Assuming that's it...and I'm not certain that's it...then it's pretty clear Tilman isn't interested. If the key issue in this is not wanting to swap the Phoenix TV market for another, that wouldn't be an issue if a Houston-based ownership group had its ducks in a row. The Toyota Center lease is a massive hindrance to this city getting an NHL team if the person or group who owns the Rockets at any point is not interested in owning an NHL team.
Maybe Tillman just doesn't have the money? I know he tried to bid on some NFL teams, but that always struck me as a publicity stunt more than anything else.
Good point...need a willing AND able buyer. The "non-compete" restrictions in the Toyota Center lease suck.
Surely the Houston market (and possibly Austin and San Antonio) would be much more lucrative for media revenue. I smell something fishy. Money laundering or something. Lots of shady wealthy white folks up in the PHX.
The Houston market is swallowed up by a non-compete for the leaseholder of Toyota Center. That’s what we gave up to pretend that we needed to stop Les from moving the Rockets to *checks notes* ****ING LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY. I’ll never get over that. Bottom line is that Harris County can’t contribute anything towards the building or support of an arena anywhere in a 30 mile radius of Toyota Center. yeah….so if Tilman can’t afford an NHL team or if he isn’t interested than a 4th generation Houstonian that was born at Memorial City Hospital is SUPER ****ED if he really wants an NHL team before he dies
The no compete basically means to get a team we need Tillman to own it or a new building has to be built somewhere in the area.
Somewhere at least 30 miles away from Toyota Center…yeah..that’s not great…that’s an absolute impediment to bringing in an NHL team that Tilman isn’t willing or able to purchase.
I don’t think Katy is even 30 miles away..yeah it’s an awful lease. But Louisville, ****ing Kentucky was calling!!!
The Woodlands would be fine, likely. Could put it close to 45, and it's not that far out of the city. In the grand scheme, probably not happening.
My proposal a couple of pages back was to put it NW (or W) of downtown to appeal to Austin and SA hockey fans and make games a day trip. You could make it outside of the radius, easily.
I don’t think that works. NHL is a corporate game. Gotta sell suites and make it easy for that crowd. Somewhere between here and Austin won’t get that. Have to make it easy for people to entertain their clients. Those are the folks that matter to the NHL and NBA
I see what you mean but it's not unprecedented. Look at Dallas and Plano. 30 miles West of downtown isn't a stretch. There are a lot of corps based on that side of town, too.
You're right. Having said that, both the Mavs and the Stars play downtown. NFL stadiums can be pretty much anywhere. Games are typically on Sundays when most people aren't working. But when you're trying to attract people for 7pm starts on a Tuesday night, you need density...and more importantly, you need ease for the corporate base that is buying up those tickets and those suites (which comprise a much bigger percentage of stadium capacity than football stadiums) can get there quickly. I just don't think you can do an arena sport in Houston (as spread out as it is and with this much traffic) in a suburban area. Having those arenas in central business districts seems key to their success in bigger cities.
This is wild...the built-in delays for all of this are just insane given how long all of this has been going on: https://www.azcentral.com/story/new...ena-search-what-you-need-to-know/72496105007/ Publicly available records indicate the Arizona Coyotes are early in the process to buy a roughly 100 acre piece of state land in Phoenix for a future arena. That's not good news to anxious hockey fans well aware of pressure on the team to find a permanent home. The process to buy state land "may exceed 12 months," in the Arizona State Land Department's own estimation. Here's what you need to know about the NHL team's efforts to buy state land, and where that stands. The team, which now leases Arizona State University's Mullett Arena in Tempe, applied to purchase land at the northwest corner of Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road in north Phoenix. The most recent application documents show they are asking to buy about 100 acres for a mixed-use development. Why can't the Coyotes just buy the land? The land was given to Arizona when it became a state over 110 years ago, and the Arizona Constitution sets a framework for the land to be leased and sold for the benefit of state-funded programs, like K-12 education. There are about 9 million acres remaining. What is the process for buying state land? Think of the Arizona State Land Department as the landlord or current owner. Anyone who wants to buy state land must do due diligence on the property, according to a land spokesperson Lynn Córdova, which can include an environmental, cultural and title review. The land must be appraised. That appraisal must go before the department's Board of Appeals, which signs off on the appraisal amount, according to the department. Applications say department Commissioner Robyn Sahid must also approve of a sale. Then the State Land Department prepares an auction notice, which must be advertised for at least 10 weeks in two media organizations, before the public bidding begins. Where do the Coyotes stand? The Coyotes' application was first filed in June by the law firm Fennemore Craig, but in January was updated in the name of Miracle Development LLC. Using the 12-month timeframe outlined by the department, that means any public auction could still be multiple months away. Córdova confirmed on Feb. 6 the appraisal is still in process. The appraisal has not yet been filed or reviewed by the department, meaning a hearing before the board cannot take place. Does the original applicant always win at auction? Most of the time, according to data kept by the State Land Department, but not always. Land is sold to the highest bidder. In 2022, that led to a high-profile bidding war between hospital competitors Banner Health and HonorHealth. Banner applied to buy 48 acres on the northeast corner of Hayden Road and Loop 101 in Scottsdale. But in a bidding war documented by the Phoenix Business Journal, its competitor HonorHealth had the winning bid at $84 million. Is state land the Coyotes' only option? No. CEO Xavier Gutierrez confirmed the team was pursuing the state land, but was quick to note there are other land options and the team was "not yet ready to announce which is the one that we are going to pursue as the primary one." That was the same day NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Coyotes majority owner "Alex Meruelo is focused on one piece of property." Where does Arizona leadership stand on this? Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who hired Sahid in January 2023, has met with Gutierrez. She said the land sale, if it happens, will "absolutely" proceed as any other and without her thumb on the scale. Hobbs' chief of staff Chad Campbell, a former lobbyist for the Coyotes, has also talked to his former client, raising concerns about a conflict of interest. Hobbs' spokesperson, Christian Slater, wouldn't talk about what the Governor's Office conversations with the Coyotes have included. Slater said Campbell "has no involvement in the pending application for a potential land sale. "Nobody has, or will, get special treatment," Slater said.
