The Arizona Coyotes and Tucson City Council agreed on a deal that officially approved the relocation of the Coyotes’ newly acquired American Hockey League club to the Tucson Convention Center in time for the 2016-17 AHL season.
The unanimous approval (7-0) now places the Coyotes and their top prospects within easy reach and keeps their scouting costs to a minimum.
There was some angst among City Councilors over the deal as they were looking to protect taxpayer investments in the club should the team leave early.
That potential albatross was addressed in the deal and Coyotes Chief Executive Officer, Anthony LeBlanc said the Coyotes would backstop the deal.
“We as the team are backstopping the investment that is being made, in this case by the Rio Nuevo board, to put more improvements into the TCC to make it AHL-ready,” LeBlanc said on Tucson.com. “But that should show the commitment we have to making this work and the fact that we feel as strongly as we do about the viability of the franchise.”
City Councilman Steve Kozachik had been a vocal challenger to the deal until his concerns had been addressed just ahead of the Council vote on Tuesday.
LeBlanc has said season ticket sales would begin soon and a name the team contest would also get underway quickly.
While there was celebrating in Glendale and Tucson, there was heartbreak in Prescott Valley north of Phoenix.
The Prescott Valley Events Center, once the home of the Central Hockey League’s Arizona SunDogs, had hoped to persuade the Coyotes to relocate their AHL affiliate to their own, 6,100-seat arena.
LeBlanc had acknowledged the competition but said the Coyotes were focused on the Tucson deal and would open conversations if the deal was not approved this week.
Instead, the 7-0 vote put an end to the AHL dreams of hockey fans in Prescott Valley but also has them setting sights on the ECHL.
It is likely still a long-shot for Prescott Valley but the arena is not in need of renovations and is hockey ready.
A new hockey club in Prescott Valley would join the NBA’s D-League minor league franchise as a tenant.
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