Coyotes denounce cancellation of June 27 Arizona land auction

The Arizona State Land Department has canceled a June 27 land auction that the owner of the Arizona Coyotes was counting on to reactivate his dormant NHL franchise.

In April, the NHL Board of Governors approved the creation of a franchise in Utah, with Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo transferring his team’s hockey assets — from the roster to draft picks to the hockey operations department — to Smith Entertainment Group, while he retained the team’s hockey assets. intellectual property.

As part of the sale, the NHL approved a plan that made the Arizona Coyotes franchise inactive, with the right to reactivate if Meruelo fully builds a new, state-of-the-art facility fit for an NHL team within five years. “

The Coyotes had targeted a 95-acre parcel in north Phoenix as a potential new home for an arena. Earlier this year, the ASLD Board of Appeals unanimously approved a $68.5 million appraisal of the land and set the auction date.

The Coyotes have released images of what they plan to build on that land if they win the bid, including an arena, practice facility, theater and housing units. The Coyotes planned to begin construction in the second quarter of 2025, with an eye toward preparing for an NHL team in 2027.

Multiple sources tell ESPN that the auction issue is related to the type of hockey arena Meruelo could build on the land.

The Coyotes said the land was already zoned for an indoor hockey arena, which was a remnant of an earlier effort to build a youth hockey facility in the area. But that apparently doesn’t include building a 17,000-seat NHL arena, whose capacity could grow to 18,500 for other events.

“ASLD has recently confirmed that the proposed arena will require a special use permit. As a result, we request that the applicant apply for and receive a special use permit prior to the auction. This provides assurance to the applicant and ASLD that the applicant can build what it intends to build for its primary tenant,” the Land Department wrote in its letter announcing the cancellation.

The ASLD added: “It is not uncommon for ASLD to require the applicant to secure zoning/use permits prior to the auction.”

The Coyotes released a statement Friday condemning the cancellation and stating that they are “exploring all of our legal options in light of this short-sighted decision” by the ASLD.

“After more than a year of planning and meeting all obligations required under Arizona law, the Arizona State Land Department unilaterally canceled the auction scheduled for June 27 for the site identified as the future home of the Arizona Coyotes. “An unprecedented action by the State of Arizona seriously jeopardizes the future of NHL hockey returning to the desert,” the Coyotes said.

The Coyotes claim they expected to win the auction.

“The organization has been working in good faith with the ASLD and has been on track to win the auction next week, until the sudden reversal,” the team said. “By canceling the land auction, the state is missing out on millions and possibly billions of dollars that would have gone directly to K-12 education.”

Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega told The Arizona Republic on Friday that he had noted before the auction that the land had “questionable zoning.”

“Mr. Meruelo’s fantasy hockey proposal was just a smokescreen when he left after undermining the franchise,” Ortega told the newspaper.