Arizona Coyotes Arena Update

It’s a beautiful project, but will it ever come to fruition? To put things into perspective, John Gambadoro of arizonasports.com reported earlier that Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo was inviting offers to purchase the team. And we all know that ignites the relocation rumors again!

This is Alex Meruelo’s Last Shot at Staying in Arizona

While some have speculated that Meruelo may be gauging the value of the team if and when he must sell the team, the organization seems set on staying in Arizona. Of course, that can only happen if he wins the auction scheduled for June 27th. Since this is state-owned land, everything must be by their rules. The approximate 10-week waiting period for an auction to happen is the first hurdle to jump. There are lots of details involved, and if you are into that stuff, KatC can fill you in quite nicely.

The NHL and Gary Bettman have been more than patient, and rumors of selling the team can be a contingency plan for Meruelo if the auction fails. The rumored price he is asking was $1 billion. The Ottawa Senators were recently sold for $950 million. Perhaps he is setting the price overvalued because he doesn’t want to sell the team. It may have become personal to him now.

Timeline for a New Arizona Coyotes Arena

Estimates of when the new arena can be completed include shovels in the ground in the first quarter of 2025. With that, the team could only start playing in the 2027-28 season. The team has an agreement to play at Mullett Arena through the following season, with a possible extension for another one to two years. Will the nasty comments about playing NHL games in a 4,600-seat arena subside if the team wins the auction? Probably not. The entire concept has haters, but this is not the first time.

The negative commentary would subside once the team starts using the new arena. The other point is, will players who are the team’s nucleus get impatient, as Jakob Chychrun did, and want to be traded? If the new arena opens in 2027, players like Clayton Keller (who turns 26 in July) and Nick Schmaltz (28) will be near or over 30 years old. They still have a group of younger players like Matias Maccelli (23), Josh Doan (21), Dylan Guenther (20), and, of course, Logan Cooley (19).

The team could progress out of the rebuild they are currently conducting by the time the prospective arena is built. But what if they make the playoffs before that? Playing at Mullett could receive more negative publicity for the team and the NHL.

Controversy Has Been This Team’s History

In retrospect, it may have served Meruelo well to have moved from Gila River Arena long before it happened. But Glendale wanted a new 15-year agreement, and the team knew they needed to relocate to an area where a majority of its fans and season ticket holders resided. If it weren’t for ASU building Mullett Arena, the team may have had to relocate elsewhere.

The Coyotes’ fans are a special breed. They have been through so much. They deserve the rewards a beautiful new arena can bring to their spirit. And by the 2027-28 season, the team that GM Bill Armstrong is building should be a contender for the playoffs and the Cup. Wouldn’t that be nice?