GLENDALE, Ariz – The future of NHL hockey in Arizona has often appeared to be tenuous, at best, almost since the Winnipeg Jets moved from Manitoba to Phoenix and became the Coyotes. From the very beginning, it was clear that the team couldn’t survive long at America West Arena (since renamed U.S. Airways Center and since re-renamed Talking Stick Resort Arena). While the Arena was a top-notch facility (barely f
Goalie Louis Domingue (#35) file photo by Lewis Bleiman
our-years old in 1996), the team’s primary tenant, the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, commanded all the valuable revenue streams such as permanent advertising fixtures and luxury suites.
Coupled with the fact that the Suns’ “Purple Palace” was not designed for hockey, with nearly 1/3 of their hockey seating classified as “Obstructed View”, the situation was untenable for the Coyotes in the long term.
When the City of Glendale offered to build the Coyotes a new state-of-the-art arena all to themselves, it seemed like the team’s best option to stay in the Valley. While the location in the farthest West reaches of the Phoenix Metro area was less than ideal (given that their fan-base is centered a little East of downtown Phoenix), there was an expectation that a Westward expansion trend would shift the valley’s population center closer to Glendale.
Besides, several attempts to get a new arena built in Scottsdale had proven fruitless. In 2003, it appeared that the Coyotes’ best, and perhaps only, viable option lay in Glendale. Naturally, they moved to Glendale. In hindsight, they might want a mulligan on that decision. Unfortunately, they’ve had to try and make the best of a bad situation.
While the City of Glendale welcomed them enthusiastically, reality soon hit and hit hard.
The housing bust torpedoed the Valley’s expected Westward growth (which probably was grossly overestimated to begin with), and their East Valley fan base stayed home in droves. It’s hard to blame them. With rush hour traffic it’s nearly impossible for somebody in Mesa, Chandler or Gilbert to get off work, round up the family, grab some dinner, and make the trek across the valley to the Glendale Arena for a weeknight home game. Their attendance at any game from Monday to Thursday has been abysmal.
Near-constant turmoil in the front office didn’t help matters.
Defenseman Kevin Connauton (#44) – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
With the low attendance numbers, repeated ownership turnover, and persistent rumors of an impending move, it became increasingly difficult to lure free agent players and fans alike to Glendale.
Glendale’s City Council has apparently soured on the Coyotes in recent years. Though they won’t admit to it publicly, claiming repeatedly that they want to “maintain” a good working relationship with the team, their actions seem to indicate otherwise. Since signing a new lease agreement with the Coyotes in 2013, the City of Glendale has actively hindered the Coyotes’ efforts to turn their financial woes around.
Mayor Jerry Weiers vociferously opposed the new lease and has taken every opportunity to dismantle the deal. His end-around maneuver last year was to terminate the lease, acting on a very thin sliver of an argument for a conflict of interest. The Coyotes filed suit against the city, but ultimately backed down and agreed to a new deal that heavily favored the city over the next two years.
Essentially, the deal started the countdown clock to the end of the Coyotes’ tenure in Glendale.
The deal gives them a two-year window (through the 2016-17 NHL season) to find a new place to play their home games. They no longer consider Glendale a viable option, having been shown that Glendale can’t be counted on to honor their agreements.
Fortunately for Valley hockey fans, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the Coyotes will be leaving the desert.
Their first option lies in Phoenix with their former arena-mates, the Phoenix Suns.
As fate would have it, the Suns are also seeking a new home. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton wants to keep the Suns happy, but he may need a second tenant to justify a new building for the Suns less than 25 years after building them their dream palace. Bringing in the Coyotes to fill some 40-odd dates each year makes the expense much more palatable.
Stanton has placed a “high priority” on a new downtown arena for the Suns and/or Coyotes. Such an arena is considered a very real possibility.
Another possibility that seemed to jump up from out of nowhere lies further to the East.
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is believed to be interested in building a new facility near the 101 Loop in South Scottsdale. They recently built a new state-of-the-art spring-training facility for the Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies and appear to be happy with the arrangement.
A new facility for a more permanent tenant like the Coyotes would attract even more traffic to the area. Though nothing concrete has developed on this front, it remains a distinct possibility.
Defenseman Connor Murphy – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
In recent weeks, the Coyotes have been rumored to have had talks with the city of Mesa about a new facility near the Cubs’ new Sloan Park spring-training facility. Not much is known about this proposal, but it seems that this would just put the Coyotes back in the same boat, geographically speaking. Mesa is in the far East Valley and putting an arena there would alienate most of their Glendale/Peoria fan base.
Perhaps the most interesting scenario could result from talks the Coyotes have had with Arizona State University. With ASU’s ice hockey program now a full NCAA participant (rather than a club program), the university has some interest in building a new home for the team. The Sun Devils currently play their home games at Oceanside Ice Arena, a woefully unsuitable home for a Division-I hockey program. They have land available near ASU’s Karsten Golf Course and would love somebody with whom to share the expense of a new hockey arena. While Coyotes President and CEO Anthony LeBlanc is quick to refute reports that a deal with ASU is imminent, it appears that the Tempe location is the front-runner.
LeBlanc has said that the team will probably make an announcement of some sort by the end of the season, though there doesn’t seem to be a great rush.
In any case, it looks highly unlikely that the team will remain in Glendale.
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