Coyotes’ troubled Arizona stay down to finale
TEMPE, ARIZ. » The Arizona Coyotes dubbed Mullett Arena “The Party Barn” for its raucous, closedquarters atmosphere.
The NHL’s smallest arena ended up being one of the franchise’s biggest problems and will be the site of one final party that will be more like a wake.
The Coyotes’ game against Edmonton Wednesday night will likely mark the end of an era, a 28-year run of ups and downs in the desert culminating in an anticipated move to Utah that will take the hopes of fans across Arizona with it.
“It’s devastating,” said Ryan Travis, a Coyotes season-ticket holder since 2001. “It’s more than a game to me. My family was raised around them, my kids play hockey because of them and so many memories, it’s hard to fathom them not being here.”
The Coyotes’ mantra through numerous ownership changes, three arenas and constant relocation rumors was that the franchise was here to stay.
Now it’s leaving.
Barring an unforeseen circumstance, Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo will sell the team’s hockey operations to Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith shortly after Arizona’s season finale. Smith has pushed to have an NHL team in Salt Lake City and will have a ready-made franchise in pocket with the purchase of the Coyotes.
Meruelo had stiff-armed numerous bids to buy the franchise since he took ownership in 2019, insisting he would find a way to make it work in Arizona despite a litany of obstacles.
The billionaire developer finally ran out of cards to play when the NHL and the players association pushed back on plans to continue playing at 5,000-seat Mullett Arena, which was built for the Arizona State University hockey team, while he worked to secure a permanent home. Meruelo and the Coyotes have a line on a tract of land for a multibillion-dollar project in north Phoenix that would include a new arena, but delays pushed the auction for it into June.
With no guarantees of building a new arena, Meruelo opted to sell the Coyotes’ hockey operations for $1.2 billion — $200 million of which will be distributed to NHL owners as a relocation fee — so the players wouldn’t be stuck playing at the notup-to-NHL-standards Mullett.