NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After voters in Tempe, Arizona, shocked the coyotes last month by rejecting a referendum that would have allowed the team to build a hometown stadium on the rubble of a 50-year-old landfill, shall we say, lesson learned.
As the organization goes back to work in an attempt to find an East Valley site for a privately funded, more than $2 billion arena and entertainment district, Coyotes President and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez , said Wednesday that the club has identified half a dozen possibilities that are publicly, privately or tribally owned that would not require a public vote to reach an agreement.
“We have told (the NHL) that one of the things we want to avoid is a public referendum and all we are seeing is that this is something that avoids that,” Gutiérrez said.
Make no mistake, the pressure is on the Coyotes to find a quick and permanent solution, especially with Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith waiting in the wings in hopes of bringing the NHL to Salt Lake City.
Gutierrez said the organization is committed to keeping the franchise in the greater Phoenix area and is taking a different tack by putting multiple options on the line instead of just one. They’ve had conversations with over a dozen sites and narrowed it down to a half dozen that they think are ready to take the next step.
Commissioner Gary Bettman wants a concrete plan after Jan. 1, 2024, Gutierrez said, “and based on our timing, we believe that will be the correct timeline.”
“We remain committed to finding a location in the Valley and in particular in … that Scottsdale-Phoenix-Mesa-Gilbert 101 corridor,” Gutierrez said. “We are committed to continuing (having) a privately funded sports and entertainment district with all uses. We still want to put our money where our mouth is and build something that is best in class.”
The East Valley is ideal because that’s where the population growth, businesses and home ownership are in Phoenix, not to mention, Gutierrez said, “where our fan base is.”
Gutierrez said the Coyotes have re-engaged with several sites they were talking to before settling on the Tempe landfill and renderings the team posted that would include a practice center, theater, entertainment district, shops and apartments. it remains the vision and could even be improved because some options are larger than the 48 acres the team hoped to build in Tempe.
When the Coyotes moved into the temporary 4,600-seat Mullett Arena, the Coyotes signed a three-year lease with an option for a fourth.
“We’re still within the same timeline and every site we’re looking at is to acquire, advance, be shovel-ready and still be in the same time frame that we would have been in Tempe,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said the Coyotes had a 10 percent increase in ticket revenue last season despite a 75 percent reduction in capacity compared to where the Coyotes played in Glendale. He also said season ticket holders are renewing at the highest rate they’ve had in the organization’s history.
However, as good as business is in his opinion, he admits that the club needs to present a concrete plan to the league after the first of the year. However, Gutierrez said that while they want to have a specific single entity, they could possibly present multiple options to the NHL where they say, “This is what needs to happen to finalize it and resolve it. We don’t want to put ourselves in a situation of having only one solution.”
Asked if he thinks that would satisfy the league, Gutierrez said: “They want to see a result, just like we do.”
“Nobody wants to solve it more than us,” Gutiérrez added. “Uncertainty is not good for us either. And we are doing everything we can to create a certainty.”
(Top Photo: Zac BonDurant/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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