Arizona Coyotes arena update: North Phoenix is next & final chance? 

Great report. I am a transplanted Baltimore guy. Phoenix is my home. I cheer for the Coyotes. Back home all we ever had was minor league Hockey. More recently nothing and expected to follow the Capitals. Nobody in Baltimore and central Maryland follows DC in anything. So living in Phoenix and following the Coyotes is a big deal for me. Hope an Arena solution is in the future. Also the old Coliseum in the industry area by 19th Street holds 15,000 and that could be a good alternative til an Arena solution is found.

Thank you so much for this info, I’m subbing! Nice and concise no 45min video when it’s not needed.

Salt Lake is following the same blueprint used by Winnipeg a decade ago when the Thrashers suddenly needed a new home.

Some people are in denial about how serious this threat is. Hate to see fans lose their team, but it’s time to get real about the situation.

Really enjoying these Coyote videos from Winnipeg. Hoping AZ can keep their team but I believe this franchise is jinxed.

Thank you for the updates on the Coyotes. - sincerely, a Coyotes fan born in PHX and living in the Midwest

Footprint Center has the same issues that the Islanders had in Brooklyn and that Delta Center in Salt Lake has. The floor was designed for basketball so you get thousands of obstructed view seats when used for hockey.

Clearly this situation is frustrating for everyone. I lived in the PHX area years ago and Glendale was too far to travel, while downtown (where the Yotes played after initially relocating) had the obstructed seats issue. Given that the team has struggled to find success, the locals aren't interested (at least in meaningful numbers) in financing a new arena project. So, really, only the commissioner has been supportive of the years of dysfunction in AZ. I'm a fan, but even I have to admit the current tiny rink is an embarrassment and that, short of a miracle, the team needs to go find a new home in another town. Thank you Brodie for covering this and providing some excellent perspective.

From what I understand, Houston, Salt Lake City, and Quebec City are vying for The Desert Dogs.

It's the population of the market

The Coyotes have been the subject of relocation talks almost since the day they arrived in Arizona. They have been at the top of the relocation list for over 20 years, but they’re still there. I wish the Whalers had been given this many chances to stay in Hartford.

As long as Gary Bettman is still commish, any deadline or last chances are fictitious. Bettman will allow the Coyotes to fail endlessly. No other franchise in any sport has overblown as many chances and fail as badly for 3 decades as the Coyotes. If the Québec Nordiques, Montréal Expos, Vancouver Grizzlies, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, St Louis Rams, or Seattle Supersonics had as many chances as the Coyotes, none of them would've ever relocated.

Why don't the Coyotes move to Prescott? Way cheaper than snobsdale. Centrally located, plenty of people there, flagstaff and Phoenix are short drives. But the main concern is advertising. My wife and I were talking yesterday and she's lived in AZ for 13 years and admitted she's never heard of an Arizona hockey team. So I started talking to a bunch of friends about it, they've never heard of the coyotes either. 🤦 this is the problem.

The Coyotes have had chance after chance for 20 years. Atlanta got all of 3 months, despite having good attendance, besting Phoenix in attendance 8 seasons out of 11 seasons. Don't get me wrong, I do think the NHL can work in the Phoenix area if things get situated. There's no reason to believe that it won't work, given that the Phoenix area is over double the population of Las Vegas and it works there. Plus, Phoenix is adding more residents of any metro area than all but Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. Atlanta is slightly behind in population growth, though it has 1.4 million more people.

You made a comment in your video (nice, informative video by the way) that made me think of something that I learned in working almost 30 years at my job. You said, "Im not saying that Gary Betteman doesn't believe in the ability of Coyotes ownership to secure a new home." Which made me remember that sometimes people know more than what they can or will say (or share with the media) publicly. I'm sure that Gary knows things that the NHL, and specifically the other owners would not want him releasing to the media and the public.

Brodie Brazil is NOT from Brazil

I can’t understand why Bettman is so hung up in keeping the Coyotes in Arizona? It must be an ego trip. Afraid to admit failure and cut his league’s losses. Also have those Coyote players play in an NHL home rink.

As someone who lives in Phoenix, the Arena should go downtown so it's central for everyone in the valley. That location on the border of Phoenix and Scottsdale is not a good location if you want good attendance. It will just end up like the old arena in Glendale.

Great Video. I really don't know what to say, but, this is getting to be a very difficult thing.

Think the end game is these coyotes are moved to slc and then Arizona becomes an expansion site where an arena can be properly developed.

It’s gone too quiet now on the Desert Dogs front and I’m very scared for them but what concerns me is the temperature of the topic as it seems people get touchy when we talk about it and touchy when we don’t talk about it as Bettman demonstrated at All Star Weekend

A big chunk, if not all, of that land is State Trust Land. That presents a pretty big hurdle. They can't just go in and buy the land. It's not that simple.

So Houston, Atlanta and Phoenix will get expansion teams.

If Betman and the NHL was this diligent with Winnipeg and Quebec, neither team would have relocated. Time to move on from the with the dogs. They've had enough life support funds.

I was at the All Star game. All the talk around the GM office was how happy to go to SLC

Coyotes to Quebec City. Then double expansion Houston-SLC. In 5 years when (or IF) both arenas ready, expansion Phoenix-Atlanta.

The whole reason they're in a college arena and not footprint center or anywhere else is because what happened with Gila river when they weren't paying their taxes and got locked out of the building literally. I can see why the suns ownership didn't want anything to do with them

And one more (salient) point: just as with the A's, it's shaky ownership (not the fans) who create these poor situations. The fans just get to own the suffering and dysfunction.

If this falls through, it'll be interesting to see who bids higher to buy this team, the current owner of the Utah Jazz to move it to SLC, or the interested ownership group in ATL. If they go ATL, it would make an ATL vs WPG kind of interesting

Yeah im feeling like they’re leaving at the end of this season. With Elliot freedman talking about how owners seem to be fed up, and kevin weekes (a colour commentator who seems to have insider info) tweeted a photo of SLC. I think this era of Arizona hockey is over.

The Coyotes fiasco is the biggest joke of Gary Bettman's tenure.

NHL Coyotes will most likely future relocate from AZ to Houston. NHL Jets will be a potential relocation from WPG to SLC as the Utah Polar Bears.

If they build out in NE Phoenix they are effectively making the same mistake as with Glendale. The distance from that plot of land to downtown is nearly twice the distance as compared to Glendale. It’s about 27 miles compared to about 15 for the arena in Glendale. They essentially be right back at square one.

I'm afraid they're setting themselves up for future problems building way out on the periphery of the city like that. You want to be in the downtown of a major city and if you're not, you'll eventually end up wishing you were. That gives you the best access to the most people because you're roughly equal distance from everyone. If access is too problematic, people won't go. I lived in the Ottawa area when the Senators put that brand new rink way the hell out in Kanata and I remember even then, people were saying they'd be sorry they built so far out and it wasn't long until they were proven right.

Miracle Development? It'll be a miracle if the arena is developed.

In regards to a "ballpark village" development: That is EXACTLY what was done in Glendale. The arena was built first, and then the then owner of the Coyotes, Steve Ellman, who made his money in retail real estate, built Westgate next to it (with saloons and a hotel), then the state built the Cardinals' stadium just to the south (paid for with hotel and car rental taxes, which means Brodie helped to build it). The Desert Diamond Arena does have a sports tennant, The Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League is moving there this summer. (I was hoping they would join the reincarnated Arena Football League, so they could play our Billings Outlaws, but no dice.)

Saying this as a hockey fan in general. But it would be great to finally see the Yotes get their “crap” together with the new arena and hockey does work in the Southern US. If they can actually build a new arena, and continue building this young team up. Then it shouldn’t be an issue but since their move from Winnipeg. It’s been nothing but a gong show, which could definitely be a deterrent for these areas not wanting them there

Unfortunately neither the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale nor the Footprint Center in Phoenix are viable temporary solutions. Glendale decided that the arena is more profitable without the Coyotes as a tenant. The Footprint Center was never designed for hockey so had several sections with obstructed views. The Suns' owner at the time did not want to share with the Coyotes so rejected potential improvements when it was recently renovated.

With the multiple toxic ownerships, lackluster performances, and overall fan apathy, the Yotes are better off in Salt Lake than in Arizona. The Bettman Arizona experiment has been a Failure, it’s time to move on

Great reporting,,but it doesn't look good.

Great video. This was my first time watching one of your videos, and i really enjoyed it. You are very well spoken and easy to listen to. I hope the Coyotes get to stay in Arizona. I have subscribed and look forward to watching more of your videos.👍👍

Bettmans ego is too big for him to admit he was wrong. This is an embarrassment for hockey.

The Coyotes in AZ are over, last week the Commish met with the Utah governor and legislators

Wow..they would be desert dogs in this location. I really don't see this going very far like past false starts.

Deseret Dogs. I call dibbs on the trademark!

As an Arizona sports fan. A lot of ppl here are over it. They haven’t been able to put a good product on the ice in ages. They suck.

The Coyotes had their chance way back in the late 1990's with the Los Arcos Project and that blew up in their face. I do not know now if they will survive in the Desert.....

what is your opinion on "new" sports trying to break in to the American market and what the troubles they may have the hardest time with? The MLR (Major League Rugby) has a few staple teams, but keep rolling through expansion team. Utah Warriors, Seattle Sea Wolves, San Diego Legion are some of their longest standing teams.

In my view, if the Coyotes do move to SLC, I expect MLS within a few days of that being announced to announce that they will expand to the Phoenix area as a way to fill the void left behind by the Coyotes. MLS has talked about expanding to Phoenix for a while & would see the Coyotes leaving as the perfect opportunity to finally put a team there. However doing this creates its own issues as it would likely mean the end of the USL (the league below MLS in the US soccer pyramid) franchise the Rising FC who are the defending champions of the league much like what happened in San Diego when San Diego FC was announced as joining MLS in 2025. Unless Rising FC are the ones being "promoted" up to MLS as part of the expansion process (given the already existing fan base & infrastructure) any MLS expansion team in Phoenix will struggle as they will likely have to play at State Farm Stadium since the idea of building a soccer specfic stadium (as most MLS teams have) will not work given the brutal temperatures Phoenix has during the summer.

We must maintain the only Phoenix Columbus rivalry in sports.

I feel like they need to put it here in Mesa, right here where the old fiesta mall was that’s a big plot of land

Your videos are great, Brodie. I still think the 'Yotes will run out of time, move out of Arizona, and change the team name to The Wolves to match their new digs in Utah. Ain't much Coyotes in Utah, but there are wolves,,but I could be wrong.

Long past time to move to Houston.

Lets go NORDIQUES!!!!

A place where they need to give away a hotdog 🌭 with a beer 🍺 and a game ticket for around 50 bucks isn’t a prime hockey spot 🤔 A promo when they played in the Gila arena. Plus their barn wasn’t even full, in spite of the cheap promotion price 🤔

I got it there moving to Salt Lake City

Return to the mecca of Arizona hockey - AZ Vets Memorial Coliseum!

Salt Lake City seems like it’s going to be their new home.

So, with this deal, it’s going to be at least a year before they even know IF they can buy the land, then more time to get an arena built? Maybe another 5 years minimum playing at Mullet? Embarrassing. Move the team, then let Arizona build an arena and apply for a new expansion franchise.

The Coyotes failed by making their plans at Tempe known and having a public referendum on it. You don't do that. NIMBYS will always vote against something they believe is going to take their tax dollars, even though it would have been next to nothing for the typical resident. The place had been a waste dump, for crying out loud. Might as well have put something worthwhile on that site. The contaminants were also going to be cleaned up. The residents of Tempe now don't even get that.

Yeah, it’s north phoenix.. but that Road on the right of the open field is the Phoenix/Scottsdale line… so when you say next door.. it really is… I could see it going there. Maybe not the perfect place, I know most teams/owners would want to be in the metro line station areas.. but those are close to down town and those areas just don’t have a large enough plot to build on.

I'm sure they are going to build an arena first

Bettman needs to retire.

With Bettman in control, there will NEVER be an ultimate timeline. This whole circus is like a continous soap opera, that is very predictable. If Mereulo wants to privately fund this, which is the last shot he's got; stop the charade, pick a parcel, and get shovels in the ground. The Desert Dogs have been in Phoenix nearly 3 decades, and with all the Neuvo Riche money floating around, this should hve been an easy slam dunk. The Coyotes should have until June, to have acquisition of land. If not, times up. It's a sorry situation for the fans of the team, that deserve better, but this has to stop NOW! THE NHL is a laughingstock.

Houston is an option too

Twenty years ago, there was a zoning prohibition against building over two stories in this area, progress is slow.

That property is in north Phoenix, not Snottsdale. Not a perfect location but much better than Glendale.

I'm a Coyotes fan and i just want the rumors and speculation to end...

As long as they are in Phoenix and not Scottsdale this has a chance. They also must privately finance this. Even the Diamonbacks owner has given up trying to ask the public for money to repair Chase Field.

There should def be NHL team @ Oakland Coliseum Arena

If Coyotes move it will be to Houston

I wonder why they allowed them to play in such a small arena without a plan in sight

end this drama once and for all

So far every attempt hits a brick wall and, at best, the new proposal will take 4 or 5 years with funding, permitting, building, etc before its ready for hockey. That is a long time to spend in a college arena. Footprint Center no longer fits a hockey rink and the owner does not want to share. Glendale has said no way to moving back there. They were bleeding money every home game. There doesn't seem to be a way forward. But the NHL rrreeeaallyy wants a team in Phoenix. They view it a market they HAVE to be in. And they will endure (have endured) a lot of pain to keep the team there. Otherwise the Coyotes would have moved several different times by now.

They had a sports arena in Glendale they used to play in. Its a sports arena and i don't understand why a sports team isnt playing there?

The coyotes are costing the players and owners money.

Chance number 287.

I don't see this happening for them. I think their best chance was Tempe and when that was rejected by the voters...the funeral bells began to ring in Mudville. The Coyotes are a sad franchise. They're in their third home in 25 years. Out of 30 NHL teams the Coyotes are last in value which is not surprising, yet I'm always slightly astonished that this team is still existing. I'm not an expert in NHL team finances but I'm guessing that living in a 5,000 seat college arena year after year isn't very good for business, especially if that team is already at the bottom in value. The idea is to move that red arrow up, so it can turn black...right? The question for me is how many seasons can the Coyotes realistically live in a small college arena? I don't see them staying there another 3-5 years unless...unless they actually manage to buy that land and announce the secured design/construction of a new privately-financed NHL arena within the next 12-16 months. I just don't see that happening. I could be proven wrong, of course, however I'm less-convinced that latter will happen. Which is why, it is my personal opinion that the Arizona Coyotes will leave Arizona and either move to Salt Lake City or Houston. I think Houston could be a real possibility in this ongoing melodramatic soap opera. I mention Houston because it has been known that there is an interest to bring NHL hockey there for some time, because Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta has on record expressed an interest in owning an NHL hockey team in Houston. For those who don't know...Houston was once the home of the Houston Aeros of the old WHL. Gordie Howe played for them and helped them win back-to-back Avco Cups. So Houston does have a history of championship hockey. Fertitta already has an available arena ready and open for business called the Toyota Center which is multi-purposed for both basketball and ice hockey. It's current hockey capacity is 17,800 seats, more than enough for an NHL franchise and almost 13,000 more seats than ASU's Mullett Arena. So that's a BIG plus. The Coyotes could simply move in and become the Houston Aeros. Gordie Howe's family would love it but I digress. All it would take for this situation to move in that direction is for the current Coyotes owner to receive an offer to sell which is always a possibility, especially for such a dirt-cheap team. And therin lies the real danger for Coyotes fans..their team is the cheapest team on the market. They don't have near the value of the Original Six teams. An ambitious owner with deep pockets could see the Coyotes as a worthy challenge...in another state. Salt Lake City has been wanting to expand into other professional sports for some time with interest in both the MLB & NHL so of course, they remain a logical possibility to capture the Coyotes as well. In closing I will say this...I advise the Arizona Coyotes fans, all 35-40 of them, to enjoy their team while they're in AZ because I think they'll be hitting road to somewhere else. I don't say that out of malice, I say that as an observer of the current trend which is an ongoing old trend by the way, that has never quite improved. It's been an embarrassing mess for a very, very long time.

Coyotes moved into the Suns' arena - it didnt work, with the building not big enough for hockey; Coyotes moved to Glendale arena and got themselves kicked out; Coyotes tried to get a new arena in Tempe; the effort failed. Time to move the team

The Coyotes are the NHL’s answer to the Oakland A’s. Both situations are an embarrassment to the respective leagues. The Coyotes might be worse. Why? There are places to put them right now, where they can be successful. Quebec City immediately comes to mind.

Didn't know "Coyotoes" was a thing ?

I made the prediction at the start of last season that the coyotes would be out of phoenix at the end of this season. I take no pride in being right and I feel sorry for the fans but this just feels overdue. This is what happens after decades of inept management and bad ownership.

AZ fans shouldn't lose heart if this all ends with the team moving. I know, that's asking a lot. The NHL's belief in the greater Phoenix area as a market for hockey runs far deeper than this ownership group, this franchise, or this moment in time. If they end up going, the league will circle back and look to re-expand into the area, doing it the right way, with the right ownership, and the right building all in a row before anything can get screwed up. And it will be great. They don't believe in Atlanta half as much, and they're talking about trying that for a 3rd time.

Arizona Coyotes were done when Las Vegas got a franchise.

I have family who live in Pheonix. And they didnt know they had an NHL team till very recently

Gary Bettman Vladimir Putin Separated at birth? ;)

This isnt an issue if the NHL did its homework on this ownership group, but this was that "hockey is for everyone" moment, and man it blew up in Bettman's face. Before people say that im being racist, no I'm not. I'm being brutally honest, that because of said ownership group being of minority status, they went along without thoroughly background checking there business behavior. If so, they would have seen not paying taxes wasnt their first strike in business. When Shane Doan left the organization, that was the final straw. The guy stayed his entire career, didnt ask to chase a cup. His son went to a local school, and drafted by the Coyotes. Yet he takes a job on opposite side of the North American map???? I also like the Coyotes in Arizona, but enough is enough. The fans aren't physically supportimg this team. Im definitely sold on Utah though. I believe Arizona could have a team, but the owner needs to sell, he is the biggest problem.

Why not relocate to Oakland and use Oracle while we build a new hockey stadium at Howard Terminal?

The biggest problem with arizona for any sport is half the population is transplants. Except for the suns most people like other teams football baseball and hockey. The only thing that puts butts in the seats is a winner. Look at the dbacks they made the world series and had terrible attendance up until the last month of the season and the playoffs. The haters never acknowledge everything the yotes have been through. Unlike vegas and seattle getting amazing teams to start the yotes have never not been in an uphill battle. They finally have a good team gm and ownership. I sure hope us fans that have stuck with this shitshow from the beginning get a chance to enjoy this team and all their young talent.

Everybody seems to hate professional teams getting taxpayer paid arenas, but when an owner works on building one with their own money, everyone looses their mind!

No idea who Brodie Brazil is but RU-vid keeps saying to me "Hey watch this mofo". So I am.

That’s still too far out from the valley

The Coyotes should’ve moved years ago. The league and Bettman are just in denial that it’s not and will never work in Arizona. Let them relocate already!!!!

With all due respect to Arizona this team would be wayyyy more successful in Utah. Utah will literally sell out every single game. As someone that lives here I will be first in line for season tickets!

The funniest thing is, The Coyotes were the most successful when the League actually owned the team.

If Betteman forced a sale of the Coyotes to new ownership, could the Coyotes move back to Glendale?

Let's make it happen !!!! Go YOTES !!!! 🏒🌵🐺

I feel bad for Arizona fans but the Coyotes would be better off in Utah, Houston, Portland, Wisconsin, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco they Coyotes just don’t have strong enough support to play in Phoenix

Hockey can work in Phoenix, but not with the Coyotes. The Coyotes have a toxic brand, cities in the region don’t want to deal with that. They saw what happened to Glendale.

they should go to oakland