PHOENIX — A nearly 100-acre plot of land at Scottsdale Road just north of Loop 101 is the potential future home of the Arizona Coyotes.
ABC15's Javier Soto sat down with Coyotes CEO and President Xavier Gutierrez for an exclusive interview about their big plans for the development.
"What makes you think that this is the location?" asked Soto.
"You're talking about being off of one of the most, you know, most popular off-ramps and exits in all of the Valley," Gutierrez replied. "If you just look within a five-mile radius, the corporate headquarters of Axon, Republic Services, you have Mayo, you have, you know, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. You have where the Waste Management Open occurs. It is an apex, but this activates it all."
This is the new plan for a permanent home for the 'Yotes after voters in Tempe rejected their proposal last year.
"We are very disappointed in what happened in Tempe because that seemed like it should have been a no-brainer to take a landfill and to spend money, your money, your own private dollars, to clean it up and to build something that would be transformative right on Tempe Town Lake," said Gutierrez.
Similar to their plans in Tempe, Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo hopes to build an entertainment complex that would be home to the Coyotes headquarters.
Video in the player above shows previous coverage of the Coyotes arena developments
The team's plan for the land includes an arena, a practice facility, a movie theater, restaurants, and housing. It's expected to include 400,000 square feet of retail space and around 500,000 square feet of office space.
The Coyotes released a video on Thursday revealing what the new entertainment district may look like should the team win the auction.
The wait is finally over!
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) April 5, 2024
Introducing the new arena that the Coyotes plan to build in North Phoenix off of Scottsdale Road & the 101 freeway. #YotesForever
For More Info: https://t.co/PzpKDqasMr pic.twitter.com/B3S6cjleA3
The Coyotes say this project would cost $3 billion and generate $10 billion in "economic activity" along with 10,000 jobs for Maricopa County.
But would there be any cost for taxpayers?
"If you were to get that plot of land, start building and developing, then do you go back to the city of Phoenix and say, 'Hey we'd love tax breaks on this?'" asked Soto.
"We do not want taxpayers to be on the hook for this. We don't want there to be a single dollar from taxpayers coming in, and we have been very clear that we can move forward without any of the requests for property tax abatement, or any of the requests for dollars going into any of those buildings. We as the developer will not be making any of those requests," said Gutierrez.
The land is currently owned by the State Land Department and has been appraised at $68.5 million. That will likely be the starting bid once it goes up for auction, but it's unlikely to be anywhere close to the final bid.
"How much are you guys willing to bid for this piece of land?" asked Soto.
"Alex Meruelo is committed to buying this land because he knows this is the option. And let's be clear, everyone should understand. There are major ramifications of this organization in this club not being here in Arizona, if we do not win," Gutierrez replied.
"Are you feeling pressure from the NHL and Gary Bettman?" Soto asked.
"We have been in constant communication with Gary Bettman, with the league office. They are very excited about this project. They understand Alex's commitment. They feel fully confident that Alex has the assets to be able to complete this and the work and the financial wherewithal to be able to complete this," said Gutierrez.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman expressed that confidence in the Coyotes owner during All-Star weekend in February.
"Alex Meruelo, as recently as last week, told me he was certain he was going to get this done and I don't make it a practice of contradicting owners unless I have hard facts to the contrary. I am both hopeful and reasonably confident that he's going to do what he says," said Bettman.
In a statement released Thursday, Arizona Coyotes Chairman and Governor Alex Merulo said, "My family and I are committed to winning this land auction and building a transformative entertainment district that will not require taxpayer funding for the first time in Arizona history. We will buy this land, build this development and finish a project that will incur the cost of more than $100 million in infrastructure improvements with no burden placed on taxpayers."
Plan B?
It's been two and a half years since the Coyotes had a permanent place to play and patience is on thin ice.
"I love the excitement, but is there a plan B? What if you aren't able to obtain that land?" asked Soto.
"This is it. This is the plan or else we are going to have to explore relocation of this organization," said Gutierrez.
"If I understand correctly, this is the last hurrah. If this doesn't happen, essentially, you've got to start looking at other avenues of the coyotes possibly leaving Arizona?" asked Soto.
"Absolutely. And we've made that very clear, and I think everyone should be aware of that. That this is it," Gutierrez replied.
The State Land Department has approved the auction for the land which is set for June 27.
