- The Coyotes have been unable to find a new arena since they were kicked out
- Now the team is working on a way to move to Salt Lake City, Utah
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The Arizona Coyotes’ potential move to Salt Lake City, Utah has been approved by the NHL’s executive committee – a major move for the team leaving the desert.
After giving the franchise as much leeway as possible (some might say a lot more leeway than necessary) to find a new home, it appears the NHL has had enough of trying to find a new home – with the executive committee gives the green light. light for a move to Utah.
In a complicated move, Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo will sell the team to Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith in a deal worth $1.2 billion.
But the team will be rebranded in time for the 2024-2025 season, with Meruelo retaining rights to the Coyotes name, logos and trademarks.
Meruelo will retain these trademarks in hopes of establishing an expansion franchise in Arizona. He will continue to build a $3 billion arena in North Phoenix – with the NHL giving him five years to get it done.
The Arizona Coyotes are one step closer to a move to Salt Lake City, Utah for next season
After being evicted from their old arena in Glendale, the team played at a college venue
But now the team is about to play at the Delta Center, home of the Utah Jazz
Of the $1.2 billion, Meruelo will keep $1 billion, while the remaining $200 million will go to the NHL, which is brokering the deal. If he gets the expansion franchise, he will pay the $1 billion back to the NHL as a franchise fee.
Meruelo also remains owner of the Tucson Roadrunners, the Coyotes AHL affiliate.
For years, the Coyotes were one of the worst-performing teams in the National Hockey League, and these problems were exacerbated by the franchise’s eviction from its former home in Glendale, now known as the Desert Diamond Arena.
Since that eviction, the team has struggled to find a new and future home, while multiple plans for various locations in the area fell apart.
The Coyotes played their games at Mullett Arena, home of the Arizona State University hockey team. It is a move that has been criticized because the facilities are substandard for professional hockey.
But these problems will soon be behind the team as they will move to the Delta Center, home of the NBA’s Jazz, next season.
Meruelo bought the Coyotes in July 2019 for $425 million. At the time, Arizona was the least valuable NHL franchise – worth $675 million.