![]() In the wake of the vote, there was immediate speculation about where the Coyotes might relocate. How could one expect those fans to vote for that arena before they themselves are created? The new arena was intended to create new fans. Asking why hockey fans in Tempe didn't turn out for the arena vote is paradoxical. If it was a Maricopa County ballot measure, that brings in the majority of the Coyotes' fan base in places like Scottsdale. I think they would have if this wasn't a city ballot initiative. Why didn't the Coyotes fans show up to support the initiative? As is often the case in local elections, they could have helped swing that vote. One factor I heard: Some difficulties in their relationships with local labor unions that would have worked on building the entertainment district. The Coyotes spent less, were playing catch-up on messaging and couldn't reframe the argument for enough voters. A lot of what was being said about the bid was misinformation about taxes, public funding and owner Alex Meruelo's messy breakup with Glendale. The opposition was better funded and controlled the messaging early. I don't know if it was overconfidence or hubris, but the Coyotes clearly miscalculated on some aspects of the vote. It had endorsements from politicians past and present, all noting that this unusable landfill was going to be put to good use. The team thought it had made its case, from the private funding to the benefits of the project to the community. Instead, he went radio silent when the initiative was defeated. Gutierrez to do rounds of media on Wednesday in anticipation of a victory lap. The team had booked president and CEO Xavier A. Internally, there were estimates of a 10-point advantage in the polling. The Coyotes thought they were winning this vote. Perhaps it's because without an arena or a Plan B, they are finally going somewhere else. Like two years ago, when the Coyotes' financial disputes with Glendale were being publicly discussed and he said, "The Coyotes aren't going anywhere." Notice what Bettman didn't say there: Anything that resembled his emphatic past support of the franchise remaining in Arizona. We are going to review with the Coyotes what the options might be going forward." NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement: "The NHL is terribly disappointed by the results of the public referenda regarding the Coyotes' arena project in Tempe. "There's no Plan B at this point," one team source said. ![]() It was a vote that crushed fans' hopes and gutted the team's management. On Tuesday, the "monster" received its latest death blow: Voters in Tempe emphatically rejected a ballot initiative for a $2.1 billion entertainment district that would have included a new Coyotes arena. They were evicted from their arena in Glendale only to move into a 5,000-seat college hockey arena on the campus of Arizona State for potentially four seasons. They've missed the Stanley Cup playoffs in 10 of the past 11 seasons, interrupted only by a brief appearance in the 24-team pandemic postseason of 2020. They almost relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, and Seattle, among other destinations. They found the one thing at which Wayne Gretzky wasn't great: coaching. ![]() They've gone bankrupt, and as a result were owned by the NHL for a time. The Coyotes have changed owners several times. They're the NHL equivalent of a 1980s horror movie monster, snapping back into consciousness after being electrocuted for the 10th time, shambling along in defiance of its assumed mortality while everyone runs away screaming. Where should the Arizona Coyotes franchise play next? ![]() You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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