TEMPE, AZ — The future of the Tucson Roadrunners remains unclear after conflicting messages from Alex Meruelo last week.
The NHL confirmed Thursday that Meruelo has sold the Arizona Coyotes and the team is moving to Salt Lake City, Utah. After that announcement, Meruelo told Arizona Sports that he kept ownership rights to the Roadrunners and was going to move the team to Mullett Arena. However, at a press conference on Friday, Meruelo walked back that statement saying that the exact future of the team is unknown.
"My words were taken out of context the other day, I did say them but we don’t have any agreements with ASU right now, we haven’t even spoken to the people from Tucson but we have different ideas so we just want to make sure we continue to have hockey thrive in the desert,” Meruelo said during a Friday press conference.
Watch Friday's press conference with Meruelo and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in the player below:
A move from Tempe to Tucson would have to be approved by the AHL before it could be finalized. Meruelo said there's also a possibility that the Roadrunners could split time between Tucson and Tempe instead of making a permanent move.
The Roadrunners played on and off in Phoenix from 1967 to 2009 at different league levels before ceasing operations.
In 2016, the Coyotes announced it purchased its American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate that played in Springfield, Massachusetts, and moved the team to Tucson.
The team picked up the Roadrunners nickname and has played in Tucson since then.
On Wednesday night, during the Coyotes' last game of the season, ABC15 was there when the team received a standing ovation following their win against the Oilers. Watch the emotional moment in the player below.
The Coyotes started playing at Mullett Arena last season after the City of Glendale did not renew its agreement with the team for them to play at what is now Desert Diamond Arena.
