Arizona Coyotes Relocation To Phoenix Talks Continue
Prior to the City of Glendale vote that voided the Arizona Coyotes lease at Gila River Arena on Wednesday, Coyotes fans were sent into a frenzy by a single tweet.
#Phoenix Councilman @MRNowakowski says he's pushing to bring @ArizonaCoyotes hockey team to downtown. Wants team 2 share new arena w/ @Suns.
— Dustin Gardiner (@dustingardiner) June 10, 2015
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said that it would be inappropriate for him to speak about such a thing while the Coyotes and Glendale are under contract together. Well, the vote passed and the team and city are no longer under contract together.
More from Arizona Coyotes
- Arizona Coyotes: Slumping Strome Shipped to Chicago
- Arizona Coyotes: How Coach Rick Tocchet Sparked His Offense
- Arizona Coyotes: 3 Keys to Win Over Blue Jackets
- Arizona Coyotes: 3 Takeaways From Saturday’s Loss in Winnipeg
- Arizona Coyotes: Dvorak Out Indefinitely After Surgery
Mayor Stanton was on the Doug and Wolf show Friday morning and spoke about the potential of the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Coyotes sharing an arena in downtown Phoenix,
"“I wanna make sure the Coyotes stay here in the valley of the sun. So, I know that there is likely gonna be ongoing conversation between the team and City of Glendale, despite the ongoing litigation and I know that the team is gonna be perusing conversations with the City of Phoenix relative to our building, US Airways arena, soon to be Talking Stick Resort Arena in downtown Phoenix.”“I don’t wanna lose any important regional asset, and I view the Coyotes as an important regional asset.”"
Stanton reiterated that the Coyotes are a regional asset to the valley and that he would work to make sure the team stays in Arizona. He added by giving a little detail as to what has gone on behind the scenes since the Glendale vote,
"“After the vote, I appropriately reached out to representatives of the Coyotes, I reached out to the Phoenix Suns and asked if they would be willing to at least engage in conversation and both sides want to engage in conversation. So, we’re at a very preliminary stage.”"
This is something hockey fans across the valley have wanted for years. It’s been widely agreed upon by the fanbase that the Coyotes move to Glendale was a bad decision for multiple reasons. Obviously, the City of Glendale hasn’t been the easiest of partners to work with, but the thing that comes up the most is location.
Of course, with the good, comes the bad. Yes, if the Coyotes were to move back to downtown Phoenix, attendance would surely rise. Fans would have an easier time getting to games during the week, which has been a problem with the team playing in Glendale. The team’s chances of success in Arizona would improve if they were to be located in the heart of the valley, closer to the majority of the fanbase.
More from Heat Waved
- Arizona Coyotes: Slumping Strome Shipped to Chicago
- Arizona Cardinals Paid Sam Bradford $6.75 Million Per TD Pass
- Former Arizona Basketball Star Allonzo Trier Remarkably Efficient Lately
- Arizona Coyotes: How Coach Rick Tocchet Sparked His Offense
- Arizona State Basketball Has Two Transfers Ready to Compete
Unfortunately, the Coyotes moved out of then America West Arena for a reason. The arena was not built for hockey, it was built for basketball and when the Coyotes came to Arizona, they had to shove hockey into the ill equipped building.
There are actually sections of the upper deck that are unable to see the entire rink. Aptly titled, restricted view seats, this posed a problem before, and it posses a problem now.
However, this may only be a temporary solution. There have been ongoing talks that the Phoenix Suns are looking to build a new arena in downtown Phoenix. If this were to happen, the Coyotes would likely move with the Suns to this new arena. Because nothing is official yet, the plans could be drawn up so that the new arena can appropriately accommodate basketball and hockey.
Mayor Stanton also spoke about the new arena plans on Friday’s interview with Doug and Wolf,
"“We’ve begun preliminary conversations with our main partner, the Phoenix Suns. We have begun preliminary conversations and I’m sure those conversations are gonna continue and enter a more earnest period over the next few months, but yeah, we have begun preliminary conversations.”"
The Coyotes current situation is terrible, but it may have been a blessing in disguise for the team. If things play out a certain way, they could end up out of Glendale but remain in Arizona in a much better location and away from the constant headache that is the Glendale city council. This situation is coming to a head and looks like whatever solution is reached, will be the final one of this dramatic saga.
It’s important to remember that this should be approached with very cautious optimism. There is nothing official just yet with the Coyotes, Suns and Phoenix. We haven’t even begun the legal battle between the team and the city of Glendale, but it’s good to see that there is a potential home for the Coyotes in Arizona if things don’t go well for the team in court.