Jim Balsillie makes an offer to buy the Coyotes.
To nobody's surprise - there is a catch - he'll buy the team (for $212M) on the condition that he can move the team to Southern Ontario.
Word is that Bettman is in Phoenix trying to 'sort things out'.
Ballsy has already launched his own website for people to sign up and register their support for the move.
My first thoughts are;
- Ballsy likely has enough spare scratch to make the lease agreement issues with Glendale go away.
- Ballsy may have snookered Bettman with this move. The Coyotes are hemorrhaging cash, the league is already on the hook for payroll, etc. and I can't imagine the Board of Governors are excited about putting up even more money to keep a team in Phoenix where no other new owners with deep pockets have stepped forward - or are ever likely to.
By stepping up now to bail out both the current owners and the league places Bettman in a very ugly spot. He has to find a way to get Phoenix resolved - and absent local owners stepping up Ballsy is currently the only option.
- I do wonder, is Bettman actually behind this? Ballsy's desire for a team in S.Ontario is well known, and he has the cash to make a lot of problems dissapear - did Bettman roadmap this for Ballsy to make it an easier go? Or is he going to fight to keep Ballsy exlcuded from the league's cozy club of ne'er do wells and multi-millionaires?
1 comment:
Toronto and Buffalo ownership have 'supposedly' been roadblocking a new team in southern Ontario for awhile now. But really - the population base for that area of Canada + USA should easlily support a new team. Yes - maybe less $ for TO and Buf from sales of jerseys, caps, coffee mugs etc etc once a fan base establishes itself for new team, but extra rivalry is always good for business.
I cheer on the potential move and will put my vote in on the link Cam has provided. Moving back to Winnipeg would be even better, and then TB or ATL moving to Ontario but hey, we'll take what we can get.
As to what Bettman's motivations are - who knows. He's an idiot for pushing hockey into non-hockey markets in the first place but at least if he realizes his mistake, and is trying to rectify, then kudos to him no matter of what one might think of him overall.
(p.s. too funny - the word verification below is "rangers"... sort of passe isn't it?)
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