Glendale, Ariz., Mayor Elaine Scruggs Doesn't Think Coyotes Will Remain in Arizona Much Longer (Video)

Glendale, Ariz., Mayor Elaine Scruggs Doesn’t Think Coyotes Will Remain in Arizona Much Longer (Video)

by Patrick McHugh on Sat, Jul 9, 2011 at 1:50PM

Glendale, Ariz., home of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, has a lot in common with Atlanta. Both cities are in warm weather locales, both have played host to the Super Bowl and both struggle to attract hockey crowds.

The Atlanta Thrashers, who were relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada this summer, and the Coyotes finished 28th and 29th, respectively, in average attendance during the 2010-11 season. The Thrashers' average home attendance was 13,469 per game, which is only 72.6 percent capacity of 17,624-seat Philips Arena. The Coyotes drew 12,188 per home game, which is 71.2 percent capacity of 17,125-seat Jobing.com Arena.

Only the New York Islanders, who play in the NHL's second-oldest facility, fared worse by averaging 11,059 fans for home games at 16,250-seat Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, a 67.9 percent capacity rate.

All this is bad news for Glandale Mayor Elaine Scruggs, who told NBC 12 News in Arizona that the Coyotes might be around for only one more year.

"I don't have a lot of confidence," Scruggs said when asked if the Coyotes will remain in Glendale beyond the 2011-12 season.

"In many ways the city of Glendale has no control over our future. We have some but we don't have final control."

Check out Scruggs' full interview in the video below.