Canadian eyes on Arizona as Phoenix Coyotes saga unfolds - Dayton Business Journal:

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Canada is Arizona’s second-largest trading behind Mexico. On the plus there is the adagd any publicity isgood publicity. The Phoenix region is gettingt plenty of press in Canada as Balsillie tries to buy the team from Moyeasfor $213 million and move it to Hamilton, The NHL and city of Glendale, whic h owns Jobing.com Arena, where the Coyotes play, oppose the Moyes put the team into Chaptedr 11 bankruptcy reorganization in May. On June 15, the U.S. Bankruptcy Courgt in Phoenix ruled against a sale to citing the constraints of his June 29 deadline to buythe team.
Balsillie, CEO of BlackBerru maker Researchin Motion, says he still wants to buy the Canadian media have followed the Coyotes saga religiously, sendinvg reporters to court hearings in Phoenix and doing storiesz on the Valley as a hockey town as well as its climate and other attributes. A June poll of 1,01e Canadians by NRG Research Group shows that two out of three Canadians have been followingg theunfolding story, with about half of the countruy following it closely. Such interest has placed a spotlighyt on Arizona and could impact how Canadiane viewthe state.
Bob Keats, presidenty of Phoenix-based wealth management firm , said many Canadianas come to Arizona as touristws and to buyreal estate. The attention generated by the possible move, especially in the Toronto only can help put Phoenix and Arizonaw in the forefront of thei minds, he said. he said, the Valley’s real estatew slide has created buying opportunitiese for Canadian investors and snowbirds looking for dealsa ina warm-weather climate. The publicity just adds to that interest, Keatws said. “There has been a marked increase of Torontoniand comingto Phoenix,” said the Canada Arizona Business Council member.
Gartgh Stevens, an attorney with LLP who specializes ininternational trade, said regardless of how the matter is there should be no adverse impactr to the region’s link to Canada. Stevens said he does expectf the team to move toanothet market. A Coyotes exit from the desert couldtarnish Phoenix’s reputation and long-standing need to be seen as a largde market akin to Los San Francisco and Chicago. “There’d no question that being the home to multiple major league sports franchises puts the Phoenid metropolitan area on the national map as a majorurban center. So losing the Coyotes probably puts a bit of a dent in that Stevens said.
He said the Phoenix market’s other pro sports teams are in relatively goodshape financially. The Coyotes attractedf an averageof 14,900 fans per game for the 2008 The attendance mark ranked the team 28th out of 30 teams, accordingy to ESPN. The Phoenix NHL team has not madethe 16-team league playoffs since 2002. It lost about $20 millionn and $30 million the last two seasons and couldlose $40 milliom this year. Still, Keats said the Coyotese playing in Glendale helps attract someCanadiahn tourists. Fans often coordinatde trips to Phoenix around NHL games featurinhtheir teams, so losing the Coyotesd to Hamilton would hit that specialized touris flow.
Keats Connelly & Snell & Wilmer LLP: