PHOENIX — Officials from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport openly discussed concerns over the proposed Arizona Coyotes arena project in Tempe during a Phoenix Aviation Advisory Board meeting Thursday.
The Arizona Coyotes want to build a $1.7 billion project that includes a new arena, hotels, restaurants, retail, offices, and large apartment complexes just over a mile east of one of Sky Harbor’s runways.
The biggest complaint Sky Harbor officials have about the proposed hockey arena and entertainment district is that they have not yet received enough information from the Coyotes about the project to do a comprehensive analysis on its potential impacts on the airport.
“We aren’t saying, ‘No way, no how.’ We aren’t saying, ‘You can’t develop this property.’ We are just asking to be a part of the conversation to get the data we need to do a proper analysis,” said Chad Makovsky, Phoenix’s director of aviation services “We want to make sure our airlines have the data they need to do an analysis, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration.”
Jordan Feld, deputy aviation director of planning and environment, presented an initial analysis on the proposed Tempe arena during the meeting, but he made it clear that it was only based on the “very limited information the developer has provided so far.”
