Phoenix hockey fans still wary after NHL purchase of Coyotes

A week which should be a source of celebration for embattled hockey fans in the Arizona desert finds them still dwelling in a state of uncertainty and worry.

Monday, the National Hockey League wrapped up the sale of the club in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix after reaching an agreement to purchase the Coyotes from bankruptcy last week. The sale was the culmination of six months of furious legal wrangling that centered around former owner Jerry Moyes' efforts to hand the franchise over to Canadian billionaire and entrepreneur Jim Balsillie, who desired to relocate the Coyotes to Hamilton, Ontario.

The NHL intends to resell the franchise as soon as possible now that the purchase has been closed. The stated goal of NHL commissioner Gary BettmanGary BettmanGary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly is to seek out an owner who will operate the team long-term in Arizona.

On the surface, therefore, this could be considered a victory for Arizona hockey fans. But very few local fans are in a mood to celebrate - or, in fact, show up for the Coyotes' home games themselves. Attendance this season has averaged a paltry 6,000 fans for every home game save for the home opener, a "Welcome Back White Out" which featured ticket prices that topped out at US$25.00 for a lower-bowl seat.

The vast amount of empty seats, naturally, has served as inviting fodder for the franchise's critics - most of whom are located in Canada - who believe that Phoenix should not host professional hockey. The Coyotes' 9-5-0 record going into Wednesday's tilt against the Colorado Avalanche shows promise for a club marked by mediocrity for years, but the turnout bodes ill for the team's long-term future.

But while on the surface the bottom-dwelling ticket sales point to the unsuitability of hockey in an indifferent desert market, the reality is that Arizona fans are still unwilling to invest money that has become increasingly hard to come by in recent months on a franchise that may still pick up and leave at season's end.

"Five hundred people showed up this week to apply for sixty jobs at a donut store," says one former season ticket holder who requested anonymity. "That tells you how much disposable income is around these days. And a lot of people, including myself, don't want to throw that money at a sports team if they're not here for the long haul."

The question of relocation still hangs over the Phoenix Coyotes like an ugly raincloud, even after the conclusion of Jim Balsillie's attempt to move the club to Hamilton. A surprisingly large number of local fans have a hard time believing the NHL when they say they want the Coyotes to stay in Arizona for the long haul. They reference the league's interest in markets like Las Vegas and Kansas City, as well as rumors of new interest in Quebec City, Quebec and the Coyotes' former home of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Perhaps it is simple paranoia at work, but Arizona fans cannot help but wonder whether the NHL was more invested in the battle against Balsillie because the league wanted to settle the issue of franchise control rather than support the Phoenix market's right to professional hockey.

Indeed, the league has reserved the right to sell to new ownership that would relocate the team if they cannot find a buyer willing to keep the team where it is, and conspiracy theorists within the Arizona fan community believe that the NHL actually prefers to sell to a relocation-minded owner such as Jerry Reinsdorf. The Chicago businessman and sports mogul, who was involved in the bankruptcy bidding for a time and who had negotiated a letter of intent to buy the team prior to the bankruptcy, reportedly required a series of subsidies and out-clauses in his purchase bid which would have allowed him to move the team after as little as two or three years.

One potential ownership group, Ice Edge Holdings, has repeatedly stated in public that they want to operate the Coyotes in Phoenix with no out-clauses or strings attached. However, Ice Edge's desire to relocate up to five regular-season Coyotes home games to the Canadian cities of Saskatoon and Regina (as well as a quickly-recanted intent to include at least one playoff game in that number) appears to have both the league and the fans skeptical of their motives.

Ice Edge's position on not moving the team still has them as the front-runners in the fans' minds, but the defection of Toronto Argonauts owners Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon from the IEH investor group has raised questions about the group's ability to raise and maintain the necessary funds to run the franchise. The issue is particularly thorny for the league considering the recent financial struggles of the Tampa Bay Lightning, a franchise whose ownership cabal disintegrated in a morass of infighting, poor decision-making, and financial shortfalls.

The idea that the league may not wish to work with the only potential ownership group which wants to maintain an NHL presence in Phoenix has many area sports fans staying away from the club in spite of their recent promising performances. There still exists a definite feeling of lame duck status around Jobing.com Arena, and the evidence is showing up as unoccupied seats on game night.

The sellout crowd that showed up for the "Welcome Back White Out" does indicate that there is a potential for significant improvement in the Coyotes' attendance, but although the court drama has ended the road ahead for the franchise is still a long and potentially torturous one. It is not a matter of selling the game of hockey to a desert city - it is a matter of winning back the trust of a city battered on all sides by friends and foes alike in a dramatic debacle that nearly killed the Coyotes franchise for good.

"The team may not be headed to Canada right now," says the anonymous fan, "but it's still not 'my' team yet. If they can commit to my city without a back door, I'll start buying tickets again."