NASHVILLE, Tennessee — After voters in Tempe, Arizona, shocked the Coyotes last month by rejecting a referendum that would have allowed the team to build an arena in their city on the rubble of, shall we say, a 50-year-old landfill , Lesson learned.
As the organization resumes operations and attempts to locate a site in the East Valley for a more than $2 billion privately funded arena and entertainment district, Coyotes President and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez said Wednesday that the club identified one half. Dozens of public, private, or tribal-owned opportunities that would not require a public vote to settle.
“We’ve told (the NHL) that one of the things we want to avoid is a public referendum and all we’re considering is hopefully that’s something that prevents that from happening,” Gutierrez said.
Make no mistake, the Coyotes are under pressure to find a permanent solution quickly, especially with Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith waiting in the wings hoping to bring the NHL to Salt Lake City.
Ryan Smith lays out his vision for the NHL in Salt Lake City – “Hockey would thrive here”
My interview with the owner of the Utah Jazz ⤵️above @TheAthletic https://t.co/GMNcVm80bR
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 22, 2023
Gutierrez said the organization is committed to keeping the franchise in the greater Phoenix area and is taking a different approach, bringing multiple options into play instead of just one. They’ve had conversations with over a dozen sites, narrowing down the number to half a dozen that they think are ready to take the next step.
Commissioner Gary Bettman wants a concrete plan after January 1, 2024, Gutierrez said, “and based on our timeline, we believe that’s going to be the right timeline.”
“We remain committed to finding a location in the Valley and specifically in the…Scottsdale-Phoenix-Mesa-Gilbert 101 corridor,” Gutierrez said. “We are committed to ensuring that there continues to be a privately financed sports and entertainment district with all possible uses. We still want to walk the talk and create something that is best in class.”
The East Valley is ideal because that’s where Phoenix’s population, business and home ownership growth is happening, not to mention, as Gutierrez said, “where our fan base is.”
Gutierrez said the Coyotes reconnected with a number of sites they had spoken to before settling at the Tempe landfill, and the renderings released by the team included a practice facility, theater, entertainment district, shops and apartments would still be the vision and could even be improved, as some options are larger than the 48 acres the team hoped to build on in Tempe.
When the Coyotes moved into the temporary 4,600-seat Mullett Arena, the Coyotes signed a three-year lease with an option for a fourth.
“We’re still largely within the same timeline and every site we look at has to be acquired, advanced, shovel-ready and still on the same timeframe as we would have been at Tempe,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said the Coyotes saw a 10 percent increase in gate receipts last season despite a 75 percent drop in capacity compared to where the Coyotes played at Glendale. He also said season ticket holders are renewing the highest percentage in the organization’s history.
Still, as good as he thinks business is going, he admits the club will need to present the league with a concrete plan after the first year of the year. Gutierrez, however, said that while they want a specific unit, they could potentially present the NHL with multiple options, saying, “This has to happen to wrap this thing up and resolve it.” We don’t want to put ourselves in the situation, just to have a solution.”
Asked if he thinks the league would be happy with that, Gutierrez said, “They want to see a result, just like us.”
“Nobody wants to solve the problem more than we do,” added Gutierrez. “Uncertainty is not good for us either. And we do everything to create certainty.”
(Top Photo: Zac BonDurant/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)