Coyotes fail to make profit AP Photo/Tom Gannam
Everyone will be quick to say that the economic crisis is to blame for the Phoenix Coyotes struggles, but this is a classic case of a sports team that has been mis-managed for an extended period of time and it now looks like relocation is the only way the NHL will be able to save this franchise.
It looks like the Coyotes have lost 200 million dollars over the last seven years. It looks like some of that money was spent badly in the payroll department. A look at the payroll numbers since 2003 supplied by Forbes.com looks like this
2003-45 million
2004-39 million
2005-zero
2006-38 million
2007-43 million
They paid out all that money and yet have not been to the playoffs since 2002. So they have wasted payroll dollars on players who cannot win, and when we look at their attendance figures they cannot draw either.
In 2007 the Coyotes averaged 15 thousand fans per home game, and only registered 19 million dollars in gate receipts in 2007. In fact this team has had a negative operating income since Jerry Moyes bought the franchise in 2001.
Now we learn that the Coyotes have not made any of their lease payments to the City of Glendale, AZ. These missed payments could total 4 million dollars and it is unlikely that the team will ever be able to make those payments at all.
NHL Commish Gary Bettman has repeatedly tried to get investors to meet with the team and help save it, but no one seems that interested in saving a sinking ship. It seems now the best course of action for this club is to relocate it to a traditional hockey market and replace the management from top to bottom.
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