So…how long before the Phoenix Coyotes are disbanded?

Posted on March 4th, 2009. Written by Emmett Jones.

Break up the Phoenix Coyotes! Why? Lets make this multiple choice…

a. They are an unstoppable hockey force

b.  They are continually being bailed out by the NHL, skipping lease payments with the city of Glendale Arizona, and have a coach that is making 7x more than the average NHL hockey coach.

If you’re thinking about guessing “a”, let me remind you that the Coyotes are currently 14th in the western conference.

As for “b”?  Lets start with the city of Glendale and those loveable Coyotes!

12 News obtained city documents showing the Coyotes had not made lease payments for Glendale-owned Jobing.com Arena for the past seven months. Based on city records of past payments, the bailout could be worth up to $4 million over the course of a year.

Scruggs [The mayor of Glendale -- Ed.] also would not say whether the money has been deposited in a City of Glendale account. The documents obtained by 12 News show it’s not there.

The Coyotes lease payments totaled $4.3 million in 2007, the last full year in the city documents. The documents show payments were current through July 2008.

The arena rent is a major part of Glendale’s $9 million in annual debt payments on the money it borrowed to build Jobing.com Arena. Sales tax revenue is the other major source.

What about their coach, “The Great One”, Wayne Gretzky?  Lets go to the Globe & Mail,

The Phoenix Coyotes are among the poorest teams in the NHL, but head coach Wayne Gretzky makes far more than any other coach in the league.

Gretzky earns between $7-million and $8-million (all currency U.S.) per year on a five-year contract, or more than seven times the average annual salary for an NHL head coach, according to several sources. The contract is so generous that even though Gretzky was said by one source to have agreed to defer up to half his salary this season, he would still be the best-paid bench boss in the league.

The huge compensation came based on the notion that Gretzky would help sell tickets at the Jobing.com Arena in suburban Glendale. But now, in Gretzky’s fourth season behind the bench, that does not appear to be the case.

“He doesn’t translate to one ticket sold,” a source said. “They pimped him so much, but he didn’t represent $1.”

The Coyotes are averaging a crowd of 14,892 through 28 home games this season, which is fourth worst in the 30-team NHL. In the Gretzky era, the team has averaged 15,070 per game, compared to 15,469 the year before the 2004-05 lockout.

Ouch. Although lets be honest…how many fans go to the games to see the coach?  Even the most famous coaches of all-time aren’t pulling in fans left and right (were fans flocking to watch the Dolphins play because Don Shula was the coach? Not quite.)  Any increase usually seen from bringing in a new coach usually has to do with the fans believing that the team is going to increase their wins, or their standing in their respective league.  Gretzky’s teams have been losing the battle with mediocrity for quite awhile, so who would expect that fans would still flock to see a losing product?

The Coyotes are expected to lose as much as $45 million this season, and the NHL has been helping out by advancing shared revenue to the Coyotes in the forms of broadcasting and television rights.  The Coyotes also finished last in the NHL in ticket revenue last season…So, how long is it before the “C-word” (contraction) starts getting tossed around?  For a sport that is still desperately ailing or is in a slow (very slow) rebuilding process, depending on your point of view, contraction would seemingly all but kill the sport, would it not?

Contraction on the ice…its twice as nice!

Arizona Local News — City of Glendale bailing out money–losing Phoenix Coyotes

Globe & Mail — Great one getting great big paychecks

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