NBA denies Seattle bid, Kings to stay in Sacramento; Great for Coyotes?
By Troy Baker
Commissioner David Stern finally did something favorable for Arizona sports fans and it had nothing to do with the Phoenix Suns. He and the league denied a bid that would have relocated the Sacramento Kings to Seattle.
Mar 5, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings fans hold a sign for mayor Kevin Johnson (not pictured) to build the crown downtown arena and keep the Kings during the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Why does this affect the Phoenix Coyotes? Well Seattle has made a huge push to build an arena and host both a NBA and NHL team. If they landed the Sonics again they would put a lot of pressure and money toward acquiring a NHL team. With the Coyotes being target number one.
Thanks to former Suns guard and now Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson for all his hard work in keeping the team in Sacramento where it belongs. It has always had a great home court advantage.
Seattle should of never left for OKC but hey that happens for a reason sometimes. With Seattle and Quebec city starving for a NHL franchise the best thing would be a 2 team expansion. Same for the NBA. I grow tired of having just 1 NBA team in Canada. Makes sense to have 3-4 at the least. Maybe even one in Mexico. The NHL is nicely spread out as it is. It would be cool and weird to have the NHL in Seattle. Not that far from the Canucks as it is.
Phoenix is still in the process of securing an owner. Those prospects have looked very promising as of late. Several are putting bids together and consulting / hiring firms to handle this. Plus I am playing Powerball Saturday so I may have a bid myself. Fingers crossed.
As far as the success for the Coyotes, I think once ownership is done we will see a tremendous upswing in the momentum. Things could run like this: Ownership, re-sign Tippett and Maloney, sign name free agent scorers, sell out the suites, gain new sponsorship, and ride that momentum.
I wouldn’t even mind 1 game a month on a weekday at US Airways. That is usually the tough game to fill the midweek game against a so so team. As a season holder I wouldn’t mind the drive once a month.