Three separate referendum questions, all of which were related to building a new 16,000-seat arena in Tempe for the Arizona Coyotes hockey team and surrounding entertainment district, have gone down to defeat.
In comments after the results were finalized, Xavier Gutierrez, chief executive officer of the Coyotes, remarked: “The Coyotes wish to thank every single person who supported our efforts and voted yes. So many community leaders stepped up and became our advocates, and for that we will forever be truly grateful.”
Gutierrez added that “what is next for the franchise will be evaluated by our owner and the National Hockey League over the coming weeks.”
All three of the ballot questions lost by margins of better than 12%, after a vigorous campaign by advocates both for and against the proposal. In a victory statement, the group Tempe 1st, which organized to oppose the arena and entertainment district, commented: “This is a victory by Tempe for Tempe. Tonight, we want to say congratulations and thank you to our fellow Tempe residents.”
The group added that the election results “show that Tempe residents love our community, we know what’s best for it, and must be part of every conversation when it comes to our land, our tax dollars, and what we value as our city grows.”
If passed, construction of the project was expected to cost at least $2.1 billion.
The Coyotes have been playing at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena. Team officials had been in talks with City of Tempe leaders regarding the details of the project, set to go up just to the west of the city’s downtown core at Rio Salado Parkway and Priest Drive.
As a result of those talks, members of the Tempe City Council in late 2022 voted unanimously to put the question of the new arena and entertainment district on the ballot as a referendum to be decided by Tempe voters.
As proposed, the entertainment district would have seen the construction of at least two hotels, along with a retail center, space for a series of restaurants, and medical office campus.
The Tempe 1st group especially argued that the city property tax incentives designed to get the project off the ground amounted to a give-away to a private business.
Referencing billionaire Alex Meruelo, owner of the Meruelo Group, which owns the Coyotes, the Tempe 1st group’s campaign literature read: “No New Handouts for Billionaires.”
By Garry Boulard
