The director of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is questioning whether the Arizona Coyotes have considered how the team’s proposed arena in Tempe could impact air travel at one of the nation’s busiest airports.
While the NHL team has only submitted a proposal and there are myriad steps to be taken before an arena is built, there is a history of sporting venues not being able to be built in Tempe because of airport-related issues.
The airport’s concerns mainly are based around the proposed site being 10,000 feet or about 1.8 miles from the end of a runway.
Chad Makovsky, the director of Aviation Services for the city of Phoenix, sent a letter Monday to the Coyotes’ land use attorney Nick Wood, asking several questions about the proposal and he indicated that if the arena is built, it could present “unique and significant challenges that may impair or altogether limit capacity” at Sky Harbor.
“We must ensure these challenges are addressed immediately so that they do not present a threat to local and regional air navigation in general and to Sky Harbor in particular,” Makovsky wrote in the letter.
Sky Harbor also cites the use of spotlights and lasers, potential navigational issues and future Sky Harbor expansion as a few of the major problems that need to be addressed.
