Arizona Coyotes Nightmare Continues

I have been a fan of the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes since I was little. Growing up in a non-traditional hockey market can be tough. But for Coyotes fans it is even worse.

Fans had been literally going head to head with the City of Glendale for almost five years and it took a toll on the fans. As I have grown up the team seemed closer and closer to relocation. It finally seemed to end when IceArizona stepped in and purchased the team, and Coyotes fans would never have to go to a City Council meeting again, or so we thought.

Now its a Coyotes fan worse nightmare reappearing. Just days after Gary Bettman spoke of the positive outlook of the Coyotes, Glendale schedules a special meeting to discuss ending their arena agreement. Wednesday night many Coyotes fans made their way to Glendale to support the Coyotes at another city council meeting. This time things did not go their way.

In a final vote of 5-2 the Council voted to nullify the agreement made with IceArizona and the team. To me this is just crazy, you cannot just make a deal with someone and then two years later say never mind. I could see if the deal was going horribly, but the Arizona Coyotes are projected to break even and possibly make money this upcoming season.

I do not get how a government of a city can just several a LEGAL agreement, and some of the members that want to get rid of it were the ones who voted for it in the first place. This all come after the city claimed the agreement was broken when the former city attorney went to work with the Coyotes. Craig Tindall, left Glendale prior to the final agreement being put into place, but went the Coyotes prior to his city severance ending. But the complaint to the State Bar of Arizona concluded that nothing had been violated.

Then why is Glendale so admit that the agreement be severed? I believe they want a better deal, one that gives the city more money. The original agreement was as good as it could get at the time, and my belief is that Glendale thought they would fail. But they are moving in the wrong direction for that now. The frustration runs deep!

I don’t think I am the only one who is frustrated with Glendale.

This is the same Glendale that had issues with the Arizona Cardinals and hosting a Super Bowl. I think fans in general are just fed up with the games Glendale likes to play. Many fans want the team to move back to Downtown Phoenix, which is not a bad place at all. And when they say move, they want it now!

For now it is on to the courts for the Arizona Coyotes and their fans. The teams will file an injunction against the city and move from there. Here is Anthony LeBlanc’s post-meeting statement:

"“We are disappointed with the city’s decision to violate its obligations under the agreement that was entered into and duly approved only two years ago. We will exhaust any and all legal remedies against the city of Glendale for this blatant violation of its contractual obligations to us.”"

LeBlanc had this to say on twitter:

If you want to see what being a Coyotes fan is all about, just read some of the comments on LeBlanc’s tweet. Fans from everywhere chimed in to share their support of the Coyotes and their future in Arizona:

No matter what happens next, if they stay in Glendale or move to another city in Arizona, the Arizona Coyotes will have some of the most dedicated fans. We are living in a nightmare, again!