In the latest episode of the Arizona Coyotes’ arena saga, reports suggest the team plans to move back into Phoenix. Sources tell Five for Howling / Locked on Coyotes that the Arizona Coyotes intend to purchase a parcel of land in Northeast Phoenix.
The land purchase will start yet another months-long process that the team hopes will cement their permanence in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area.
The report comes just months after Alex Meruelo issued a letter of intent to purchase a separate parcel of land in Mesa – and weeks after NHLPA executive Marty Walsh criticized the Coyotes for their current residence in Arizona State University’s 4,600-seat Mullett Arena.
Earlier this month, Coyotes president Xavier Gutierrez confirmed in a television interview the team was closing in on a deal that would be revealed by the end of the calendar year. Gutierrez said the next time the public will hear from the team directly would not be to announce just any new site, but rather “the site” they plan to close with.
This reported parcel of land is projected to be just off the northeast corridor of the Loop 101 freeway near the Phoenix-Scottsdale Border in an area — most notably near the Mayo Clinic and Desert Ridge Marketplace. The exact parcel has yet to be revealed at this time.
According to other reports, the new project will keep much of the same blueprint that was intended for the Tempe Entertainment District proposal that failed by-election earlier this year. Much like that deal, the Coyotes (and project developer) will need to submit a request to rezone the land for mixed-use – this time while hoping to avoid another election.
If everything goes according to plan, the team hopes to break ground by no later than Summer 2024.