With a few permanent arena options for the Coyotes in Arizona, the future for hockey remaining in the Valley is looking brighter.
The Arizona Coyotes have some options regarding a permanent home in the Valley.
According to PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan, the Coyotes are considering new arena sites in Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale and on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community land.
The Coyotes were originally planning on building a Sports and Entertainment District in Tempe but it was rejected in a special election vote on May 16 putting their future in limbo.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has stayed committed to finding a permanent arena for the Coyotes in Arizona.
“We're at the stage now where the League, ownership, our teams are strong and we're in a better position to resist moving than maybe we were 20 or 30 years ago, and we want to make sure we explore all options at this stage at where we are before consider having to relocate a club, and I'm hopeful we won't have to,” Bettman said.
Arizona currently has an NBA and MLB team located in Downtown Phoenix while they also have an NFL team placed in Glendale.
While the NHL is committed to staying in Arizona, the Coyotes should still try to find a new arena sooner rather than later as it could directly affect the team when recruiting free agents and in other aspects. The Coyotes current home at Mullett Arena may be a good short-term solution but it only holds a capacity of 5,000 people which is much less than the standard NHL capacity.
Other cities that have expressed interest in an NHL franchise are Salt Lake City and Hartford. However, the fact that the Coyotes have a few potential arena options in Arizona, is a great sign for all hockey fans in the Valley.