The Arizona Coyotes’ future in the Valley may be announced very soon. According to hockey insider Frank Seravalli, [https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/sources-three-options-on-the-table-for-arizona-coyotes-future-in-the-desert] news regarding the Coyotes’ arena situation is ‘imminent’ and could be announced as early as this upcoming weekend. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman talked about the Coyotes’ arena hunt at the All-Star festivities and while he did share some encouraging news, he also used an interesting word choice to voice his optimism for the organization. “Alex Meruelo as recently as last week told me he was certain that he was going to get this done and I don’t make it a practice of contradicting owners unless I have facts to the contrary,” Bettman said. “I’m both hopeful and reasonably confident he is going to do what he says.” Seravalli’s recent report does not hint at what this announcement may entail. All this really means is that there will most likely be an announcement very soon that gives us a possible resolution on the Coyotes’ arena search. Since 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, a lot of speculation has been made about what this actually means for the Coyotes. It was also confirmed just a few days ago that the Coyotes moved forward with a plan to buy state trust land in north Phoenix. This whole arena situation has been a mystery since the Coyotes’ grand plans to build a sports and entertainment district failed to come into fruition after losing a special election vote back in May of 2023. 240203 Keller All Star Post The future is still unclear, but if Seravalli’s report is indeed correct, there should be more clarity on everything sooner rather than later.
