It feels like the Arizona Coyotes haven’t had a permanent home in a long time. While they had their own arena in Glendale, it never felt like a true home with attendance at a low capacity most nights and the arena was 20 minutes away from Phoenix. Now they play in a 5,000-seat arena that belongs to Arizona State University while they try to secure a permanent stable home. Recent attempts have been rejected by the public in Tempe and while the Coyotes have recently executed a letter of intent to purchase land in Mesa, nothing has been approved yet and the team is still looking around the East Valley. It’s a big area around the Phoenix Metropolitan Valley so let’s take a look at some of the cities where the team can have a potential successful home.
Mesa
The Coyotes executed a letter of intent to purchase land here for a reason. Mesa is a big and expansive city. It has a population of 509,475 which is actually more than what Tempe has. Mesa’s location actually sits right next to Scottsdale and Tempe which draws from the new youthful crowd that the Coyotes’ tenure in Mullett Arena has brought in.
South of Mesa is Chandler and Gilbert, which is where most of their season ticket holders live. Mesa is in a nice location and there’s a lot of benefits within the city as well. The Chicago Cubs and the Oakland A’s have their spring training headquarters in Mesa and the area around those ballparks has been renovated and built around and has been a popular spot for the public. The Coyotes already have a presence in the city with the Coyotes Community Ice Center being located right near downtown. It also has a community college, an Arizona State campus, and a massive waterpark that attracts people from all over the Valley. The city has its own airport, which would help travel for fans and NHL teams, and is home to many golf courses which attract snowbirds to live in the city.
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Finally, Mesa has what many Arizona cities don’t have, which is empty land right near downtown. Fiesta Mall is an abandoned mall being torn down by the city right next to Mesa Community College. It has been rumored as a spot where the Coyotes could build their new arena for a long time and while it hasn’t been confirmed as the parcel of land the Coyotes submitted their letter of intent for, it very well could be especially because it is privately owned land and doesn’t need a vote to go through. Mesa also has some open land near the 202 highway just outside of the Riverview retail center. The city’s mayor John Giles has said publicly that Mesa makes a lot of sense for the team. With all the above facts, Giles isn’t wrong at all.
Scottsdale
Scottsdale in my opinion is still one of the most popular cities that fans want to see the Coyotes end up in. It’s located north of Phoenix, Mesa, and Tempe, which are the most popular cities in the East Valley. It has a population of 242,753 and is another popular location for snowbirds with a massive amount of golf courses around the area. Old town Scottsdale draws in a massive amount of people to the area with its restaurants, bars, and shops including when the NFL hosted a couple of Super Bowl activities in the area. Sports already have a presence in the area with the San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies, and Arizona Diamondbacks having spring training headquarters in the city. The Coyotes also have a history in the city with the team hosting events at restaurants like the recent 2023 Draft party. They also have a community rink in Scottsdale where the team usually practices.
When it comes to land the Coyotes could build on, it’s somewhat hard to find – at least close to downtown. You’d have to look at another popular spot in the city to find massive open spots of land. That would be Salt River Fields on the east side of town. The Diamondbacks and Rockies have their spring training park there and the Top Gold and Talking Stick casinos are other popular locations nearby. A bit south of the two buildings is the Arizona Boardwalk which houses Arizona’s aquarium.
The owner of the land has announced that he plans to double the size of the development to include 48 more acres that could in reality host an NHL arena. The only drawback is that the project is on Native American reservation territory that prohibits gambling. Coyotes’ owner Alex Meruelo owns casinos and has been vocal about adding the aspect to his future arena to recoup costs to build the arena. However, the land would be easier to build on as it doesn’t need too much preparation compared to others.
Scottsdale is a attractive place to build and the Coyotes have flirted with the city before. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Mesa falls through that Scottsdale is a bounce-back option.
Phoenix
The capital of Arizona hasn’t been a stranger to the Coyotes. In fact once upon a time, the Coyotes played in Phoenix and were called the Phoenix Coyotes. The team played out of America West Arena (now known as Footprint Center) until 2006 when they moved to Glendale. Hockey has been in Phoenix before the Coyotes though with the Phoenix Roadrunners of the World Hockey Association playing there from 1974 to 1977 out of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Phoenix is by far the most populated city in all of Arizona with 1.625 million people. There are plenty of sports teams that inhabit the city with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, and Milwaukee Brewers all having stadiums/arenas in the state’s capital. There are also many things around the city like Arizona State’s downtown campus, the Phoenix convention center, and the airport which isn’t far from downtown.
While there are probably open parcels of land around the city, the most likely option is for the Coyotes to move into Footprint Center. The drawback here is that it would require extensive renovations to make it NHL-worthy. It was a big reason why the Coyotes moved out of the arena back in 2006 and it wasn’t just the fact that former Suns owner Robert Sarver did not have a good relationship with the team. It also just went under extensive renovations so it would be the second major renovation in three years if the arena wanted to meet NHL standards.
Mat Ishbia, who owns the Suns, would also more than likely have to buy the team. Most NHL and NBA arenas that are shared have teams owned by the same person in order to own the actual arena. While Ishbia has said he would be open to discussions if the Coyotes were ever up for sale, Meruelo has said he’s not selling the team.
Phoenix is a great spot for sports and while it doesn’t look like the best option for the Coyotes right now, the team very well might find something in the city and return to the capital of the Grand Canyon state.
Tempe
I’m sure the last thing Meruelo wants to do is return to Tempe, especially after the humiliating Tempe Entertainment District vote which saw the project be rejected by Tempe citizens. However, there was a reason why he wanted to build in Tempe in the first place. First off it’s full of youth that the Coyotes want to target in order to keep growing the sport and grow their attendance. The main campus of Arizona State is right downtown and students of the university have supported the sport of hockey throughout the past couple of years.
Outside of ASU, the city has the Los Angeles Angels spring training facility on the west side of the town. Tempe has a population of 180,587 and has hosted big events like the Super Bowl in the past. The city should have a major league sports team and this could be the perfect place for the Coyotes. However as mentioned, Tempe has rejected the Coyotes already in their bid for the best open land left, besides the plot of land where Oceanside Arena once stood.
It would be difficult after the vote for the two sides to come together again and hash something out. While the Coyotes will play in Tempe for at least two more seasons, it’s hard to see a future that involves the two building an arena in the city, but hey stranger things have happened.
Chandler
Chandler is a suburban city located south of Mesa that has quickly become one of the fastest-growing cities in the Valley with a population of 275,987. It has a couple of attractive features such as the Chandler Fashion Center and the microchip manufacturers that have brought in more people from all around the Valley. The Coyotes have their presence in Chandler as well with their community ice rink near the outskirts of Tempe. It also houses a Gila River casino which is a big-time partner of the Coyotes.
The thing going for Chandler is that it’s very close to Tempe and even Phoenix. It also has a lot of county islands which are unincorporated areas within the county. These could be used for a Coyotes arena perhaps close to their partners’ casino. However, Chandler is running out of room as they are surrounded by Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, Phoenix, and reservation land. Granted there’s no way the Coyotes haven’t at least taken a look at it as an option as most of their season ticket holders reside within the east side of the Valley which includes Chandler.
Gilbert
Gilbert is an option and while it may be a questionable one, it very well could be explored. Gilbert has a population of 267,918 people and was once one of the fastest-growing cities. It’s also one of the safest cities in the United States. While the Coyotes and Gilbert haven’t had any form of relationship yet, there is an ice rink in the city. It is located very close to the Mesa airport which could be another pro for the Coyotes. Finally, it’s in the eastern part of the Valley which is where most Coyotes season ticket holders reside.
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The problem with Gilbert is that it’s very far east. The reason why Glendale failed was its distance from Phoenix. Gilbert is about the same distance from Phoenix only east. It could be a last resort for the team to do something in the city but the Coyotes might be better off making a presence there by renovating AZ Ice Gilbert.
Tucson/Flagstaff
These two places will most likely never happen but they are options. Tucson is located two hours south of Phoenix while Flagstaff is located two hours north.
Let’s talk more about Tucson first. The city has a population of 542,629 and is the 33rd biggest city in the United States. It is home to the University of Arizona which has its own American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) team and the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League which are affiliated with the Coyotes. While Tucson from a glance has some potential especially due to the fact it does have a decently sized airport, the city is highly unlikely for a couple of reasons. The first is that it and the surrounding area have never had a major league sports team. While the Coyotes have played preseason games in the city and the Roadrunners are a popular option, it doesn’t have the population or the surrounding population to really support the Coyotes.
The same can be said with the smaller Flagstaff. The population of the northern city is 76,831, and the only main attractions are Northern Arizona University and its proximity to the Grand Canyon. While it is a very beautiful city, the population is just too small to host a major league team. However, the Coyotes should incorporate hockey and themselves in the city of Flagstaff. A minor league team would thrive there especially it being the coldest city out of all three major cities in Arizona which could increase participation in the sport. Maybe an ECHL team one day but for the NHL, it’s a no-go.
The Coyotes have a lot of options to stay in the Grand Canyon state. It’s a very interesting story that keeps growing over time, and it could end soon with the Coyotes’ intent to purchase land in Mesa, but it’s interesting to see where else the team could end up. While some cities are better than others, there’s no shortage of places where the Coyotes could logistically build a new arena within Arizona.
