The other shoe dropped on Springfield Falcon fans on Tuesday when the American Hockey League Board of Governors approved the sale to Arizona Coyotes and relocation of the club.
The destination looks to be Tucson, Arizona south of the Phoenix metroplex.
The Tucson Convention Center Arena has been cited as the club’s home for the coming 2016-17 AHL season.
The proximity to the home club in Glendale will give Coyotes scouts a shorter drive and call-ups will be easier.
In the void created by the departure of the Falcons is the pending relocation of the AHL’s Portland Pirates from Maine to Springfield for the coming season.
The Board of Governors are expected to make a decision in two weeks.
But that then leaves a hole in Portland where the Pirates have been at odds over the last few years with facility management; they had moved to Lewiston for a season.
The move to Tucson will not be without some angst as the Tucson City Council is digging in to keep the Falcons and Coyotes from eating into taxpayer funding.
Darrell Jackson of the Glendale Star has reported that the City Council may balk at the idea of spending money on a professional team; the Coyotes then have Glendale to deal with as well as Tucson in keeping peace.
“I am a hockey fan and I understand teams are moving their minor league teams to the Pacific Division and it makes sense,” City Council member Steve Kozachik said in an interview with Jackson. “But the fact that they are jumping ship from Springfield, that means they can’t come in here with a straight face and say they are here for the long haul.”
The move gives the Coyotes some flexibility and savings in having their affiliate so close. It also provides the Pacific Division with another club for the schedule which was unbalanced this season.
The Coyotes affiliate will change the dynamic of the AHL’s scheduling and traveling. The Stockton Heat, Bakersfield Condors, Ontario Reign, San Diego Gulls, and San Jose Barracuda will be within reach to Tucson.
The San Antonio Rampage and Texas Stars are also in the Pacific Division and a realignment may not be in the too distant future.
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