Arizona Coyotes begin next round of arena negotiations

Earlier this month, the Tempe City Council voted to move forward with negotiating plans with the Arizona Coyotes and the NHL for a new arena within the city limits. Today, Sportico’s Barry M. Bloom reports that the Coyotes have now pitched a $1.7 billion plan to the Tempe government for a 46-acre property currently occupied by a landfill. The development would include a new arena and an entertainment district as well.

For the Coyotes, any news is good news. With the amount of new arena talk followed up by no action in the entire league (the Ottawa Senators and LeBreton Flats), any concrete development in the process purely reduces the likelihood of the Coyotes being left without a rink when their deal with Arizona State University expires.

If passed, this would undoubtedly be the longest-serving home of the Coyotes in their history in the desert. The report from the original discussions with the City Council in early June yielded a statement from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that the team would sign a 30-year non-relocation agreement with the city.

News about the plan will undoubtedly continue to trickle in throughout the offseason. An assurance that the Coyotes will have a stable exit plan from playing at the 5,000-seat arena at ASU would be welcomed sooner rather than later.