drew 20,326.

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59

If Dallas can do it, then Houston can as well.

Move ‘em to Houston.

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60

I’d love to see it, but they won’t draw long term, especially when they struggle. Fickle fans here for all sports. Fertitta can roll the dice, but Houston fans are not like Caps (your guys) or Pens or Blackhawk fans who will show up during bad seasons.

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