The Arizona State Land Department recently made a controversial decision to cancel a land auction that had been scheduled for Thursday. This auction was crucial for the Arizona Coyotes’ owner, Alex Meruelo, who was depending on it to revive his dormant NHL franchise. The NHL had previously approved the establishment of a franchise in Utah, with Meruelo transferring his team’s assets to Smith Entertainment Group while retaining the intellectual property rights. However, the approval came with a condition that rendered the Arizona Coyotes franchise inactive, but with a right to reactivate if a new, state-of-the-art facility appropriate for an NHL team is fully constructed within five years.
The Coyotes had identified a 95-acre parcel of land in north Phoenix as a potential site for the new arena. The ASLD board of appeals had approved a $68.5 million appraisal of the land earlier this year and set the auction date. However, the department later cited concerns related to the construction of a 17,000-seat NHL arena on the land. Although the land was zoned for an indoor hockey arena, the capacity required for an NHL arena was not accounted for in the zoning regulations. This led to the requirement for a Special Use Permit, which the Coyotes were requested to obtain before the auction.
In response to the cancellation of the auction, the Arizona Coyotes released a statement expressing their disappointment and hinting at potential legal action. They claimed to have met all obligations under Arizona law and were on track to win the auction. The sudden reversal by the ASLD was viewed as a serious setback for the franchise’s future and the return of NHL hockey to the desert. The Coyotes asserted that the state would be missing out on significant revenue that could have benefitted K-12 education if the auction had proceeded as planned.
Scottsdale mayor David Ortega raised concerns about the zoning entitlement of the land before the auction. He criticized Meruelo’s plans for a new arena as a “fantasy hockey proposal” and suggested that it was merely a distraction from the franchise’s troubled history under previous ownership. Ortega’s comments added another layer of complexity to the controversy surrounding the land auction and the Coyotes’ future in Arizona.
As the Arizona Coyotes and the ASLD navigate through this dispute, the future of the franchise remains uncertain. The cancellation of the land auction has cast a shadow of doubt over the team’s prospects of returning to the NHL spotlight. With legal battles looming and public scrutiny intensifying, both sides will need to carefully consider their next steps in order to resolve the issue and pave the way for a new era of hockey in Arizona.
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