NHL Anti-Thread: Bad Business Decision Aggregator

[bosrs1]

http://www.azcentral...uling-0824.html but you have to zoom your browser in a lot just to read it

The superiorcourt agreed with the Clerk that the description of the proposedmeasure contained in the petitions was misleading and, thus,denied SGN relief.

¶2

We disagree with the superior court and hold thesummary was not misleading.

See infra

¶¶ 6-11. We also holdSGN substantially complied with other statutory requirements,

see infra

¶¶ 12-13, and timely filed the petitions with theClerk.

See infra

¶¶ 14-19. We thus direct the Clerk to fileand process the petitions in accordance with applicablestatutes, reverse the superior court's denial of relief, andremand for further proceedings consistent with this order.

So basically "no, dumbass, you can't throw it out because they didn't write a serial number on it." Also seems to say that the city clerk can't be trusted as the arbiter of what is and isn't valid. Looks like this will go to a ballot.

bosrs, you're a law-talkin' guy, right? Can you laymanize any of that for us?

You did a good job of that yourself. Looks like the appeals court disagreed with the lower court that the ballot measure was misleading (that was the main reason the lower court ruled for the city was the measure was seen as misleading). They also appear to be saying that while the petition didn't identically comply with statutory requirements it did substantially do so which is enough to overlook things like the missing serial number. Basically it's back on the ballot unless the city appeals to the AZ Supreme Court.

However do remember that even if this goes on the ballot and the tax hike is shot down by the voters, the city is still on the hook for the separate deal with Jamison should he come through with investors by the end of this month. Which means they'd be back to selling off furniture at city hall to pay Jamison. But Jamison only has 7 more days to finish his deal or it's off without another extension (he already got one on July 31.)

[Sodboy13]

When it comes to the Coyotes, if deadline extensions were fans, this team would have a season ticket waiting list.

[charger77]

[Sodboy13]

Not that it's unexpected or anything, but Glendale approved another 30-day lease extension with the league today.

[The_Admiral]

Hahaha. Of course. They don't even manage it! How many events do they have that aren't Coyotes games?

A not-so-quick note on the sales tax initiative rearing its head again, if I may. Something I've noticed the remaining Coyotes loyalists saying is that the people of Glendale voted in their city council to make these decisions for them, and so whatever those decisions are, like, say, authorizing almost half a billion dollars in corporate subsidies over three years and raising taxes to do so, those decisions have to be respected and upheld to preserve the integrity and authority of government. In short, you got what you voted for, so shut up and let me have my hockey team. Well, let me have your hockey team, if for the sake of argument I live in Scottsdale and it ain't my dime.

Okay, all well and good, but this strange sort of anti-populist rabblerousing (bring up the government!) neglects the fact that Glendale, like so many medium-sized American cities, operates under council-manager government, wherein the amateur mayor and aldermen delegate the actual business of running a city to a professional--and unelected--public administrator (in this case, at least till his timely retirement, the execrable Ed Beasley), whose decisions are more or less rubber-stamped by the elected body. So what you're really doing is electing someone to appoint someone to make decisions on your behalf. It's not quite local representative democracy the way they first drew it up, but some people along the way got the not-altogether-wrong idea that perhaps the actual levers of government should be protected from the untrained hands of the insurance agents, high school civics teachers, and retired busybodies who traditionally make up small-town legislatures. Everyone's had a lot of fun unleashing vitriol on dumb old Joyce Clark for her unwavering support of this plan, but it's not like she drew it up herself. She wouldn't know where to start. I'm not even sure Glendale's unelected professional administrators knew where to start. The NHL is preying on people who are fantastically in over their heads.

And that's why this plebiscite is so necessary. Someone needs to step in and save these dopes from themselves, because they're being bamboozled by people who are richer, smarter, and better at this game than they are. It might as well be the ordinary folks who live there, since they're the ones being led down this wayward path by full-time lawyers, part-time councilors, and city officials they didn't vote for and couldn't name. You can't hide behind "you voted for them and now you have to accept their decision" just because you like the Coyotes. I highly doubt that anyone successfully ran on a "disproportionately subsidize professional hockey" platform, and only now are voters trying to walk it back. And even if they did, why shouldn't you be able to intervene when you feel your elected officials haven't represented you the way you thought they would represent you? I don't want to get too political because we're not allowed to anymore, but I think it was awesome that Wisconsin at least tried to get Scott Walker out when they thought he was no longer acting in the best interests of the electorate. As long as people are people and thus vulnerable to making fast, careless, and dangerous decisions, a population needs to have that option behind the break-in-case glass. I'm sure if the tables were turned, the Coyotes diehards would want the right to circulate petitions and get their wishes on a ballot against the wishes of City Hall if it meant activating the mechanisms necessary to retain their team. They might even write their serial number somewhere other than where it says "Serial Number ___," too!

[Gothamite]

I'm not a huge fan of "citizen veto" votes, but when elected officials do something this stupid, this dangerous, waiting until the next election is an inadequate remedy.

[The_Admiral]

Oh, I agree with you. It's not something to be done at every turn, lest you turn into California. Eventually they're going to pass a proposition that votes themselves out of existence.

Something happened again:

http://www.azcentral...al-in-flux.html

Phoenix Coyotes suitor Greg Jamison says he's ready to move forward with his bid for the team, but now Glendale says it wants to rework its 20-year, $324 million deal with him.

The city was expected to send Jamison an updated draft on Wednesday night.

So because the Supreme Court probably isn't going to take their side that you can throw out an soundly endorsed petition because someone misplaced a serial number, they're not going to pass a sales tax increase at the polls, which means now they can't raise taxpayer money to give to billionaires, which means they're changing the stupid lease agreement they wrote. So even though he claimed he had the money, if they're not giving him all that money, we're back to "he doesn't have the money." But don't worry:

Jamison said he is working closely with the city and has admired the tough decisions that have been made.

"I really respect Glendale's council," he said. "They've shown a lot of courage."

That's one word for it, I suppose, but it should be reserved for things that are courageous. Signing away something like $425 million dollars in tax money for so a corporation can do a really crappy job of doing business in your city isn't courageous. I'd say they have chutzpah, maybe, but I'd rather go with "they're unethical and stupid." Of course Jamison respects that they're walking the line of the law to hand him hundreds of millions of dollars. What courage. That old white-haired bastard can go get f-cked.

[The_Admiral]

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/dossiers/vers-un-nouveau-colisee/201209/03/01-4570561-une-premiere-pelletee-de-terre-pour-lamphitheatre.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_B13b_la-capitale_577_section_POS1

Groundbreaking ceremony in Quebec City today. Michel Goulet, the Stastnys, and 20,000 people on hand to watch the silliness inherent to any groundbreaking ceremony. You're really on the clock now, Precious Roy.

[rvrdgsfn]

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/dossiers/vers-un-nouveau-colisee/201209/03/01-4570561-une-premiere-pelletee-de-terre-pour-lamphitheatre.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_B13b_la-capitale_577_section_POS1

Groundbreaking ceremony in Quebec City today. Michel Goulet, the Stastnys, and 20,000 people on hand to watch the silliness inherent to any groundbreaking ceremony. You're really on the clock now, Precious Roy.

[The_Admiral]

A small thought: many people, in defending why the team has to stay, have invoked the "bad optics" (ugh: that "looks bad" was somehow intellectualized into "bad optics" just makes my blood boil) of a team abandoning a publicly-financed facility, which makes it harder for teams to pitch (or, more accurately, demand) publicly-financed facilities of their own. Maybe so, but let's look at those pitches a bit more. Anyone who's been through these things knows that the claim, from the NFL down to indy baseball (and I got to watch the latter up close), is that building an arena Creates Jobs. Of course, they're mostly seasonal, low-paying jobs, but jobs nevertheless. Until, of course, they're not, like when a cartel of billionaires decides they're not making enough money and voluntarily shuts down their business to break the will of their workers, who would prefer on the whole that they not give up 25% of their salaries in an era of record-setting revenues. Not the workers whose Jobs were Created, mind you. Then there are no games, which means no one selling popcorn, no one working security, no one converting the rink, no one doing much of anything at the blue-collar level of the pro hockey industry. And not Predators Marketing Scheme "blue-collar," the actual kind. Which is why I get a little rankled when people lazily reduce this to "just millionaires against billionaires" with no regard for the laborers who aren't at the bargaining table but still stand to lose big if the arenas don't replace those hockey dates. And Glendale's is one that probably will not. Let's take a look at their events calendar:

http://jobingarena.com/events.aspx

basically you have a job fair for an outlet mall, a gymnastics exhibition, THE BIEBZ, and hockey that probably won't be played. Truly, the NHL is earning that $25 million Arena Management Fee.

So, my question, in short: how do you sell the public financing of arenas as Job Creators For The Community when the community's jobs are routinely taken away at the caprices of a sports league's ownership? Bad optics!

[AJM]

The latest...looks like Jamison finally secured funding.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8338670/source-says-phoenix-coyotes-suitor-greg-jamison-secures-financing

[Sodboy13]

The latest...looks like Jamison finally secured funding.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8338670/source-says-phoenix-coyotes-suitor-greg-jamison-secures-financing

Among the investors, who have to this point remained unidentified, are some members of the Ice Edge Group, a collection of Canadian and American businessmen who at one point were front-runners to buy the team themselves, the source told ESPN.com.

Ice Edge head Anthony LeBlanc has been in discussions with Jamison throughout the summer in putting a deal together to buy the team although it's not known exactly what role the group will play in the new ownership structure.

*stares at screen*

*takes long, slow drink*

*spits drink across room*

BAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA

[Lights Out]

So, yeah.... if you're wondering why the NHL is considered a third-rate joke in the American sporting landscape, wonder no more.

[LMU]

[bosrs1]

And just to add insult to injury for "Jamison's" group. The city would have to hold a whole new round of council votes to change the lease (which Jamison isn't to keen on changing) and which seems likely to happen.

[nash61]

Guess what, guys! Mellon Arena became a parking lot today!

[The_Admiral]

Using a high school band rendition of Fucik for the Ice Edge revelation makes it all the better.

[CubsFanBudMan]

The last piece of the ownership puzzle has to be Hulsizer... right?

[The_Admiral]

I dunno, let me check my fax machine.

Arizona Supreme Court just said they won't hear the city's appeal that they should be able to throw out a petition on a technicality. No time for such follies; they must be busy thinking of ways to make being Mexican illegal or something.

So now the voters can take away the sales tax increase meant to fund the Coyotes purchase. Away we go!

A Petition for Review was filed by Appellees City of Glendale and Pam Hanna on August 28, 2012.

After consideration of the Petition and Appendix, Amended Response, and Amicus brief, by a panel composed of Chief Justice Berch, Vice Chief Justice Bales, and Justice Pelander, IT IS ORDERED denying the Petition for Review.

bosrs1, confirm that this is legalese for "gtfo."

[DarkJourney]

The latest...looks like Jamison finally secured funding.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8338670/source-says-phoenix-coyotes-suitor-greg-jamison-secures-financing

So he did bring the hooker and sock puppet in on the deal