After the Arizona Coyotes move to Utah next season, how realistic is it that hockey will return to the desert in the future?
It's a difficult task, but one of the team's current owners, Alex Meruelo, is determined to get it done.
“”aboutburns and gumbo showMeruelo said Thursday that watching the Coyotes' final game in Arizona was “heartbreaking” and “confirms what I already know: Hockey belongs to the desert.” Stated. “That's what we're planning for the near future.”
Meruelo said he plans to use his “full five years” to build a new hockey arena for the Coyotes in Arizona.
The Coyotes have played the past two seasons at Arizona State University's 4,600-seat Mallett Arena, and played their final game there Wednesday in front of a capacity crowd. What led to the team's downfall was the owners' inability to secure an NHL-caliber arena, and last year Tempe voters approved three plans for a $2.1 billion entertainment district that included a new Coyotes facility. rejected the proposal.
The Coyotes will officially head to Salt Lake City next season, league officials said. The Athleticafter the NHL's Board of Governors on Thursday voted in favor of the sale and transfer of the team's hockey assets.
Ryan Smith and Ashley Smith, billionaires of the NBA's Utah Jazz and MLS's Real Salt Lake, have acquired the Coyotes' existing hockey assets, including a complete reserve list, roster, draft picks and hockey operations division. ) and paid $1.2 billion to acquire it.
However, Meruelo retained the rights to restart the Coyotes franchise in Arizona. That means the Coyotes are currently inactive and any team relocating to Utah will have to create its own logo, mark and branding. The NHL's Board of Governors approved Meruelo to bring the team back if he “completely constructs a new, state-of-the-art facility suitable for an NHL team within five years.”
Again, it is a difficult task because only Mr. Mulero can exercise that right of revitalization. This means that he does not have the ability to sell it or transfer it to another future owner in the future.
Meruelo will also retain logos, marks and brands associated with the Coyotes.
“All I really did was send the players and the hockey operation to Utah. The Coyotes logo, all the IP, everything that comes with it, stays there,” he said. .
So if the Coyotes re-emerge in five years, they will re-emerge as an expansion team.
The road there will officially open on June 27, said Meruelo, who had planned to buy state-owned land at auction to build the new arena.
“I am fully committed to purchasing the land on June 27th,” he said.
“My goal is to build the Coyotes a home for them, a facility they can call home, an arena. That's what I want to do and what I've thought about since day one. I think that's the most important part.”
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(Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
