Arizona Coyotes Arena Situation: Where They Can Play Next Season

The Arizona Coyotes were told by the City of Glendale that their lease will expire after this season. While the team’s management has stated that they are addressing the situation, nothing has been made public. The Coyotes plan on moving from Gila River Arena where they have been since 2003. The illustrious plan to move to Tempe in a $1.7 billion privately owned complex is still under consideration by the Tempe City Council. It will take some time, perhaps three-five years to complete the project. The Arizona Coyotes arena situation hangs in the balance.

In the interim, the team has no place to lace up their skates and play NHL hockey. To make matters worse, the owner billionaire Alex Meruelo finally paid past-due tax and rent bills or else the Arizona Department of Revenue was going to place a lien on the team using the arena. That was cleared up promptly, but why did the owner wait 17 months to pay back taxes? The team stated it was due to “human error.”

The Search Goes on for an Alternative Site to Play

In reality, there is quite the challenge in finding an alternative site to play next season. Several have been suggested but really only two possibilities remain relevant. The most attractive would be to use the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the state fairgrounds. The location is much closer to downtown and the east valley of Phoenix. That is where the majority of season ticket holders reside. The downside is the building was built in 1965.

It was the former home of the WHL, CHL Phoenix Roadrunners and more extensively the home of the Phoenix Suns before the NBA team moved downtown. Many have suggested just having the Coyotes play in Footprint Center and share the arena with the Suns. That isn’t happening as the Suns owner, Robert Sarver is not a fan of sharing his building with the hockey club.

Veterans Memorial Coliseum would need anywhere from $25-40 million worth of renovations/upgrades to make it acceptable for NHL hockey. It can hold 13,700 for hockey which is close to what the New York Islanders Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum held while they waited for the new UBS arena to be completed. Is Meruelo into spending that much on a temporary site? It is owned by the state, so that could mean more red tape to renovate it.

The Advantages of Playing at Veterans Memorial Coliseum

The building is awesome in that it has great sightlines to the ice. It’s a loud building and even without a capacity crowd the house rocks when fans get into it. It is why it acquired the nickname “Madhouse on Mcdowell.” Although there would be no luxury suites to generate additional income, it would be a nostalgic place to play.

Hockey in a Baseball Stadium

Another alternative site could be the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball stadium known as Chase Field. While this may be a long shot, the hockey team and baseball team have close ties. Configuring a baseball stadium for an outdoor game has been done, but for 41 home games? Plus the two team’s schedules may intertwine causing conflicts. The Diamondbacks stadium is downtown and could attract fans there, but getting the ice ready may be a huge challenge. The stadium has a retractable roof, so that’s good.

Tempe Arena Maybe a Pipedream

While the project to build a new 16,000 seat arena in the east valley may be a great idea, it may never come to fruition. There are many obstacles. The Sky Harbor Airport has already commented that the arena could be in the way of runway access and airspace. The Coyotes hired an expert to check that out so that is still under evaluation. The other most important obstacle could be will the Tempe City council feel secure in going into business with Alex Meruelo after his stunt of not paying his obligations? The check is in the mail may not fly with them, as it shouldn’t.

If Meruelo is serious about going through with this new arena he needs to adjust his accounts payable department into paying bills in a timely manner. He is a successful businessman who’s worth is about $14 billion. He has a lot at stake since he too has stated that he will contribute to the private funds being needed to complete the project. He’s not doing that out of the kindness of his heart. At stake for him is the pot of gold known as sports gambling. He has been awarded a sports gambling license and intends to use it. The rewards will be plentiful.

Arizona Coyotes Arena Situation is Complicated

Time is of the essence here. With the next season beginning in 10 months, the management of this club needs to get to work on an arena solution for next season. While the team is in a rebuild and currently in last place with just 12 points in 27 games, if they are staying in Arizona they must have an arena set in place. That hasn’t happened yet, so of course, the rumours of them relocating have been prominent.

Do something Meruelo!