A crowd of 250 attended a town hall meeting hosted by the Coyotes on Thursday night at team's practice facility in Scottsdale, where they had the opportunity to "discuss a range of topics" with team President & CEO Anthony LeBlanc, GM Don Maloney and coach Dave Tippett, according to Sarah McLellan of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. LeBlanc: "We want to hear what they have to say. So getting all that feedback, we knew we had some hiccups on the business side." LeBlanc announced at the event that the team's name will "officially change" from the Phoenix Coyotes to the Arizona Coyotes on June 27, "the opening night of the draft." The name change "will affect the jerseys only on the shoulder patch, which previously had 'PHX' on it," but it will "now read, 'AZ.'" LeBlanc also said that it is "unlikely the Coyotes will host an outdoor game next season." The Coyotes were "hoping to piggyback off the momentum of the Super Bowl, which hits Glendale in Feb.1, with their own outdoor game, and Chase Field was considered a likely destination." LeBlanc added that it is "fair to expect the Coyotes will host a game in the 'near future.'" The NHL has not "reneged on its promise to bring an All-Star Game back to the Valley after the previous one" planned for the '04-05 season was "washed out by a lockout." LeBlanc said that the team "will host the event, but a date hasn't been nailed down." LeBlanc also announced that ticket prices "in some sections will increase next season," while others "will be priced cheaper" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 6/6).
