• Loading stock data...
Friday, September 12, 2025
Tuned In is Almost Sold Out! Limited Tickets Remain!

Hello, Goodbye: Coyotes’ Future in Flux As Relocation Rumors Ramp Up

  • The league reportedly has developed a contingency plan to move the team to Salt Lake City.
  • The situation remains very fluid and uncertain, and it has also affected team play.
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the Coyotes’ continual efforts to secure a long-term future in their current market, the team’s local situation is seemingly devolving in near–real time, perhaps marking the beginning of the end of a 28-year stint in the desert. 

Just since Monday, when Scottdale mayor David Ortega blasted the team’s plans to build a $3 billion arena and mixed-use development in north Phoenix, the Coyotes have been beset with a dizzying series of developments, many of which suggest a lack of confidence in the franchise. 

Among the latest events to surround the team:

  • The NHL has developed a contingency plan to move the team to Salt Lake City, according to multiple reports, a market that has openly coveted landing a team. In addition to drafting an alternate schedule for the 2024–25 season that would involve the team being placed in Utah, multiple reports also pointed to a two-stage process in which Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo would sell the franchise back to the NHL for $1 billion, and then Ryan Smith, owner of the NBA’s Jazz and co-owner of two pro soccer teams in Salt Lake City, would buy the team for as much as $1.3 billion. Other NHL team owners would split the difference. 
  • Smith went as far to post a survey on X in which he is soliciting potential names for an NHL team in Utah. 
  • NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly issued a statement that certainly didn’t throw any cold water on the Salt Lake City chatter, instead saying, “The league is continuing to work on a solution to what has been a challenging and difficult situation. But we are not in a position to comment beyond that.” 
  • Before Wednesday’s game in Vancouver, Coyotes coach André Tourigny (above, standing) said relocation rumors surrounding the team since January helped prompt a 14-game losing streak and derail the season. “We cannot pretend it did not affect our team,” Tourigny said. “That had a huge impact on our season. We did not deal with it the right away at the time.”
  • Ortega walked back some of his prior opposition to the Arizona proposal, saying he’s now in favor of the project, so long as its primary access point faces Phoenix instead of Scottsdale, in order to alleviate traffic concerns. Ortega’s recommendation would be a shift from how the planned development was presented in original renderings.

Though a relocation to Utah is far from certain, the rising noise surrounding the Coyotes perhaps prompted the team to post a video on X on Wednesday in which the team reiterated it was “committed to keeping Coyotes hockey in the desert and building an arena in Phoenix.” The Coyotes are aiming to win a June 27 auction for a 110-acre parcel of state-owned land in north Phoenix, initially appraised at $68.5 million.

The various moves and comments raise plenty of questions, including why the NHL would want to trade down from the No. 11 media market to the No. 27 one, before even knowing what will happen with the land auction. The Delta Center, where the Coyotes would play temporarily in a move to Utah, also was not designed for hockey, a facility situation that impaired the team’s early years in what is now the Footprint Center in Phoenix. But such is the uncertainty and fluidity currently surrounding the Coyotes. 

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Kaprizov’s Record Contract Rejection Highlights NHL’s New World

The declined contract would have set records for overall and annual value.
Aug 23, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detailed view of the Denver Broncos helmet against the New Orleans Saints during warmups at Caesars Superdome.

Broncos Eye 2031 Opening for New Multibillion-Dollar Stadium

The NFL team plans a new venue and mixed-use development.

Connor McDavid: ‘All Options on Table’ As Historic Free Agency Looms

The Oilers superstar remains largely mum on his long-term plans.

Featured Today

Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl Rematch Could Set More NFL Ratings Records

Fox will nationally televise Sunday afternoon’s matchup.
September 10, 2025

ESPN’s ‘MNF’ Ratings Up 8% As NFL Surges to Strong Start

ESPN posts its second-best Week 1 “Monday Night Football” audience.
Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills fans react during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium.
September 9, 2025

As Bills Ascend, Their Next Frontier Lies in Canada

Buffalo and the powerful Canadian entity MLSE come together in a new pact.
opinion
September 9, 2025

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from NFL’s Week 1 Broadcasts

Many viewers decried the addition of ads to “NFL RedZone.”
Aug 22, 2025; Bridgeview, Illinois, USA; Chicago Stars FC forward Jameese Joseph (8) passes the ball during the first half of a match against the North Carolina Courage at SeatGeek Stadium.

Chicago Stars FC Move to Evanston After 12 Years in Bridgeview

Stadium plans beyond the 2026 season aren’t solidified. 
Dec 10, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; A general view of the Delta Center before the game between the Utah Hockey Club and the Minnesota Wild.
August 19, 2025

Utah’s Sports Boom Expands Into Music, Emulating Atlanta

The Jazz and Mammoth owner strikes a major deal with Live Nation.
August 28, 2025

As CFB Programs Add Corporate Field Logos, Are Jersey Patches Next?

Texas is adding a sponsor’s logo to its football field this season.
Sponsored

How World Series Champ Dexter Fowler Became a Premier League Team Owner

Dexter Fowler discusses navigating retirement and embracing new roles as an owner & investor.
August 18, 2025

Browns $2.4B Stadium Plan Runs Into Airspace Turbulence

The team’s proposed stadium is deemed a threat to nearby airport operations.
Sofi Stadium
August 14, 2025

Los Angeles Olympics Will be First to Sell Venue Naming Rights

The decision breaks with a longstanding Olympic policy.
Nov 30, 2017; Arlington, TX, USA; General overall view of the Dallas Cowboys logo at midfield during an NFL football game between the Washington Redskins and the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
August 14, 2025

Arlington Pays Off Its Cowboys Stadium Debt 10 Years Early

Another major NFL venue retires its public debt far ahead of schedule.
Fans watch as players make it into the 18th hole during round three of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC in Scottsdale on Feb. 8, 2025. Arizona Republic
August 13, 2025

Country Club Initiation Fees Soar With Golf’s Popularity

In many areas, would-be members are joining decade-long wait lists.