Arizona Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo has reportedly made plans to back out of the Coyotes ownership group, putting the final nail the coffin of hockey in the desert.
According to sources, Meruelo’s son is alleged to have told employees of the decision on Monday, though the family has yet to confirm reports publicly. Meruelo’s decision to walk away from the franchise comes on the heels of the Arizona State Land Department canceling an auction for a 110-acre tract of land in north Phoenix that was to be the future site of a new arena district.
The Coyotes, who will operate under the “Utah Hockey Club” brand for 2024-25 following an April sale to Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith, now face an uphill battle to return a franchise to the desert in the future.
The franchise had been searching for a permanent home since the team moved from Winnipeg. Originally sharing space with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, the club had moved to nearby ASU’s Mullett Arena, a 5,000 seat collegiate venue which was viewed as a temporary solution at best.
However ongoing struggles between ownership and local officials ultimately doomed any hope of keeping the Coyotes in Arizona. The land department’s recent decision to require a special permit for use of the proposed future arena site further doomed any hopes.
The group revealed in a statement that “the proposed arena use will require a Special Use Permit, and as a result we are requesting that the applicant file for and receive a Special Use Permit prior to the auction. This affords the applicant and ASLD certainty that the applicant can build what it intends to build for its anchor tenant. It is not uncommon for ASLD to require applicants to secure zoning/use permits prior to auction. We understand the delay in an auction is a disappointment for our applicant and members of the public, but the change in timing is the prudent decision for the Trust. ASLD remains open to working with our applicant to bring the land forward to auction in the future if a special use permit is received.”
If Meruelo does indeed walk away from the organization, then all branding, imaging, and IP rights would revert back to the NHL. Reports suggest that the Meruelo family intends to keep control of the Tucson Roadrunners, the Coyotes AHL affiliate moving forward.
However, even their future in the state remains murky at best. Following news of the land auction cancellation, ownership rescinded plans to have the team play out of the Tempe, AZ area for 2024-25. Instead, they now appear to be angling to relocate the team to Reno, Nevada sometime in either 2026 or 2027.
Photo: Keeton Gale. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.