Phoenix Suns owner wants to bring NHL back to Arizona via expansion

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Cooper Godin
July 24, 2024 (5:22 PM)

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Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishiba wants to bring an NHL team back to Arizona through expansion in the coming years.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the National Hockey League will enter a season without a franchise in the state of Arizona. As everyone knows by now, the Coyotes no longer exist with their non-traditional relocation to Salt Lake City, Utah.

At the time of the move, the Coyotes' owner, Alex Meruelo, was given a five-year window to bring them back as an expansion franchise. However, in late June on the same night the NHL was handing out the Stanley Cup and attention being on the celebrations, Meruelo walked away from the team and relinquished his rights to the Coyotes back to the league. This came after a land auction didn't go through due to the property not being zone for a large arena to house a National Hockey League franchise.

With the Alex Meruelo era of hockey in the desert now over, other prospective owners could come forward and try to bring a team back to Arizona. In a recent interview with Sportico, Mat Ishiba, owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns, shared that he's definitely interested in bringing an NHL team back to the state of Arizona.

Ishiba said that if he's able to help bring hockey back to Arizona, he'll look at that, adding that it's disappointing to see that there's no NHL team there anymore.

"I'm definitely going to be part of the community, and if I can help bring hockey back, I'll look at that. It's definitely something I'm interested in. It's a four-sport town. I'm disappointed we don't have a hockey team, but I understand what happened, and we're going to try to fix that one day." Ishiba said.

He added, "I'm disappointed we don't have a hockey team here. That's what I'll say. Phoenix is a four-sport town. Maybe five if you want to include soccer, but it's a four-sports town. Baseball, football, basketball and hockey. And I hope that one day we'll be able to get hockey back."

Ishiba wouldn't share with Sportico if he's talked to the National Hockey League and Commissioner Gary Bettman about his interest in bringing a team back. The NHL also didn't reply to Sportico's request for comment on the matter.

While the general consensus of fans almost everywhere is that hockey doesn't belong in the desert, that couldn't be further from the truth. The Arizona Coyotes were never able to have a stable ownership group, which ultimately saw them play out of a college rink, rather than Gila River Arena, which they were booted out of back in 2021 due to unpaid bills at the time. The City of Glendale and Gila River Arena wouldn't sign a short-term lease agreement with the Coyotes, forcing them to play their final two seasons at Mullett Arena.

If a stable ownership group comes in, such as Mat Ishiba, or someone else and they're able to prove they can build an arena and support a National Hockey League franchise, then Arizona should absolutely be given a second chance.

Source: Sportsnet
Suns owner Mat Ishbia hoping to 'one day' bring NHL back to Arizona