Alex Meruelo to relinquish ownership of Coyotes

Alex Meruelo, the owner of the inactive Coyotes franchise, informed staff on Monday that he’s walking away from the club, PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports. 

The news comes less than a week after the Arizona State Land Department canceled an auction for a parcel of land Meruelo intended to use for a new arena for the franchise, which was officially deactivated this month after its hockey operations were sold to the Salt Lake City-based Smith Entertainment Group.

Meruelo told Coyotes staff on Monday that the franchise has “no plans to pursue further arena options” after the canceled auction, per Morgan. The City of Phoenix attested that Meruelo’s group did not attain the zoning permits necessary to acquire the land in time for the auction.

The news brings a swift end to the initial plan NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman laid out in April when he announced the initiation of the transfer of the Coyotes’ hockey ops to SEG, which would then establish a new franchise — the Utah Hockey Club. 

Meruelo received a reported $1B for Arizona’s players, reserve list, draft picks and front-office staff, which he would then pay back to the league as an expansion fee if he was able to construct a new arena within five years. 

That plan hinged on a contingency of Meruelo having an arena at least halfway built by the end of 2027, which is now impossible without the already last-ditch effort for the parcel of land in question in North Phoenix.

Meruelo retained the branding rights to the Coyotes and ownership of the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners as part of the sale. It’s unclear if he’s able to transfer the Yotes name and logo to a new owner, who could then try again to establish an expansion franchise in the Phoenix area. 

As for the Roadrunners, which will remain the minor league affiliate of the Utah Hockey Club next season, they’ll play all of their home games in Tucson next season. 

A plan announced last month would have seen the Roadrunners play six regular-season home games out of the 4,600-capacity Mullett Arena on Arizona State University’s campus in Tempe where the Coyotes played for the past two seasons. However, in line with the cancellation of the auction, that’s no longer the case.

Notably, Morgan reports there are “at least two groups with interest in bringing an expansion team back to Arizona.” However, without a dedicated arena, the timeline for expansion back to the state is likely extended past the five-year window of exclusivity initially afforded to Meruelo.