NASHVILLE – The Arizona Coyotes were reeling from a crushing off-ice defeat just two months ago, when citizens of Tempe voted 57 percent against the construction of a new entertainment district. It would have included a 16,000-seat arena, a 3,000-seat music venue and a luxurious 1,900-unit residential complex, all spread across 48 acres which would have bordered the Phoenix Sky Harbor International airport, developing on top of hazardous wasteland.
Down, but not defeated, Coyotes CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez addressed reporters with a proud optimism in the hours leading up to the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville, with his team slated to pick at sixth and 12th overall.
The update he offered: The Coyotes are currently exploring more than a dozen alternate sites on which to construct a version of the entertainment district they had envisioned for Tempe. The organization believes it has serious candidates at half-a-dozen of those sites, Gutierrez said. They have no specific target site to announce, but the Coyotes and commissioner Gary Bettman expect something more concrete by Jan. 1, 2024. By that point, the specific proposal may or may not involve more than one site. Many of the sites the Coyotes are exploring are ones they had already zoned in on before pushing the Tempe proposal forward – the search did not start from scratch after the referendum.
“We still want to put our money where our mouth is and build something that is best in class, and finally, to all the fans, we are committed to making this happen,” Gutierrez said. “We were disappointed with the vote in Tempe, but we turned the page very quickly. We re-engaged with multiple sites that we had talked to beforehand, and we feel quite confident that one of these many sites we’ve put into play will come to fruition in the timeline that we mentioned.”
As for locations of the prospective sites: Gutierrez said the Coyotes remain committed to finding a location in the East Valley area, which includes “that Scottsdale, Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert 101 corridor.”
“It’s the heat map of where our fan base is,” he said,. “It’s also the heat map as to where the population growth and corporate growth is happening. And quite frankly, if you look at the affluent community in terms of where their growth is happening, because of business, because of job creation, because of home ownership creation, the East Valley is where there is significant amount of growth.”
Moving into a new location won’t blow up the lavish idea envisioned and mapped out in the Tempe pitch, either. Quite the contrary – the new locations might offer opportunities for a suped-up version.
“What you saw in terms of the renderings, that’s still the vision,” Gutierrez said. “One: all the (same) uses. So it’s not just an arena, it’s a practice facility, theatre, entertainment, retail. Two: the visuals that we thought were spectacular and the sites we’re looking at are even more compelling. There’s opportunity to even enhance them and enlarge them (beyond 48 acres).”
Perhaps most importantly, as Gutierrez mentioned multiple times Wednesday, one of the elements the Coyotes plan to avoid at all costs is another public referendum.
“Referendums have proven to be very difficult,” he said. “Not just for us. You look at the Islanders, you look at the Columbus Blue Jackets, you look at the backlash that certain other sports teams in other sports leagues are having, it’s very clear there’s a narrative that this isn’t what the public wants to approve via vote, so we’re looking at other options."
Gutierrez also indicated the new proposed sites would follow a similar completion timeline to what was earmarked for Tempe.
“We had a commitment to Mullett (Arena) for three years with a one-year extension under the Tempe plan, and under the Tempe proposal we had a year of remediation, so we’re still very much within the exact same timeline, and every site we’re looking at is to be acquired, move forward, shovel ready in the same timeframe as we would’ve been with Tempe,” he said.
The Coyotes remain committed to Mullett Arena for the next two seasons, with an option for a third. During their first campaign there, they increased their ticket revenue by 10 percent despite a 75 percent reduction in capacity, Gutierrez said. They also have their highest season ticket renewal rate in franchise history.
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