Arizona Coyotes’ bid for new arena hits another snag with land auction canceled

PHOENIX — An auction for land on which Arizona Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo hoped to build a new arena has been canceled.

The Arizona State Land Department announced Friday that it is canceling next Thursday’s auction and rearranging the steps so the applicant can apply for a special use permit.

“We understand that the delay of an auction is a disappointment to our applicant and members of the public, but the change in timing is a prudent decision for the Trust,” ASLD said in a statement. “ASLD remains open to working with our applicant to offer the land for auction in the future if a special use permit is received.”

The 110-acre plot in North Phoenix had been targeted by Meruelo in hopes of ending the Coyotes’ long-running attempt to find a permanent home. When the auction of the land valued at $68.5 million was pushed back to this summer, Meruelo took the NHL’s advice and opted to sell the franchise to Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith in April .

The Smiths moved the franchise to Salt Lake City, renaming it the Utah Hockey Club. Meruelo has retained the Coyotes name, logo and branding and plans to resurrect the team as an expansion franchise if a new arena is built within five years.

The cancellation of the land auction now puts this in doubt.

“Today, after a year of planning and meeting all obligations required by Arizona law, the Arizona Department of State Lands unilaterally canceled the auction that was scheduled to take place on June 27 for the site that has been identified as the future home of the Arizona Coyotes,” the Coyotes said in a statement. “This unprecedented action by the State of Arizona seriously jeopardizes the future of NHL hockey as it returns to the desert.”

The Coyotes have been looking for a permanent home almost since the day the franchise left Winnipeg in 1996.

The team shared a downtown Phoenix arena with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns before moving to Glendale in 2003. When the city of Glendale walked away from a long-term lease, the Coyotes moved across town to play at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena in 2022.

The 5,000-seat arena, by far the smallest in the NHL, was meant to be a temporary solution until the Coyotes found a new home. The NHL was reluctant to have the team continue to play in Mullett for several years while Meruelo attempted to secure the north Phoenix grounds, leaving selling to the Smiths as the only viable option.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league would need about 18 months to reactivate the franchise and was going to keep a close eye to make sure Meruelo and his group took the appropriate steps in the process. .

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