The Coyotes on Friday officially introduced Majority Owner Andrew Barroway, who will build a "strong foundation for the future instead of throwing money at free-agent stopgaps," according to Zach Buchanan of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Barroway said, "I'm committed to be here. It's a beautiful place. We have some passionate fans. We can build a winning, long-term organization here and really, really thrive." Buchanan noted Barroway "will have final say on all decisions," taking the title of Chair & Governor from George Gosbee. President & CEO Anthony LeBlanc "will remain in his current position." The rest of the nine-member IceArizona ownership group that bought the team 18 months ago also "will remain in place." Barroway said that he has "no intention of flipping the team for a quick profit or moving it." Barroway: "I'm buying this team because I'm a life-long sports and hockey fan and it's been my dream to become an owner." Buchanan noted words like "long-term," "stability" and "future" were "used regularly in his introductory news conference." Barroway added that he "intends to be an active owner and will look for a home in the Valley." His addition also "gives the team some needed tax relief, since the previous ownership makeup was too heavily Canadian to qualify the Coyotes for some NHL-backed programs" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/3).
PICKING HIS BRAIN: Barroway said, "I didn't do the deal to make money. Let me say that first. ... But having said that, you want the deal to be on strong financial footing. This team is heading in that direction. Corporate sales are up. Ticket sales are up. Everything is trending in the right direction and in the National Hockey League overall, everything is trending up, too so I think we're going to get there." Asked about how active he will be, Barroway said, "I will be involved in all the major decisions of the team. I would let the hockey guys control the hockey operations. They know a lot more about hockey than me." Meanwhile, he addressed relocation: "There had been talk of expansion to Vegas and yes I was aware of that ahead of time, but again, there was never any thought to relocating the team. We want to build a winner here. We never had any thought about Las Vegas or any other market" (FOXSPORTSARIZONA.com, 1/2). The AP's John Marshall noted the 48-year-old Barroway "has been a successful hedge fund manager as managing partner of Merion Investment Management LP," an event-driven hedge fund that manages more than $1B. He "previously tried to buy" the Devils and Islanders (AP, 1/2).
