NHL Franchise Notes: Coyotes Dedicated To Success In Phoenix

Coyotes CEO Shumway Says There Is No Effort To Sell Team Despite Trying To Sell NLL Sting

Coyotes CEO Jeff Shumway said that while the organization is attempting to sell the NLL Arizona Sting, there is "no effort to sell" the Coyotes. Shumway does not "discard openness to a partner, but said that overall, the franchise is committed to proving" that the Phoenix area is a "good NHL market and that the Coyotes are a solid operation, fiscally and physically." In Phoenix, Carrie Watters notes "another reason relocation doesn't seem likely" is that Glendale, which paid for 80% of the $220M Jobing.com Arena, "could impose penalties in excess" of $700M. Forbes in its recent NHL franchise valuations estimated the Coyotes' operating revenue at a deficit of $9.5M, but Shumway said  losses are "substantially less" than before Owner Jerry Moyes acquired the team in '06. The Coyotes also indicated that ticket sales this season are "55,000 ahead of this time a year ago" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/12).

TO TELL THE TRUTH: The Globe & Mail's Stephen Brunt writes under the subhead, "NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman Is Treading The Same Ground As His Former CFL Counterpart Larry Smith Once Did -- Projecting A Healthy Image And Future As The Rot Sets In." Bettman this week spoke at a sports management conference in Toronto, "trumpeting attendance figures that don't differentiate between the paid, the unpaid, and the discounted, claiming the NHL had enjoyed a record October while the rest of the global economy was imploding." Bettman also stated that "all of his league's 30 franchises are 'healthy.'" But two NHL owners claimed that the Coyotes lost between $30-40M last season. Brunt writes Bettman is "incapable of stating the simple truth -- we've got issues in big-league hockey, nasty ones, just like they have in other sports, and the recession/depression is only going to make them worse" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/12).

Bettman (r) Confident That Wang Will Be Able  To Get Financing For $2B Lighthouse Development

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL? Bettman yesterday said of the $2B Lighthouse development proposal that includes a renovated Nassau Coliseum for the Islanders, "My guess is they'll get the financing. But let's get the approvals done so they can move forward. For anyone to suggest, 'We're not going to do the approvals; we're going to wait for the financing,' it doesn't work that way. Let's give them the green light, and I'm sure they'll do everything that needs to be done to get it accomplished." Islanders officials indicated that team Owner Charles Wang since buying the club in '00 has lost $14-20M, and Wang said that his "financial well is not bottomless and denial of the project might force him to consider selling" (NEWSDAY, 11/12).

ALTERNATE JERSEYS: In Pittsburgh, Robert Dvorchak reported the Penguins' alternate blue jerseys "proved to be so popular with fans that merchants couldn't keep" them on the shelves. The Penguins will wear the vintage uniforms Saturday against the Sabres, and Dvorchak noted fans should "expect the market share to grow exponentially." While other parts of the economy are "hurting significantly" the market for sports merchandise "apparently is recession-proof" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 11/10). Meanwhile, in Vancouver, Bruce Constantineau reported the Canucks Saturday will "unveil their newest 'third jersey'" when they host the Maple Leafs at GM Place. Some "rumours have this latest uniform design featuring a combination of the vintage stick-in-hockey-rink logo and a return of 'Johnny Canuck,' a popular character not seen on Canucks jerseys since the pre-NHL Western Hockey League days" (VANCOUVER SUN, 11/11).