Has it really been that long?

I was on my sister's blog and there was a note stating that I hadn't written on this blog for a month. I couldn't believe it. I've certainly started or thought about a number of posts, but I haven't quite gotten them up.

So, here goes.

We live in West Valley City - we've been here for about a year now. We enjoy it for the most part. Recently, WVC politics have made some noise. First, the city council recently decided that, in lieu of seeking nearly $600K in back rent from the Utah Grizzlies (Utah's minor league hockey team - figured I should clear it up since, from the attendance, most people don't know about it), the City would instead take a piece of the team. That's right, WVC now owns 40% of the Utah Grizzlies.

This has caused a lot of opinions to be voiced. Some in favor, most opposed. I can see why people wouldn't want the city to take a piece of a franchise that is already having a hard time making ends meet.

However, it seems to me that the choice was pretty evident. Hockey has never been terribly popular in Utah. But, WVC essentially married the Grizzlies in 2001 when it beat out SLC for the hockey venue. WVC's $600K was illusory at best. The only way WVC would be getting the $600k is if things really picked up for the Grizzlies. In the instance that the Grizzlies' prospects really do improve, the City will be better off owning 40% of the franchise.

At the end of the day, it was a choice between two seemingly loser options. At the end of the day, WVC was either going to push for $600K that it wasn't going to get, or it would take a lot more than $600K by the time the Grizzlies would have been able to pay the $600K.

I see it as a good gamble.