The Arizona Coyotes will be playing at Mullett Arena for the 2023-24 season, but NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman thinks a resolution is coming in the near future with the club’s arena situation.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“The answer is certainly sooner rather than later. You’ve got to tell me when they’re going to get the land resolved, which I think will be in the next few months,” Bettman said. “They’ve already been working on plans for a building, so my hope is the end of the season, next summer.”
Currently, they are scheduled to play one more year at Arizona State University’s ice facility.
After that, however, it’s unknown.
Current Situation
Ever since their lease at then-Gila River Arena in Glendale was terminated, there is still no timetable of how long Coyotes fans will have to wait to know if the team will stay in Arizona or relocate.
Things were looking like they were heading in the right direction after coming up with a $2.1 billion arena and entertainment district plan in Tempe.
Even with it being privately funded and they would be cleaning up landfill and planned on turning the area in to a landmark, the voters in Tempe shot the idea down.
The summer was fairly quiet after the deal was rejected.
Then on Aug. 9, a Letter of Intent was issued by Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo to buy land for a new arena in Mesa, but nothing concrete has been announced with the progress of that development.
Coming out of nowhere last week, Meruelo pledged $1 billion into another entertainment district in Reno, Nevada.
There is an arena that is going to be built according to the plan, but it only will only seat around 10,000 people which is still below the second smallest building that has NHL hockey.
The Canadian Life Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, can hold 15,321 people which is way above Mullett Arena and Meruelo’s planned facility in Reno.
Today, however, the Coyotes did announce a “multi-year” deal with broadcasting company Scripps Sports to show a majority of regular season games around the state.
With it saying it is a multi-year deal, could the Bettman comments and the new tv agreement be a hint that there is more to come with the Coyotes staying in Arizona?
Time will tell.
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Alec Cipollini is a journalist covering the Arizona Coyotes and Phoenix Rising for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his new X account @AlecCipollini
