Arizona Coyotes suffer major blow, team won't win auction on June 24th
Without the auction ever happening the Arizona Coyotes have suffered another major setback on their possible return to the NHL.
The Arizona Coyotes have officially relocated to Utah and fans are still left heartbroken. Despite their failure to secure a permanent arena, Coyotes fans remained optimistic they'd win the scheduled lottery and the team would return in the 5 year approved period. Today though the attempt to return took a major blow.
Today it was announced that the auction scheduled for next week had been cancelled. After consideration it was determined the current auction setup was not in the best interest of the trust. The Arizona board issued the following statement:
ASLD recently confirmed that the proposed arena use will require a Special Use Permit, and as a result we are requesting that the applicant file for and receive a Special Use Permit prior to the auction. This affords the applicant & ASLD certainty that the applicant can build and members of the public, but the change in timing is the prudent decision for the Trust. ASLD remains open to working with our applicant to bring the land forward to auction in the future if a special use permit is received.
This delay is a major blow and will force Alex Meruelo to invest more money in the process, something he is unlikely to do. Not to mention, having a property fully zoned is likely to increase the cost of purchasing immensely. Despite Gary Bettman's belief in this market, this could finally be the end of the Coyotes in Arizona.
| POLL | ||
Will the Arizona Coyotes return to the NHL? | ||
| No, they won't | 285 | 75 % |
| Yes, they will | 34 | 8.9 % |
| Not with the current owner | 61 | 16.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
