Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia is not pursuing ownership of the Coyotes amidst their search for a permanent home in Arizona.
Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia is not pursuing ownership of the Coyotes amidst their search for a permanent home in Arizona.
According to hockey insider Frank Seravalli, Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia is not pursuing ownership of the Arizona Coyotes.
Seravalli reported yesterday that an announcement on the Coyotes’ arena situation is imminent and there are three options on what the outcome might be including finding an arena site with the current ownership group, changing owners while still staying in Arizona or relocating to Salt Lake City.
There was a lot of speculation on whether or not Ishbia would be interested in buying the Coyotes and moving them to the Footprint Center out in Phoenix, but this report seems to debunk those rumors.
Ishbia finalized a deal to buy the Suns during the middle of the 2022-23 NBA season and has really made his mark as an owner ever since.
While Ishbia may not be in the mix for the Coyotes, that doesn't mean the NHL can’t find another person interested in taking over the team.
Also, there is no indication as far as reports go that Alex Meruelo is even interested in selling the Coyotes.
The announcement stating that Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith formally asked the NHL to initiate the expansion process and bring a team to Salt Lake City had the NHL world pointing to the Coyotes as a potential replacement due to their current arena dilemma.
However, there was no direct link from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman between the Coyotes and Salt Lake City.
There was also some good news regarding the Coyotes’ case to stay in Arizona. It was confirmed just a few days ago that the Meruelo moved forward with a plan to buy state trust land in north Phoenix.
This whole situation is still very unclear, but for now the Coyotes play in Arizona and that is not changing until confirmed otherwise.