In the wake of Arizona Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo reportedly walking away from owning the franchise after the team relocated to Utah, news has come out that he plans on moving another professional hockey team from Arizona elsewhere.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Reno Roadrunners?
According to a report by Sportico senior writer Barry M. Bloom, Meruelo will keep the American Hockey League team, the Tucson Roadrunners, and will relocate them to Reno, Nev. in the not-to-distant future.
“Meruelo will retain the minor league Roadrunners, who will now play their entire 36-game 2024-25 home schedule in Tucson, Ariz., before eventually moving to a new arena when it is completed in Reno, Nev.,” Bloom said.
On Sept. 30, 2023, Meruelo announced that he would spend an estimated $1 billion on an entertainment complex in Reno, including a 10,000-seated, 300,000-square-foot arena.
Amongst the other things in the proposed deal like a golf course and hotel, an arena and a separate ice rink were also included. The arena plan was an estimated $400 million for the new home of University of Nevada-Reno basketball.
The Roadrunners officially announced via a press release that they would play all 36 of its home games at the Tucson Convention Center for the 2024-25 season. Before the announcement that Tucson Arena would be the single venue next season, six Roadrunners home games were originally scheduled to be played at Mullett Arena in Tempe.
Now that Meruelo has practically run out of options in his pursuit of building a new arena for the Coyotes, it looks like his mission to keep hockey in Arizona is slowly disappearing.
The Arizona State Land Department canceled the June 27 auction on the 95-acre parcel of land at the northwest corner of Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road near Desert Ridge Marketplace he intended on bidding for.
After the sale of the ‘Yotes team, Meruelo claimed he remained “committed to this community and to building a first-class sports arena and entertainment district without seeking financial support from the public,” but the latest developments in this situation are starting to prove that he may have changed his mind.
Alex Meruelo is committed to buying the land on June 27th & keeping hockey in the desert. https://t.co/N2TIHjmeA1 pic.twitter.com/jTVPcWAYUD
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) April 18, 2024
The Coyotes are gone, the Roadrunners are reportedly set to be gone soon and professional hockey as a whole in Arizona will be removed. ASU hockey is moving to the NCHC next season, but that will be the highest tier of the sport in the Valley if the Roadrunners do end up leaving in the future.
With the fallout coming from the canceled auction, hockey fans will have practically no other choice but to watch college hockey in Arizona unless, by some miracle, another plot twist emerges from this never-ending situation.
Land auction for potential Coyotes arena site canceled, future of NHL hockey in Arizona turns bleak
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, and exclusive content. SIGN UP HEREÂ to unlock our premium content!*
Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
