NEWSLETTER
The Arizona Coyotes have had a long and challenging time being an NHL franchise after moving from Winnipeg to the desert and rebranding from the original Jets to the Coyotes as we know them today. They have seen the Stanley Cup Playoffs eight times since moving to Arizona in 1996, advancing past the first round only once in 2012 (which came at the expense of the Blackhawks).
Many rumors over the years have hinted at the Coyotes relocating out of Arizona due to a number of reasons. Low attendance, low interest across the league, and poor performance sitting atop the list. But now it appears the rumors of relocation may become a reality due to a different factor:
The City has informed the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Arizona Coyotes that the upcoming season will be the team’s last in Gila River Arena. The parties have been operating under a year-to-year agreement for several years.
— City of Glendale, AZ (@GlendaleAZ) August 19, 2021
The city of Glendale announced it will be opting-out of the lease agreement between the city and the team at Gila River Arena. Doing so while expressing a desire to use its city-owned arena for “larger, more impactful events” moving forward. Ouch.
More on the situation from The Athletic’s Katie Strang:
The termination notice follows several months of stalled negotiations between the city and the team on the terms of a lease extension and potential renovations to the arena, as well as multiple notices about outstanding and delinquent balances owed by the Coyotes as part of their lease agreement, public records reveal.
City Manager Kevin Phelps, who oversees the day-to-day operations and is responsible for the arena management contract between the team and ASM Global, the arena management company, said his decision was shared in an executive session with City Council members last week. City Council members, when given an opportunity to provide input, showed a “strong consensus” that they supported this course of action, Phelps said.
“We’ve reached that point of no return,” Phelps told The Athletic. “There’s no wavering.”
As it turns out, the Coyotes are in the hole for just under $1.5M to the arena, according to public records obtained by The Athletic.
There is still a chance that the Coyotes will be able to find a home still in Arizona, but that seems to be an uphill battle at this point. For the 2021-22 season, the Coyotes will move from the Pacific Division to the Central Division where they’ll join the Blackhawks, Stars, Blues, Wild, Predators, Jets, and Avalanche.
For now, the Coyotes will play-out the 2021-22 season in Glendale at Gila River Arena. But maybe a future move to the Midwest is a sensible option. After all, the NHL has received interest for expansion teams from cities such as Houston, Kansas City, and Milwaukee. They have also received interest from Quebec City and Portland (Oregon), so there are potential options outside of Arizona.
With the addition of the Seattle Kraken this season, along with the Coyotes moving to the Central, the NHL has an even number of eight teams in each division, so relocating the Coyotes (if it comes to that) may end up coming down to which city makes sense geographically, as well as financially.
