Coyotes President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez said yesterday that the club has "identified a half-dozen possibilities" for a new arena site that are "publicly, privately or tribally owned that would not require a public vote in order to reach an agreement” to keep the team in Arizona, according to Michael Russo of THE ATHLETIC. Gutierrez said, “We’ve told (the NHL) that one of the things we want to avoid is a public referendum and everything that we’re looking at is hopefully to have this be something that would avoid that.” Gutierrez said that the organization is “committed to keeping the franchise in the greater Phoenix area” and is “taking a different tack by putting several options in play instead of just one.” They have “had discussions with over a dozen sites” and have “whittled that down to a half-dozen that they believe are ready to take the next step.” Gutierrez said that Commissioner Gary Bettman “wants a concrete plan after Jan. 1, 2024.” He also said that the Coyotes have “reengaged a number of sites they were talking to” before they settled on the Tempe landfill and the renderings the team released that would include a "practice facility, theater, entertainment district, stores and apartments is still the vision and could even be enhanced because some options are larger than the 48 acres the team hoped to build on in Tempe” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/28).
NO CONCRETE PLANS: Gutierrez said he “think referendums have proven to be very difficult, not just for us." Gutierrez: “You look at the backlash that certain other sports teams are having, it's very clear that there is a narrative that this isn't what really the public wants to approve via a vote. And so we're looking at other options” (ESPN.com, 6/28). Gutierrez said that many of the sites that were identified were “previously considered but passed over, believing the Tempe location would be approved” (AP, 6/28).
