Voters in Tempe, Arizona have dropped three ballots that would have given the Arizona Coyotes a new home in the state.
On Tuesday, voters in the city rejected proposals 301, 302, and 303 — which would have allowed changes to the city’s planned use for the property, allowed for the rezoning, and gave the Coyotes the right to to develop the country.
The $2.1 billion project failed on all three ballots — returning 301 and 302 with 56 percent “no” votes and 303 with 57 percent “no” votes.
The move was widely viewed as the Coyotes’ latest attempt at building a new arena in the state after being evicted from the Gila River Arena in Glendale last year.
It now means that after 27 years in the state, the Coyotes will probably have to leave the Phoenix area entirely – as many other markets begin to draft proposals to attract the team.
Voters in Tempe rejected approval to build a new arena for the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes
After being thrown out at Glendale, they played at Arizona State University last season
In a statement, Coyotes CEO Xavier Gutierrez expressed his disappointment with the election result.
“We are deeply disappointed that voters in Tempe did not approve proposals 301, 302 and 303,” the statement said. As Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said, it was the best sports deal in Arizona history.
“The Coyotes would like to thank everyone who supported our efforts and voted yes. So many community leaders stepped up and became our advocates and for that we are truly grateful. We also want to thank the countless volunteers who have worked so hard to make the Tempe Entertainment District a reality, as well as the Tempe City Council for their support.
“While we wanted a different outcome, we remain grateful to everyone who volunteered their time and talent. What’s next for the franchise will be evaluated by our owners and the National Hockey League in the coming weeks.”
The NHL also released a short statement of its own saying, “The National Hockey League is deeply disappointed by the results of the public referendums on the Coyotes’ arena project in Tempe. We are going to look with the Coyotes at what options are possible in the future.’
The Coyotes were evicted from their old home in Glendale’s Gila River Arena when the city chose not to renew the team’s lease. In 2021, reports indicated that the team was in arrears on rent payments for the building.
Since then, as a temporary measure, they played at the 4,600-seat Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University.
The Coyotes have struggled with attendance for several seasons as success eludes them
| Season | Avg. To turn out | Rank | Capacity percentage | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 13,345 | 28* | 77.9% | 28* |
| 2015-16 | 13,433 | 28* | 77.9% | 28* |
| 2016-17 | 13,094 | 29* | 76.5% | 29* |
| 2017-18 | 13,040 | 30 | 76.2% | 29 |
| 2018-19 | 13,989 | 29 | 81.7% | 27 |
Arizona hasn’t had the easiest time of success in the Valley – it has missed the playoffs nine times in the past ten seasons, the only exception being the 2020 ‘bubble’ playoffs.
During their tenure in Arizona, the Coyotes have never reached the Stanley Cup Final, reached a conference final once, and won only two playoff series overall.
This led to a crater visit. Throughout the five 2014–19 seasons, the Coyotes were consistently in the bottom three for the least average attendance in the entire NHL.
It’s left the Coyotes in a precarious position – with Glendale unwilling to give in to bring the team back and seemingly no other city willing to host them.
That could mean the Coyotes become the second franchise in NHL history to move twice — joining the New Jersey Devils, who were previously in Kansas City and then Colorado. The Coyotes moved from Winnipeg, Manitoba in the mid-1990s.
While fans of the team are sure to feel screwed, the writing about the future of the franchise has been on the wall for years – as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman seems to be the only executive who believes hockey can be successful in the Arizona desert .
The Coyotes have been a favorite of relocation rumors for years, as the aforementioned attendance numbers and lack of success kept fans away.
A leading move candidate is Houston, whose Toyota Center is NHL-ready
This could also be the chance to bring an NHL back to a city that lost one, like Quebec City
There are a number of cities that are likely to be interested in acquiring an NHL franchise. Places that have never hosted an NHL team — such as Houston, Milwaukee, and Salt Lake City — are rumored to be top picks for destinations. It’s likely that an NHL team will share an arena with both cities’ NBA teams — which could be for or against the move, depending on how you look at it.
In terms of former NHL cities that have lost franchises, Kansas City seems like the most likely option – since they don’t have a winter sports team there and they’ve had an empty NHL-ready arena available for years.
Recently, rumors of a possible move or expansion of the franchise to Atlanta have been gathering steam. However, the city has played host to two separate NHL teams that have both moved — which could discourage a future move.
Finally, if there is a city in Canada that could be associated with attracting the Coyotes, a move to Quebec City to revive the Nordiques would be a popular idea. Like Kansas City, they too have had a vacant NHL-ready arena for years. But a lack of wealthy pockets in the area plus a presumed idea that the owner is a francophone (particularly someone who is Québécois) could make that move more difficult to happen.