TEMPE, AZ — The Arizona Coyotes released new renderings of their proposed entertainment district along Tempe Town Lake Thursday.
According to Lumen Strategies Arizona, the following renderings of Tempe Entertainment District replace the ones released in 2021 and were presented during the City Council meeting on June 2.
The Arizona Coyotes plan to make the Tempe arena and entertainment district into a “landmark.” According to Tempe City Council minutes, the projected entertainment district is “projected to include 3.4 million square feet of new development valued at approximately $1.95 billion.”
The City of Glendale decided not to renew its operations agreement with the NHL team beyond the 2021-2022 season after years of disputes between the two sides.
The Coyotes will play at Arizona State’s new hockey arena starting next season as the franchise waits for word on a proposed new arena across the Valley of the Sun in Tempe. Click here to read more on this new potential partnership.
Tempe City Council voted Friday to continue with negotiations on the new proposal. A yes vote to continue discussions does not mean the stadium will officially be coming to Tempe, only that talks will be allowed to continue.
The proposal for a $2.1 billion dollar sports and entertainment district on 46-acres of what is currently a city dump drew a packed house with nearly 100 speakers, and several hundred more that left comments for the record.
The opposition’s issue with the proposed district? The residential buildings.
“The idea that this is some anti-hockey conspiracy theory or that the City of Phoenix has some ulterior motive is frankly baseless,” said J Cabou, outside counsel for the City of Phoenix. “Nothing about this is a secret, and neither is Tempe’s promise not to build houses under the flight path. It's a legally binding obligation, and in order to be good neighbors, the City of Phoenix is trying to problem solve.”
If an arena is approved, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the Coyotes will be required to sign an agreement barring them from relocating, while guaranteeing NHL All-Star Games and the Draft will be coming to the Valley.
“This proposed project we believe represents the very best,” said Bettman via conference call. “It will be transformative not just for the franchise, and for our league, but also for the City of Tempe.”
