Bettman confirms NHL’s desire to return to Phoenix

PHOENIX – Commissioner Gary Bettman reaffirmed the NHL’s desire to return to the Phoenix market, saying Friday that the Arizona Coyotes franchise could be reactivated in less than five years if serious progress is made toward building a new arena.

Before flying to Salt Lake City to officially welcome Utah to the NHL family, Bettman promised the league will be back in Arizona as soon as a new arena is built.

“Like General (Douglas) MacArthur said, we’ll be back,” Bettman insisted.

On Thursday, the NHL’s board of directors voted to establish an NHL team in Utah, a process that ended at 2 a.m. that day, according to commissioner Bettman and NHL owner Alex Meruelo. The team purchased the contracts of Coyotes executives, coaches and players, and the Arizona franchise became inactive.

The Coyotes played their final two seasons at Mullett Arena, a 4,600-seat building on the campus of Arizona State University.

The commissioner added that he understands the disappointment, heartache and anger of longtime Coyotes fans who have lost their team, perhaps temporarily. He emphasized that the league and Meruelo agreed that it was no longer possible to continue playing in what the commissioner described as “facilities not suitable for a major sports league” for another three to five years.

The timeline for building a new arena in Arizona was pushed back last year, when voters rejected a proposed privately funded entertainment and sports district in Tempe.

“Days like today are difficult,” Commissioner Bettman said. They are sad and I understand what the supporters are going through. I respect that and feel bad. But if you look at things from the league’s perspective, the NHL’s support of desert hockey has never wavered in nearly three decades. […] We think hockey can work here.

“The league has not abandoned this market or the fans. »

Meruelo said deactivating the dealership “was the most heartbreaking decision of my life, in 40 years in business.

“My family and I are devastated, as are our fans. We share your disappointment. But it was simply unfair to continue to have our players and coaches work for several years in an arena that is not an NHL facility. »

In the first step toward bringing an NHL team to Arizona, Meruelo will bid on a June 27 auction of a nearly 100-acre site in north Phoenix, near Scottsdale, where he plans to build a 17,000-seat arena and entertainment district.

If Meruelo wins the bid and can start construction, Commissioner Bettman said the NHL could return sooner than the five-year window the NHL board gave Meruelo to reactivate the Coyotes.

“We believe this is the right thing to do to finally have hockey in the desert, where it can not only survive, but be successful,” the commissioner concluded.

The NHL requires 18 months notice before the arena is completed to begin the process of reactivating the Coyotes, Bettman said.