Dilbert Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 ECHL has terminated the membership of the Newfoundland Growlers effective immediately. The owner of the Growlers and the Trois Rivieres Lions was in severe debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. The Lions appear to be safe for now as a new ownership group may be coming forward to keep them alive. This comes with just 6 games remaining on the Growlers schedule with and tied for third with Trois Riviere and Worcester in the North division. Sad that the league chose not to prop them up to finish the season. Quote Signature intentionally left blank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDAWG Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 7 minutes ago, Dilbert said: ECHL has terminated the membership of the Newfoundland Growlers effective immediately. The owner of the Growlers and the Trois Rivieres Lions was in severe debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. The Lions appear to be safe for now as a new ownership group may be coming forward to keep them alive. This comes with just 6 games remaining on the Growlers schedule with and tied for third with Trois Riviere and Worcester in the North division. Sad that the league chose not to prop them up to finish the season. The Maple Leafs are going to have to find a new ECHL affiliate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridleylash Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 And so ends another chapter in the long and inevitably-tragic tale of Maritime minor-pro hockey. Seems like the Growlers' death may be the final nail in the coffin for the region's prospects of hosting another minor-pro team again; they've already lost so many that it's becoming clear that the region simply can't sustain it unless we find a way to make travel a non-issue. It thrives at the major-junior level, the Q is evidence enough of that. But seems like that might be the cap on the region's heights until someone can solve the travel conundrum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted April 2 Author Share Posted April 2 It's not the Maritimes that are the problem, it's Newfoundland (which pedants will tell you is Atlantic Canada but not Maritime Canada). St. John's is about as far from Halifax as Halifax is from New York City, and Hfx is already for all intents and purposes as far east as a continental sports league can go, what with being an hour ahead of Eastern Time. It doesn't work without travel subsidies, and even then it requires unusual scheduling to make it work. If anything, the Q is worse for St. John's than any minor league; the Fog Devils made it like two years whereas the St. John's Maple Leafs, albeit in an AHL much more concentrated on New England and the Maritimes, lasted a decade and change. They'll probably get another whack at the Q when one of the far northern teams gives up the ghost but that probably won't last long either. EDIT: To put the old IceCaps in perspective, St. John's is as close to Dublin as it is to Winnipeg. 1 Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerslionspistonshabs Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 That sucks. I always thought it was cool to have hockey in obscure, isolated towns/cities, but I get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimball Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 10 hours ago, Gary said: SLIDES INTO ALEX'S DMs ... Quote "I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific." Lily Tomlin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerslionspistonshabs Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 11 hours ago, Gary said: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 He also stated that if they don’t win the auction for the land that he will sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacat_12 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Seems pretty premature to make this announcement before they've actually won the bid for the land. They must be confident that their won't be any other bidders, otherwise they're just asking to be dunked on. They at least seem to be putting some effort into the PR campaign, which is what cost them the vote on the Tempe plot. These quotes from Meruelo are really emphasizing the lack of tax dollars being used on the project. If only they had made sure this got communicated properly with the previous arena project. Quote “My family and I are committed to winning this land auction and building a transformative entertainment district that will not require taxpayer funding for the first time in Arizona history,” said Arizona Coyotes Chairman & Governor Alex Meruelo. “We will buy this land, build this development and finish a project that will incur the cost of more than $100 million in infrastructure improvements with no burden placed on taxpayers.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DustDevil61 Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 And the $68.5 million question remains: Does Alex Meruelo actually have, or can get, said money to purchase the land and build an arena? Quote http://i.imgur.com/Pyc5qRH.gifhttp://i.imgur.com/RDXvxFE.gif LED Sig Credits to packerfan21396 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBTV Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 I hope a group from QC outbids them in the auction, just out of spite, then buys the team. Write-off the $100M for the parcel as part of the relo fee. Let the land rot, or turn it into another strip mall. Or sell it for a dime on the dollar once they take possession of the team. I'm sure there's examples I'm just not thinking of, but I can't think of a bigger failure in my lifetime (basically early 80s). Even the MLB contraction candidates weren't seriously being considered for contraction, and ended up better off and entrenched in their communities (one new, one existing.) Quote "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 2 hours ago, BBTV said: I hope a group from QC outbids them in the auction, just out of spite, then buys the team. Write-off the $100M for the parcel as part of the relo fee. Let the land rot, or turn it into another strip mall. Or sell it for a dime on the dollar once they take possession of the team. It's the Phoenix area's newest mixed-use development: L'ouestgate, Arizona's first destination for Quebec-themed shopping and entertainment! We take the chain-smoking and being racist that Arizonans already know and love, and pour gravy all over it. 6 Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacat_12 Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 On 4/5/2024 at 3:36 PM, DustDevil61 said: And the $68.5 million question remains: Does Alex Meruelo actually have, or can get, said money to purchase the land and build an arena? They had to put down a sizable deposit when they committed as a bidder. I'm assuming they also would've had to provide proof that they can actually pay for the land/development in order to get approval to bid. On 4/5/2024 at 9:49 PM, BBTV said: I hope a group from QC outbids them in the auction, just out of spite, then buys the team. Write-off the $100M for the parcel as part of the relo fee. Let the land rot, or turn it into another strip mall. Or sell it for a dime on the dollar once they take possession of the team. Yeah, that's not how it works. In order to bid on the land you have to already have a proposal in place for how you plan to develop it. But sure, let's dump all over a privately financed arena plan and advocate for the team to play in a building that rinsed taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBTV Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 56 minutes ago, spartacat_12 said: Yeah, that's not how it works. In order to bid on the land you have to already have a proposal in place for how you plan to develop it. Oh I know, we just went through the exact same thing here on our waterfront (the Sixers lost the bidding, and their plan would have included their new arena, hence their pivot to the most controversial project that I can remember. I was being facetious. 1 Quote "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fowler2 Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 On 4/5/2024 at 9:08 PM, The_Admiral said: It's the Phoenix area's newest mixed-use development: L'ouestgate, Arizona's first destination for Quebec-themed shopping and entertainment! We take the chain-smoking and being racist that Arizonans already know and love, and pour gravy all over it. Or they can just Fleur-de-leave. I'll see myself out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanMcD29 Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 Well Quote Twitter: @RyanMcD29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted April 9 Author Share Posted April 9 [to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic] stop developing a desert, stop developing a desert, stop developing a desert, the water is all gone 4 Quote ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacat_12 Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 16 hours ago, RyanMcD29 said: Well Well the arena isn't going to be in Scottsdale, and the Coyotes already planned to use Phoenix infrastructure for the development. Not sure why anyone cares about this guy's opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMU Posted April 9 Share Posted April 9 3 hours ago, spartacat_12 said: Well the arena isn't going to be in Scottsdale, and the Coyotes already planned to use Phoenix infrastructure for the development. Not sure why anyone cares about this guy's opinion. Because the arena is across the street from Scottsdale and the site, being a vacant patch of sand, will need to have nearly two mile-long sewers and water mains built as a result, plus the team will still be on the hook for completely reconfiguring a highway offramp that serves Scottsdale being as how the whole complex is right across the street. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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