PHOENIX — With Alex Meruelo stepping away from the Arizona Coyotes, it offers a sense of closure for fans of the NHL team that called Phoenix home since 1996. PHNX's Craig Morgan spoke with 12Sports' Cameron Cox about the latest development in the Coyotes' relocation saga.
--
CAMERON COX: Is this a good day for Coyotes fans and hockey in the desert?
CRAIG MORGAN: It's crazy to even think about it that way, isn't it? We lost the team, right? The NHL team is gone. It tells you just how messed up the situation has been with this franchise since its inception. The team is gone. Nobody should be celebrating, but when you look at Alex Meruelo's track record as an owner, it was clear that he not only made a ton of missteps along the way, but that he burned a lot of bridges and he was never going to be able to get anything done because nobody wanted to work with the guy.
COX: What does that mean for his five-year exclusive window to reactivate the franchise?
MORGAN: I spoke to Bill Daly about this, he's the Deputy Commissioner for the NHL, a while ago. He said that if Alex were to walk away, then Phoenix becomes just like any other expansion market for pursuing a team.
COX: What's the timeline? When can pro hockey return to the desert?
MORGAN: That's a good question, Cam. Anybody who comes in is going to have a lot of the same issues. You need an arena. They're not going back to Glendale. That's not going to happen. You need to get an arena in place, locked down, ironed out before the NHL is going to even consider coming back to this market. You have to have people with good reputations. Look, we all know it, we all said it, it wouldn't hurt to have Shane Doan as your front man.
COX: What would you tell Coyotes fans today?
MORGAN: First off, sorry for all the suffering. It's been a really painful period of time. It really culminated with losing the team. I understand people's pain, I understand their frustration, I understand why some of them wanted to stick by Alex Meruelo, what I will say is I do believe the NHL will be back in Phoenix. They think very highly of this market. I know that for a fact, but the timeline might not be what you want it to be, especially for old guys like me. I might not be covering things. I might be in a retirement home by the time the NHL comes back here, but I hope that's not the case. If it's not within that 5-year period, hopefully it's 7-8 years and not 10-15.
COX: Bottom line, I think we can both agree on this, it works here. You just have to have the right ownership who's not just going to make a real-estate deal and truly invest in the team.
MORGAN: That's where it all starts. If you look at the history of this franchise, I think the overriding storyline is poor ownership. Everything filters down from there, even the arena deal decision. Steve Ellman went west to Glendale to do, as you said, a real-estate deal. He didn't go for the hockey team. He wanted to make his money off real estate and the hockey team suffered because of it. We've seen a bunch of groups come in for the wrong reasons. You need an ownership group that's focused and cares about the hockey team, cares about winning and cares about the city. We need a Jerry Colangelo type to come in here. Of course, you need to win. Every team needs to win in this town because it's kind of a fair-weather city, which is not necessarily a bad thing, and you've got to be in the right location. You can't go building in the inter-lands and expect people to come. You've got to build it somewhere near the core.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
12Sports on YouTube
Catch up on the latest news and stories from 12Sports on the 12News YouTube page. And don't forget to subscribe!