The Coyotes yesterday unveiled a plan to "build a new home in Tempe, with the team proposing to pick up half the cost" of a new $400M hockey arena and taxpayers "picking up the balance," according to a front-page piece by Metcalfe & Harris of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. The deal would make the Coyotes "one of the first tenants" in Arizona State Univ.'s Athletic Facilities District, but it would "need approval from lawmakers when they convene in January." The team said that it "does not yet have any lawmakers lined up to push needed legislation through the Republican-controlled Legislature." The team also would "need concessions from ASU as part of a land lease." It is "unclear if there is state support for the plan." Owner Andrew Barroway said that the Coyotes "finally might break even with a new Tempe arena." The public's contribution to development costs would "come from a portion of sales taxes generated by the arena, a proposed luxury hotel and a mixed-use commercial development at the site." The building would open for the '19-20 season. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton "threw cold water on the Coyotes' plan." He said, "A deal is far from complete, and appears to require new levels of support from both state of Arizona and City of Tempe taxpayers. My thinking hasn’t changed: Building a third professional arena in this market doesn’t make sense, especially when it would likely require new public dollars.” Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell said that he "didn’t yet know what the city’s involvement would be in the negotiation or the project’s development." Coyotes ownership group IceArizona Holdings is "entering into a negotiating agreement with Catellus Development Corporation to create a development plan for approximately 58 acres in the ASU district." The proposed project would "include a 16,000-seat arena for the Coyotes and attached 4,000-seat multi-use arena for ASU hockey and other sports" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/15).
POWER TO THE PEOPLE: Coyotes President & CEO Anthony LeBlanc said relationships with "public stakeholders" will be "crucial" in order to stay on schedule to open the ‘19-20 season in the new arena. LeBlanc said it is "very important" that public interest groups "understand what we’re trying to do because I need them to advocate for us as a lot of people raise their eyebrows when they hear the concept of a public/private partnership." LeBlanc: "The fan base should focus on what’s important which is the hockey team and watching the Coyotes. ... I urge people not to spend their time in City Hall chambers and at the state (house) wondering what’s going on" (AZCENTRAL.com, 11/14).
MAKING A MOVE: POSTMEDIA NEWS' Cam Cole noted yesterday's announcement "means that the hockey world finally may come to know what the Phoenix market is really worth." Cole: "Likely answer: Plenty." The Coyotes were "never going to find out as long as they were housed in suburban Glendale, miles west of where the economic action and money are in the Valley of the Sun." Suburbia "just isn’t where it’s at any more, with arenas" (POSTMEDIA NEWS, 11/15).
