Coyotes’ Arena Deal Defeated by Voters in Tempe; Future in Arizona to be Evaluated

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Tempe voters rejected the Arizona Coyotes $2.1 billion development proposal on Tuesday night, which included plans for a new stadium.

The Coyotes needed voters to approve three separate propositions, and all three were voted down:

“We are very disappointed Tempe voters did not approve Propositions 301, 302, and 303,” Coyotes president and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez said in a statement. “As Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said, it was the best sports deal in Arizona history. … What is next for the franchise will be evaluated by our owners and the National Hockey League over the coming weeks.”

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also released a statement following the vote:

The Coyotes’ plan also included the construction of 2,000 apartments and an entertainment district west of the Tempe Town Lake area which would have included a music venue, hotels, various retail shops and restaurants.

The Coyotes argued that the proposal would have resurrected the current site, which is currently a landfill, and would have done so with private funding that wouldn’t have burdened taxpayers, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. They also claimed the project would have created 6,900 permanent jobs and a tax benefit of $215 billion over the next 30 years.

Opposition to the project expressed serious doubt that the city and its taxpayers wouldn’t have borne a financial burden.

Seravalli noted that the city and taxpayers were projected to pick up the “$40 million cost of hazardous waste removal and cleanup, plus another $200 million in infrastructure costs to lay the literal groundwork for the project. The usual complaints of increased traffic, proximity of a new in-arena sportsbook to Arizona State University’s campus, and impact on local residents and businesses have also been documented.”

The question for the Coyotes is a pretty simple one at this point—do they have a future in the Phoenix area?

Since 1996, the organization has called the area its home after being relocated from Winnipeg. But given the decision of Tempe’s voters on Tuesday night, that era may be coming to an end.