Xavier Gutierrez confirmed that the Coyotes have submitted an application for land in North Phoenix which is a major development in the team's arena search.
According to Stacey Barchenger of azcentral.com, the Arizona Coyotes are moving forward with a plan to buy state trust land in north Phoenix.
“I can confirm that we have submitted an application,” Coyotes CEO Xavier Gutierrez said via The Arizona Republic on Friday. “But ... I’m confirming with you that, as I’ve made very clear on a number of occasions, we are looking at multiple sites and we are not yet ready to announce which is the one that we are going to pursue as the primary one.”
Barchenger wrote that Gutierrez declined any further comment aside from confirming that the Coyotes indeed did send an application.
Despite not having too much information on the application, this is still a major development in the Coyotes’ arena search.
It’s really been weeks since any sort of news regarding the Coyotes’ pursuit to find a permanent home in Arizona has been made public.
While this may be a step in the right direction, the Coyotes will have some work to do before actually securing this piece of land.
Gutierrez also made it crystal clear that even with the application for land in north Phoenix, their search is far from over and they are still unable to pinpoint a primary destination at this time.
Rumors have been swirling about the Coyotes relocating since a report came out last week stating that Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith formally asked the NHL to initiate the expansion process and bring a team to Salt Lake City.
Gutierrez’s recent statement won’t completely debunk those rumors, but it will at least show that the Coyotes are on the right path to stay in Arizona long term and prove that they are still committed to a future in the Valley.