What to Make of Scottsdale Mayor's Harsh Stance on Coyotes' Arena Plan

Scottsdale mayor David Ortega may not be too enthused about the Arizona Coyotes’ potential new arena plans.

The Coyotes are committed to winning an auction that will take place on June 27 for land in northeast Phoenix bordering Scottsdale, in hopes to build an arena.

However, Ortega came out with some harsh words regarding the Coyotes’ project which raises some questions.

“The prospect of a rookie developer attempting to buy Arizona State Trust Land with absolutely no infrastructure on the Phoenix side of Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road intersection at the doorstep of Scottsdale is not feasible, or welcome,” Ortega wrote.

“I admire the hockey sport, Arizona Coyotes community involvement and phenomenal youth clubs at Scottsdale Ice Den. But I along with City of Scottsdale staff will continue to monitor any actions that occur, and negative repercussions for Scottsdale. As it stands today, the fantasy hockey project must move west, away from Scottsdale.”

Do Ortega’s words and distaste for this project actually impact the Coyotes’ chances at proceeding with their arena plan?

That is unclear at the moment.

While Ortega is the mayor of Scottsdale and the arena will be bordering his city, the Coyotes are entering a public auction, so it’s hard to see a scenario where he can really do anything about it if the Coyotes were to win this upcoming auction.

Not only that, but the organization has laid out a specific plan for their sports entertainment district. It will have 17,000 fixed seats for NHL games and capacity for roughly 1,500 additional temporary seats for non-hockey events, a 150,000-square-foot practice facility and headquarters, a live music theater for 3,000 concertgoers, 400,000 square feet of retail and a multi-purpose watch party plaza equipped with a supersized screen for viewing events.

These development plans also include approximately 1,900 luxury residential units, 400,000 square feet of class-A office space, branded retail, dining, bars, farmer’s market, dog park, multiple parking structures and other gathering spaces.

It’s also worth noting that the Coyotes want this project to be privately funded and not cost taxpayers any money.

Ortega’s strong stance against these plans will be yet another roadblock in the Coyotes’ search for a permanent home in the Valley, but something the organization is entirely used to.

For now though, there is an auction to determine the fate of the Coyotes’ future in Arizona and that's all there is to it.