Arizona Coyotes Face Huge Price Tag and Many Hurdles in Pursuit of New Home

As the beleaguered NHL team pledges to buy a huge tract of land and build an arena, the mayor of the neighboring city has already told them to go elsewhere.

The ongoing drama that is the search for a new home for the Arizona Coyotes continues, with June 27 being the next date for all of us to circle on our calendars.

That's when a tract of land in northeast Phoenix, right beside the suburb of Scottsdale, goes up for auction. Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo has pledged to do everything within his power to buy the land, with bidding starting at $68.5 million. The Coyotes plan a multi-billion dollar development that would include a 17,000-seat arena.

But even if they get the plan, they face a number of roadblocks, not the least of which is the fact that the mayor of Scottsdale has already told the Coyotes they're not welcome near his city. 

"The prospect of a rookie developer attempting to buy Arizona State Trust land with absolutely no infrastructure...at the doorstep of Scottsdale is not feasible, or welcome," mayor David Ortega wrote in an editorial. He added Scottsdale doesn't have the "water assets" available to support a new arena, that any infrastructure must come from Phoenix and that the retail components of the plan would be too close to Scottsdale's retail giants.

"As it stands today, the fantasy hockey project must move west, away from Scottsdale," Ortega wrote.

Does this mean the Coyotes are doomed? Not necessarily. But even if they're successful in bidding for the land, they have a lot of work to do. One thing we do know, though, is that if they are not, the prospect of the Coyotes relocating is very real.

Here's more from Ken Campbell in Arizona: