PHOENIX — Over the next two weeks, Tempe City Council will consider a development agreement with the Arizona Coyotes to build an arena and entertainment district on the northeast corner of Rio Salado Parkway and Priest Road, but according to public documents, the city has taken steps to ensure that the owners of the NHL franchise will bear the brunt of any additional financial burden the development could have on the city.
Ahead of two Council meetings — on Nov. 22 and 29 — to hear from the public on the $2.1 billion Tempe Entertainment District project proposed by the Coyotes, the city released the development agreement between the city and Bluebird Development LLC, aka the Coyotes, that Council will vote to approve or reject at the Nov. 29 meeting. If approved, the agreement will be decided by Tempe voters during a special election in May 2023.
The proposed development agreement shows how negotiations have played out between the city and the Coyotes since the city decided to move to a negotiation phase of the process in June.
Although the Coyotes have said that the majority of the project would be privately funded since submitting the initial proposal in September 2021, the development agreement shows that the team will pick up additional costs that the city could face related to the project.
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