The Arizona Coyotes Find a Second Least At Life With NBA Billionaire at the helm

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Joshua Deeds
July 25, 2024 (8:53 PM)

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The Arizona Coyotes met an unfortunate end as they were effectively moved to Utah and under the ownership of Ryan Smith and Smith Entertainment Group.

Former owner Alex Meruelo was unable to make hockey in the desert work, the Coyotes were thought to be dead for good. However, the team won't be defunct for long, as an NBA owner, of the Phoenix Suns Matt Ishiba, is throwing his hat into the arena and hopes to resurrect the franchise.

Mat Ishiba has expressed interest in bringing an NHL franchise back to Phoenix, Arizona 🇺🇸 as an expansion franchise.

Ishiba wouldn't comment on if he has already had talks with the NHL, but if discussions advance in the next few years alongside plans for a new arena, it wouldn't surprise many to see the Phoenix market re-added to the league within the next ten years.

The league retained the branding rights to the Coyotes when Meruelo conceded his rights to the franchise earlier this month, which could be sold to Ishbia as part of an expansion deal.

The 44-year old is the CEO and chairman of United Wholesale Mortgage, and is the owner of the Phoenix Suns (NBA) 🇺🇸 and Phoenix Mercury (WNBA) 🇺🇸

He is worth $10.1b as of May 2024.

While this remains in the infant stages of movement, Isihiba has yet to contact NHL to get the process moving. But despite that, with the outcry that occurred when the Coyotes left Phoenix, it's be an expected welcome back, if the Suns owner can reignite the franchise in the future.

Source: Marker Zone
Arizona billionaire and NBA owner begins plan to bring back the Coyotes