The Arizona Coyotes face an uncertain future this week following a failed vote on a new arena for the team. Voters in Tempe, a city just outside of Phoenix, shut down a series of referendum to build a new entertainment district that would house the Coyotes, who spent last season playing in Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena.
Though the team’s long-term future remains in question, no one’s packing up just yet. On Wednesday, both the NHL and the Coyotes confirmed that they plan to remain at Mullett Arena for the 2023-24 season.
“I don’t envision a scenario in which the Coyotes are not playing in Mullett Arena next season,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski.
Without an arena in Tempe, the future of NHL hockey in Arizona is unclear. The Coyotes originally planned to play temporarily at Mullett Arena until the Tempe arena was complete. Their deal with ASU runs through the 2024-25 season, with the option for an additional year after that.
The unorthodox agreement between the Coyotes and ASU came after the city of Glendale chose not to renew the Coyotes’ lease at Gila River Arena (now renamed Desert Diamond Arena), where they played from 2003 to 2022.
It’s not clear what the team will do once that deal expires, or even if they will stay through the original term. After Tuesday’s votes came in, commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement that the NHL would “review with the Coyotes what the options might be going forward.”
However, moving the Coyotes to a new city before October would be extraordinarily difficult. Another year at ASU gives both the current Coyotes organization and any potential new owners time to plan ahead, whether or not they decide to relocate.
Staying at Mullett Arena is an unlikely long-term solution, however. With around 5,000 total seats and many revenue streams shared with the university, the Coyotes lost a “substantial” amount of money this season and will likely continue to do so as long as they stay at ASU.
Change seems likely in one form or another: if not next year then going forward. Unfortunately for Coyotes fans, this vote could spell the eventual end of NHL hockey in Arizona.
Update: The Coyotes confirmed to season-ticket holders that they will play at ASU this season, also saying that they “have already started re-engaging with local officials and sites to solidify a new permanent home in the Valley.”
Coyotes letter to season-ticket holders pic.twitter.com/JOwnMYpZjy
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 18, 2023
Headline photo courtesy of @stekel28/Twitter
