After a search of many months, the Arizona Coyotes have announced plans to buy some 200 acres of land in northeast Phoenix for the construction of a new hockey arena.
The move comes more than half a year after voters in Tempe defeated a proposal to build a new home for the Coyotes. That $2.1 billion project would have seen the construction of both an arena as well as a larger 46-acre entertainment district.
Opposition to that project among Tempe voters centered on the granting of city tax incentives to get the project built.
In the wake of that defeat, the Coyote’s ownership declared that it was determined to remain in the Grand Canyon state and would seek another site for the project.
That site may well now be in Arizona’s largest city, with a bid by the team to purchase property owned by the Arizona State Land Department.
In making that bid, the Coyotes will end up competing against any other parties interested in buying the property in an auction that will be conducted by the State Land Department.
The State Land Department Board of Appeals is scheduled to meet on February 8 and may take up the matter of the Coyotes’ interest in the property.
The matter of the Coyotes finding a new home has been an ongoing saga, especially for hockey fans. The team, which has played in Mullett Arena in Tempe for the last two years, entered into discussions in the summer of 2021 with officials in Tempe to build in that city.
By Garry Boulard
