Arizona Coyotes Proposed Tempe Arena Passes First Hurdle
In a lengthy eight-hour Tempe City Council meeting last night, the council members passed a proposal to go forward with negotiations with the Coyotes on a new arena/entertainment district plan.
The 5-2 vote came after presentations from the Coyotes, Sky Harbor International Airport officials, and about 100 in person proponents and opponents of the project were given the floor to speak.
Even current Coyotes' players Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and Christian Fischer came to the podium to voice their support of the project.
All this vote meant was that Tempe would begin negotiations with the team and the developers and in no way guarantees the project will begin.
The presentation by the Coyotes, along with a really neat video demonstrating how the area would look were impressive.
Some of the objections to the project included typical traffic issues, financial obligations, gambling, and safety concerns involving the proximity to the airport.
The airport controversy took quite a bit of time in the discussions.
«The idea that this is some anti-hockey conspiracy theory or that the City of Phoenix has some ulterior motive is frankly baseless,» said J Cabou, outside counsel for the City of Phoenix. «Nothing about this is a secret, and neither is Tempe's promise not to build houses under the flight path. It's a legally binding obligation, and in order to be good neighbors, the City of Phoenix is trying to problem solve.»
Some other concerns pertained to Coyotes majority owner Alex Meruelo's financial history. He did commit to paying $40 million in non-refundable earnest money to begin the remediation of the land which is currently a dump site.
One council member referenced a report performed by Dun & Bradstreet assessing Meruelo's portfolio showing high delinquency scores and just a $5,000 credit recommendation for the team.
Meruelo also pledged to put forth $2.1 billion worth of real estate as collateral for bonds needed to complete the project.
In addition he also has mentioned he will donate $2 million to the Tempe affordable housing fund.
What may be forgotten here is that Meruelo's stake in this can be evaluated as what he has to gain from sports gambling.
While he is an astute businessman, to make this project work he needs to step up and pay his financial obligations.
Overall, this arena is totally awesome! If it does happen, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has promised that the new arena will be the host for an All-Star game and the NHL draft.
So, with that said will the Coyotes saga of never-ending re-location rumors cease if this project comes to fruition?
We hope so.
| POLL | ||
After this step to move forward with discussions for a new Coyotes Tempe arena, do you think the project will be approved? | ||
| Yes | 24 | 29.3 % |
| No | 21 | 25.6 % |
| It will put Tempe on the major sports map | 15 | 18.3 % |
| It may but has lots of issues | 22 | 26.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
