Gary Bettman begs Arizona residents to vote to keep Coyotes franchise alive in an embarrassing plea to save the team

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Liam
February 21, 2023 (1:37 PM)

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Since the team was essentially evicted from Gila River Arena in Glendale, the Arizona Coyotes' future has been in flux. In rapid fashion, the team and the NHL put up the Coyotes in Arizona State University's Mullet Arena, highly publicized for being smallest arena in the league. Their run at Mullet Arena isn't financially sustainable, and so behind the scenes, there's been work to once again find the Coyotes a new home.

In November of last year, the NHL and the city council of Tempe, Arizona worked together to propose the construction of the Tempe Entertainment district, which would include a new arena for the Coyotes, in addition to several other businesses and residencies.

While the Tempe City Council voted 7-0 in favour of the Entertainment District, it came with the condition that a referendum must be held amongst Tempe residents. To help with the vote, Bettman actually released a video pleaded with Tempe residents to vote «yes» in the upcoming referendum.

In fairness to Bettman, who loses his self-polished shine of an unbeatable commissioner while having to plead for public votes, the referendum result will likely be positive. The city council has welcomed the idea, and early polls point to the fact that the public will too.

However, if there's significant delays in the construction or litigation process, or even worse if the referendum fails, you've got to believe the NHL has exhausted every possibility for the Coyotes. Reportedly, there may be some litigation from prominent parties who do not wish to build an entertainment district in the specific location, including the Sky Harbour International Airport. For now, the future of the Coyotes lays in the hands of Tempe residents.