The speculation around the Arizona Coyotes and their arena situation has risen to an all-time high.
Media and fans are waiting for news to break around what will happen with the franchise in the future.
Chiming in on their say based on information they gathered, there have been reputable voices in the hockey world that are weighing in recently.
One of those who has been covering this ongoing problem is Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman.
On The Jeff Marek Show, Marek had Friedman on who did some digging, and revealed his findings that surrounds the Coyotes’ ownership.
“It doesn’t sound promising,” Friedman said. “If indeed there’s going to be an announcement this weekend or sometime in the very near future, it doesn’t seem to be good for the current ownership group.”
“Now I’ll say this, I think we are coming to the end of the line with this ownership group. I believe that if there isn’t something hard and fast in the very near future, they will begin the process of selling the team or the NHL taking over the team and selling it to someone else. I believe we’ll get there.”
One Last Shot?
The team did apply to purchase around 200 acres of state trust land northwest of the Loop 101 Pima Freeway and Scottsdale Road.
Last week, they reiterated their plans with this site by confirming they are “moving forward,” according to ABC15’s Taylor Rocha on X (formerly Twitter).
But as Friedman continued to speak on the show, he mentioned that there will be have to be an auction for state trust land and there “are no guarantees” of one happening.
“If the idea for an auction was approved tomorrow, it would take – from what I understand – at least 10 weeks before they can do it,” Friedman said. “If it gets put into another meeting next month, it pushes it back another month.”
The Arizona State Land Department Board of Appeals will next meet tomorrow, Feb. 8, to discuss whether they will allow an auction or not for this particular area.
It remains unclear where this situation is heading, but Coyotes majority owner Alex Meruelo will have to find a solution before it is not too late to save NHL hockey in The Valley.
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