Coyotes' arena plans in Tempe voted out by taxpayers; the NHL's days in Arizona likely numbered
Late last night in the Eastern time zone, the Arizona Coyotes' new arena plans were put to a vote in the city of Tempe. The vote was to determine if their plan for a $2.1B development next to Sky Harbour Airport would gain enough approval to move to the next phase of the development plan. Unfortunately for Gary Bettman, the NHL and the Coyotes, the residents of Tempe shut down any hope of the Coyotes staying in Arizona with a majority "no" vote.
Just a few months ago, after City Council voted in favour of moving forward with the proposed development, Gary Bettman was quoted as saying that the Coyotes would remain in Arizona forever once ground was broken on the proposed new arena. Once again though, the Coyotes proved Bettman wrong and now the NHL may have to look at relocating the Coyotes to another location, such as Houston or even Quebec City.
In the 27 years they have been in Arizona, the Coyotes have had 7 different owners, multiple bankruptcy filings and were kicked out of their arena in Glendale for unpaid bills.
President & CEO Xavier A.Gutierrez spoke to the media following the disappointing vote. "We are very disappointed that Tempe voters did not approve propositions 301, 302 & 303. As Tempe Mayor Corey Woods, this was the best arena deal in the history of Arizona. What is next for our franchise will be evaluated by our owner and the National Hockey League in the coming weeks."
The Coyotes have an agreement to play at Arizona State University's Mullett Arena until the end of the 2024/25 season with an option to extend the contract another season, so it is very likely that the team could remain there for the forseeable future. Regardless, the NHL and Bettman will need to find an alternative solution sooner rather than later. The news could not have come at a worse time for Bettman and the NHL as Bettman was likely ready to say that the NHL was thriving in the Southern US, with all four remaining teams being Southern teams.
While the Coyotes have done nothing but suck revenue from other teams over the years, they have done some good in giving the NHL Tage Thompson, Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. Maybe Bettman will finally realize that there is no market for the Coyotes in Arizona, who have struggled to fill arenas with attendance hovering between 11,000 and just under 14,000 in Glendale since 2009 and couldn't even average a 5,000 person sellout this past season at ASU.
| POLL | ||
MAI 17 | 757 ANSWERS Coyotes' arena plans in Tempe voted out by taxpayers; the NHL's days in Arizona likely numbered Where should the Coyotes relocate? | ||
| Quebec City | 583 | 77 % |
| Houston | 90 | 11.9 % |
| Salt Lake City | 45 | 5.9 % |
| Other/stay in AZ | 39 | 5.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
