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RIPPA

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    NHL 2023-24 - Period 3

    in HOCKEY

    Posted

    Quote

    The NHL is preparing a contingency that could relocate the Arizona Coyotes to Utah as soon as next season, sources told ESPN.

    Even though the NHL remains convinced a franchise should be in Arizona, the league is skeptical about the Coyotes' newest plan to build an arena in Phoenix, which involved Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo's bid to win a land auction in June.

    The NHL has prepared a backup option that would sell the team to Ryan and Ashley Smith, owners of the NBA's Utah Jazz, in a relocation move to Salt Lake City, multiple sources said.

    That shadow plan includes the NHL preparing two schedules for next season: one involving the Coyotes in Arizona and another for the team in Utah, as Daily Faceoff first reported Wednesday.

    An announcement on relocation could come as soon as this month, sources told ESPN.

    Multiple NHL sources cautioned that it's a fluid situation. Though it is common practice for the NHL to come up with contingencies in a situation that has this much uncertainty, it's not a done deal.

    Relocation would need to be approved by the NHL's board of governors, which is next scheduled to meet in June. The board also could convene a meeting anytime before that over Zoom.

    The Coyotes told ESPN they have no comment on reports the team could relocate to Salt Lake City starting next season. The NHL also had no comment.

    Coyotes players are following along with the developments through media reports.

    "We don't know anything at all and haven't heard anything," one player told ESPN on Wednesday.

    The Coyotes have played their home games at Mullett Arena, a 5,000-seat facility on the campus of Arizona State, since the 2022-23 season as they sought a way to build a new NHL-sized arena. According to Coyotes president Xavier Gutierrez, their deal with ASU is for three years plus two one-year options that could take them through the 2026-27 season.

    A league source told ESPN that a Coyotes relocation could involve two separate transactions.

    The NHL would purchase the Coyotes from Meruelo in a deal believed to be worth around $1 billion. This would mark the second time the NHL would have owned the Coyotes, buying the franchise from owner Jerry Moyes in 2009 after he filed for bankruptcy. The league owned and operated the Coyotes until 2013.

    The league source said that after purchasing the team, the NHL would then sell the Coyotes to Smith at a price that could be as high as $1.3 billion -- much higher than the $650 million expansion fee that the Seattle Kraken's owners paid in 2021 to join the league. The source said the NHL's other 31 owners would split $300 million as part of the sale.

    "The NHL has a deep-pocketed owner that desperately wants the team and that they want to have part of the family," a well-plugged-in NHL source told ESPN.

    There is a possibility that, as part of the deal, Meruelo would be first in line to purchase an NHL expansion team should the league decide to return to Arizona, according to sources. The Phoenix area has been a desirable one for the league as a television market and due to its proximity to other U.S.-based Western Conference teams. The area has also reported growth in youth hockey. Several players born in Arizona are now thriving in the NHL, including Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews.

    While NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has stressed that the league is not looking to expand or relocate teams, the NHL has received overtures from several markets seeking to join the league. Chief among them is Salt Lake City, and sources say Bettman and Smith have built a trusting relationship over the last several years.

    "The Utah expression of interest has been the most aggressive and has carried a lot of energy with it," Bettman said at the NHL All-Star Game.

    In January, Smith Entertainment Group formally requested that the NHL initiate an expansion process and bring a team to Salt Lake City. This week, Smith took to X, asking for name suggestions for a potential NHL franchise.

    Smith told ESPN in January he didn't care how he acquired the team, saying: "Our goal is NHL in Utah. And I'll leave the rest up to Gary."

    The relocation plan, according to sources, would be for the Utah team to play out of the Delta Center, which Smith owns and is also home to the Jazz. The Delta Center has hosted NHL exhibition games five times, with another date scheduled for this coming fall.

    However, sources told ESPN that NHL leadership has made it clear to Smith they would need hockey-specific renovations for the Delta Center to be a permanent NHL home, similar to Kraken owners' renovations to Key Arena before the team arrived. Smith is prepared to help develop that.

    "Utah is what I would call friendly for business," Smith told ESPN in January. "I think that's what's helped us create a tech ecosystem."

    Smith is already receiving support from government leaders. A bill supporting an NHL arena and entertainment district in downtown Salt Lake City advanced through Utah State Senate and has approval from the governor, but has not yet passed. The bill includes a 0.5% sales tax increase to help with funding. That increase would go into effect by Jan. 1.

    The NHL's decision to develop two schedules comes as the Coyotes were in the midst of their latest plan to secure a new arena.

    The Coyotes have been searching for a permanent home since their former owner took the franchise into bankruptcy in 2009. The team appeared to have stable footing at then-Gila River Arena, but the city of Glendale backed out of a multimillion-dollar lease agreement in 2015. The Coyotes had leased Gila River Arena on a yearly basis before the city terminated its lease following the 2021-22 season.

    The team moved to Mullett Arena while seeking an arena solution in Tempe. The Coyotes believed they had one with a 16,000-seat arena in a proposed $2.1 billion entertainment district, but voters rejected that plan in May 2023.

    The latest plan would not require a public vote. In March, the Arizona State Land Department Board of Appeals unanimously approved a $68.5 million appraisal of a 95-acre parcel of land in north Phoenix. The auction for that land is set for June 27.

    If the Coyotes won the auction, Gutierrez said the team planned to start construction in the second quarter of 2025, adding, "We hope to drop the puck in the fall of 2027." He said that was the same timeline the team had for its arena project in Tempe.

    The last NHL relocation was when the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg in 2011. The confirmation of that move was made on May 31, 2011, at a press conference in Winnipeg.

     

    NHL 2023-24 - Period 3

    in HOCKEY

    Posted

    13 hours ago, Brian Fowler said:

    Well that's gonna hurt the Wings playoff chances a lot. Fucking Ovechkin.

    Ovie somehow after looking washed for the 1st half of the season, reached 30 goals because they first player ever to have 18 seasons scoring at least 30 goals

    He has now given himself a chance to catch Gretzky next year

    • Like 1

    MLB 2024 - March/April 2024

    in BASEBALL

    Posted

    4 hours ago, paragon11 said:

    The Orioles have called up Jackson Holliday, and he could be in tonight's lineup vs. the Red Sox.

    He is going to wear #7 which had been semi-retired by Baltimore as it was Cal Ripken Sr's number

    They had Cal Jr put out a statement on behalf of the family saying they approved it because fans were starting to get cranky

    • Like 1

    MLB 2024 - March/April 2024

    in BASEBALL

    Posted

    16 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

    Damien Priest is in the booth right now with Michael Kay and Paul O'Neill in the 3rd inning of the Yankees/Marlins game. Priest is a big Yankees fan, so that makes him ok in my book. 

    The WWE really needs to stop having their "tall" wrestlers stand next to Aaron Judge

    • Like 1

    DESTINY 2: Lightfall

    in COMPUTERS & GAMES & TECH

    Posted

    This is coming from Paul Tassi who is reporting on what a leaker is saying so take EVERYTHING with a million pounds of salt

    But reportedly Bungie is indeed working on Destiny 3

    Tassi is educational guessing that D3 wouldn't hit until the next console generation so clearly we are still talking like 4-5 years away

    2024 NFL OFFSEASON

    in FOOTBALL

    Posted

    On 3/28/2024 at 8:50 AM, RIPPA said:

    The other schedule thing announced is that the Eagles game in Brazil will be on the Friday of Week 1 and will air exclusively on Peacock so plenty of time to recycle all the bitching from this previous year's playoff game

    The Eagles opponent has been revealed to be the Packers

    MLB 2024 - March/April 2024

    in BASEBALL

    Posted

    Stop me if you have heard this before

    Trevor Story will miss the rest of the season as he is undergoing shoulder surgery

    It means he will have played 145 games total over the last 3 seasons which is exactly when he signed his 6 year, $140 million deal with the Sox

    MLB 2024 - March/April 2024

    in BASEBALL

    Posted

    If I was a betting man - I would put money down on Skip Schumaker being the first manager fired

    Not only are the Marlins 1-10 to start the season but the club has rescinded Schumaker's option for next year.

    And now word is the club and manager have been at odds since the firing of Kim Ng since Schumaker wasn't happy about that

    • Like 1

    DESTINY 2: Lightfall

    in COMPUTERS & GAMES & TECH

    Posted

    Best thing I have done in awhile was starting to follow a Vex Incursion Alert Twitter account

    I am not on a lot when they happen but being able to pick off random exotics that I don't have on my lesser characters is nice

    And the helpful tricks it gives out is nice too - like if you use Strand in one of the encounters there is a good chance you will crash your game

    FALLOUT (The Amazon TV Series)

    in MOVIES & TV

    Posted

    Amazon has renewed the show for a second season already

    The second season will be shot in California since the state is giving Amazon MGM Studios $25 million in tax credits (per Variety)

    The first season was shot in New York and Utah

    MLB 2024 - March/April 2024

    in BASEBALL

    Posted

    Speaking of injured pitchers - Stephen Strasburg has finally officially retired

    Apparently the Nats and Stras finally worked out the hold up around the remaining money he is owed (Stras is getting all of his money - the Nats are just deferring it - probably to the heat death of the universe)

    • Like 1
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