Chris18 wrote:
The Suns don't play in Phoenix either. They play in Tempe, which is a suburb of Phoenix. Granted, Tempe is much closer to Phoenix than Glendale. But the thing is, very few people live in Phoenix. It's a total commuter city, with a vast majority of people living out in the Tempe, Mesa, Glendale area. I don't see why a team has to be in a city to be successful, when so many fans commute from suburbs.
The Devils are in Newark, right next to a major public transportation hub. How's that working for them, vs when they were in the Meadowlands, which is like 20 minutes from any city?
Glendale is a different beast than other Phoenix "suburbs". It was one of those small rural communities that got swept up in the crazy times of the 2000s and tried to become a major suburban hub overnight. The economy collapsed, and sure enough, Glendale is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Everyone with half a brain said the new rink should've been in Scottsdale, an already-developed suburban hub. The fans are already there. In Glendale, they bet on future development in the area and lost. The Coyotes would've moved sooner than Atlanta did had the city council not bent over backwards repeatedly to keep the NHL there.
As for the Devils, no idea. I guess they're doing better, though the previous owner put them in fairly significant debt.