Phoenix Market Destroyed

After a summer spent in bankruptcy and litigation, the Phoenix Coyotes have returned to Phoenix for the 2009/10 season.  They are back because courts found that nobody is suitable to buy the team, so they will continue to be propped up by the NHL until something changes.  In the summer a lot of damage was done to the fanbase.  It is clear that the Phoenix Coyotes will not remain in Phoenix in the long-term.  Season ticket holders were unwilling to renew their tickets over the summer because they didn’t know it there would be a team for this season, thus killing the season ticket base.  The Phoenix Coyotes are back, but their fans are not. The official attendance for Thursday’s game against the St Louis Blues was 6899, with reports that only about 5000 people were present.  This makes the official attendance the NHL has seen in several years and makes it look quite probable that the average attendance in Phoenix this season will be the lowest number the league has seen for a team in decades.