As the Arizona Coyotes prepare to play their first game at Arizona State University on Friday, a new report suggests the club might soon have more clarity on plans for a long-term home.
The Coyotes have been involved in negotiations with Tempe City Council since June on the team’s proposed new 16,000-seat hockey arena and entertainment district, which would be constructed primarily with private funds.
Tempe City Council previously voted 5–2 to approve negotiations with the Coyotes four months ago. PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reported Thursday that Tempe is expected to hold another vote, this one by late November, to decide whether to give the Coyotes the green light on their arena plans.
Morgan added that the vote could end up occurring sooner than Nov. 29, the date confirmed by Coyotes president Xavier Gutierrez on Thursday.
The Coyotes have pledged $40 million in non-refundable cash to remediate their preferred site — a compost yard adjacent to the Salt River — before construction begins. The club was the only team to respond to Tempe’s Request for Proposals (RFP) on the site in September 2021.
Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and Christian Fischer appeared before Tempe City Council back in June to express their support of the Coyotes’ arena plans. Sky Harbor International Airport has raised concerns about the close proximity of certain flight paths to the planned residential aspect of the entertainment district.
For now, the Coyotes will share ASU’s Mullett Arena with the Arizona State Sun Devils men’s hockey team, led by Coyotes prospect Josh Doan.
With a seating capacity of just 5,000, Mullett Arena is by far the smallest arena in the National Hockey League. Both the Coyotes and the NHL anticipate the team will bring in higher revenues in a central location compared to its previous home in the remote suburb of Glendale.
The Coyotes’ proposed arena would be located at the northwest corner of South Priest Drive and the Rio Salado Parkway, just two miles east of Mullett Arena and a short drive from the downtown areas of Phoenix and Scottsdale.
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