By George Fallar Some things never change.
One is that the Stanley Cup seems to want to stay in the United States.
Another is that David Shoalts will frequently return to the well of guaranteed partisan and enemy clicks with negative Arizona Coyotes stories.
Also guaranteed? Actual facts aren’t that important to Shoalts.
He’s pushed out a couple editorials in the Toronto Globe and Mail that coincided with the Leafs losing to the Coyotes. The pieces purported to dissect the finances and future of the Arizona Coyotes. Again.
Some History
DS has been writing about the Coyotes since the bankruptcy fiasco began. While his interest was initially perhaps rooted in deflecting interest from the Maple Leafs clown show, now it seems to be personal.
Through the years, Shoalts developed a rapport with some locals. Former councilmember Phil Lieberman, who has been affectionately afforded the “Leakerman” moniker, was a common source. While that nickname may be unfair, the fact remains that Shoalts and others were privy to information from legally protected Glendale City Council executive sessions. Google “Shoalts Lieberman”.
His anti-Coyotes pieces have been debunked so many times that he should simply be ignored like a petulant child whining in the breakfast cereal aisle.
But, I really don’t like the way this guy works, it’s embarrassing to his “craft”. Why would he be so annoyed with the Coyotes crew?
Maybe he is still stinging from the classic of all classic punkings at the hands of Ice Edge (@HedgeyeDJ). Oh so many years ago, Shoalts ran with a story about Ice Edge buying Manchester United and dropping their pursuit of the Coyotes.
Seriously, he did. Click here for the Five For Howling story about how excellent Shoalts is at checking facts before publishing a story.
Somehow he STILL gets paid for that level of work.
Attendance Again
Logic of Internet trolls, and Mr. Shoalts, against the Coyotes will always devolve from any semblance of logical discussion into empty seat jokes and examination of attendance figures.
Shoalts states the Coyotes had $20M in ticket sales last year. He should check that number, because it’s wrong and of course low.
Phil Lieberman might not have the correct figure, but somebody does and Shoalts should start working the phones to other sources. Make sure you hide your caller ID, Dave.
The plan, and thus far IceArizona has hit (or exceeded) MOST of their targets, is for double digit growth in ticket sales this year as well.
Regular seat ticket sales have fading importance in the success of NHL teams for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that each NHL team is a 1/30th share of the successful National Hockey League.
In making his poor attendance argument, Shoalts includes two pre-season games in his calculations. That’s ludicrous yet typical of his technique.
Shoalts adds “stank” to respectable Coyotes October attendance numbers using the word “reportedly”, as in “Shoalts reportedly did some actual fact checking.”
The fact remains the Coyotes had their best October attendance in six years, reportedly mistaken by Shoalts in his comments as eight years.
14,000 people were in the newly named Gila River Arena to see the Coyotes dismantle Shoalts’ Leafs on the same day Shoalts penned his first in his new series of Coyotes short stories. Cue the donkeys braying “Ha ha that’s because they were all Leafs fans.” First of all, no they weren’t. Secondly, please some of you get it through your skulls that this is a RESORT DESTINATION that will always attract fans of opposing teams. It’s part of the plan.
Corporate Business
Shoalts mentions one corporate / sponsorship deal in his argument that the Coyotes are a failure doomed to move when the infamous “five year out clause” ticks down to zero.
DS notes $3M from the Gila River Arena naming rights deal. Word on the street is that $3M is less than a third of corporate sponsorship deals making Dave’s calculations another $6M or so short.
Word on what street? Not a street in Toronto. Work the phones, Dave, send some more emails.
Television Money
While the jingoistic Shoalts is aware of the unexpected boon of a giant NHL Canadian television contract, he chooses to have no knowledge of local television revenue. It was “in the news”, he could have easily dug up the information with 30 seconds of “work”.
The local television deal with Fox is worth another $12M per year, revenue that is up close to 400% from the time the NHL owned the team.
Shoalts should take that off the top of his gigantic pile of Coyotes losses. People that wish to use their brains to THINK about the viability of the Coyotes should consider why Fox would sign a twelve year deal if they didn’t consider it a profitable partnership.
Concerts
Another revenue stream ignored by the Toronto based “hockey writer” is the concert/show side of the Coyotes business. There is no mention of the shows or the revenue current and future.
How much will TWO Taylor Swift shows subtract from the losses being counted on by the anti-Coyotes crowd? Do the math, chuckleheads, count on both shows being sold out FAST. Bob Seger will sell out as well.
So far, Gila River Arena is set to host 6 marquee shows, DOUBLE the disappointing number of shows last year. Word on the street is that five more big time shows will be announced.
How did that happen?
Last year, any THINKING person would realize that the management group hit the ground with the ink still wet on their contract in August. Look at the Taylor Swift show as an example, her show is in August and had to be booked nearly a year in advance. That’s the state of the business in a region with MULTIPLE concert venues.
The amount of work to be done in a short amount of time was gargantuan, BIG shows were already booked in the multitude of other venues in the Valley.
So…
I could continue, there are other errors in “facts” and assumptions throughout the Shoalts drivel.
Ask yourself why would a “reporter” ignore facts that clearly weaken the arguments he is making? That’s the answer, he’s offering opinion NOT reporting.
Shoalts’s predictions regarding the Coyotes have been famously incorrect since at least 2010. Yet, he has a loyal entourage of donkeys swallowing everything he produces as fact, adding those facts to their own version of the Coyotes fable to be told around the glowing electronic campfires of social media.
He’s wrong, though, folks. Hanging your hat on excrement is both messy and, at best, tenuous, but it’s your choice.
Get bent, David Shoalts.