Arizona Coyotes: Glendale Voters Support Kicking Out Coyotes
Arizona Coyotes fans were shocked when the Glendale City Council voted to terminate its Gila River Arena lease agreement with the Coyotes in 2015. Now we know the people of Glendale apparently didn’t want the team either.
The Arizona Coyotes 15-year arena lease agreement with the City of Glendale was abruptly terminated by Mayor Jerry Weiers and the Glendale City Council in June 2015 in a 5-to-2 vote.
After legal wrangling, an interim two-year deal eventually fell into place.
But it was just the calm before the storm.
The partnership was broken, and the Arizona Coyotes had already decided to shop around for other accommodations in the Valley.
Glendale then opted to hire AEG Facilities, owner of the division-rival Los Angeles Kings, to manage the arena. This was yet another move by the City Council showing their utter contempt for the hometown hockey team.
If there was any question as to whether the Arizona Coyotes would follow through on departing the arena, this deal made sure of it.
It was widely felt at the time that the people of Glendale were proud to host their NHL team, and that this had been the act of a few politicians.
Until now.
In last Tuesday’s election, the citizens of Glendale cast their ballots, and the final results released on Saturday sent a new message to the Coyotes.
“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
Mayor Weiers beat back his well-funded challenger in a close election. Incumbent Councilman Sammy Chavira, who voted against terminating the Coyotes’ lease in 2015, was ousted in an even tighter race.
The only other councilman that voted to keep the Coyotes had already been removed by Glendale voters in a recall election in November 2015.
With all of the pro-Coyotes council members defeated, and the architect of the anti-Coyotes movement winning another term, the citizens of Glendale have made their position clear.
They’re okay with it.
There were many issues for voters to consider, not just hockey, but clearly they weren’t holding any grudges.
Credit Mayor Weiers for knowing his city.
To be fair, Arizona Coyotes ownership did not produce the number of non-hockey events it said it could at the arena, although it came very close to its hockey attendance projections. But with the Coyotes you get games, while without you get…nothing.
So now that Glendale has cut off its nose to spite its face, and the Coyotes have confirmed they’re leaving for greener pastures, will the city’s taxpayers be better off?
What will be left at Gila River Arena?
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Well, for starters, about 50 fewer hockey games, practices, and team events.
The Coyotes accounted for about 75% of annual arena activity. AEG will have to come up with about 50 near-sellout concerts to bring the arena’s schedule back to where it started.
That’s just not going to happen.
All of the businesses in the Westgate Entertainment District will be relying on the eight Arizona Cardinals home games and some concerts to draw crowds.
It’s a shame, but there will be a big economic impact.
And economic development was the entire point of bringing the arena to the West Valley.
Lastly, the deal with AEG and the naming rights on the arena itself could all come crashing down.
Without the Arizona Coyotes playing regular season games there, AEG has the ability to opt out of its management deal.
If you were a sponsor, would you keep paying millions of dollars a year to continue putting your name on an arena that so few came to visit?
So by 2019, Glendale’s arena may be without a hockey team, anchor tenant, facility manager, and a naming rights sponsor.
We have another arena like that here in the Valley. It’s called Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Except they get the Fair.
The voting results from this election reaffirm the decision by Anthony LeBlanc and the Arizona Coyotes ownership group to bolt from Glendale, in favor of an area in the Valley where they’ll be wanted and supported.
We should hopefully know the details about their new den in the desert any week now.
In 2019, when the sounds of ice hockey are echoing from the east side of the Valley across the desert, Glendale voters will likely be re-thinking their support of the Coyotes, and what might have been.
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