Tempe referendum fails to support Phoenix Coyotes hockey complex

We've all fallen at times to the arguments of synergy, from Chrysler and Mercedes, to Time Warner and AOL, to AT&T and Warner media, etc.  All of these purported synergies never came to pass, and the companies broke up, with billions of dollars of value destroyed.

I guess the same goes, sometimes, for professional sports leagues.  Metropolitan Phoenix has about 5 million residents and is the 12th largest television market in the US (although value of local television rights for sports is cratering, see "The Way You Watch Sports on TV Is Changing. Here’s Why," New York Times). 

It's a very hot place, so it isn't naturally a place that comes top of mind when you're thinking NHL hockey.  Although more recently, Las Vegas has been very successful in adding a hockey team.

Which is probably why for more than two decades, the Phoenix Coyotes have been unsuccessful economically, gone through bankruptcy, been owned and operated by the League, the City of Glendale refused to extend their arena contract, etc.  But still, the League doesn't want to abandon the Phoenix market.  

As I've written before ("Revisiting "Framework of characteristics that support successful community development in association with the development of professional sports facilities" and the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team + Phoenix Coyotes hockey"), how many indicators does the League need to accept that Phoenix might just not be a good fit for hockey?

Photo from "Tempe voters reject Coyotes Arena – “No” votes on Props 301, 302 and 303," Northeast Valley News.

The current ownership group--which still owes money to Glendale--developed a plan for an arena on an old landfill in Tempe, to be complemented by the creation of an entertainment district, with theoretically no public subsidy, although lots of necessary government spending would be required for infrastructure.

The City Council and Mayor pushed the referenda (there were three related items) onto the ballot for yesterday's election, with very limited time or opportunity for public input, and to build public support.

The referenda were soundly defeated ("We're done with fat cats. That's why Tempe voters shot down the Arizona Coyotes arena," Arizona Republic, "Voters reject plan for new Arizona Coyotes arena in Tempe: Will the franchise relocate?," The Athletic) and there is talk the team could be moved to Houston (10th largest television market) or Atlanta (8th largest).

Maybe if the referenda hadn't been pushed so quickly and a community dialogue could have been developed, a ballot referendum might have favored an arena.  But I think the issue is more that not only do people in Phoenix not want to pay subsidies for sports teams, they have no love for hockey.

As I said to a lawyer at a hearing on a land use matter in Salt Lake, "why are you so determined to locate here when everyone is telling you you're not wanted?"