Phoenix Area Stadium and Arena News

[PHX31]

/\Wow, that is GREAT news. But it makes me wonder if the NHL and Coyotes will ever come back now. Before it seemed like a 5 year guarantee to get a new team back. Now, it sounds like it's just starting from scratch (which could be a better thing with new unknown ownership).

I can't imagine Ishbia would be interested. He paid out the ass for the Suns, they are way over the Salary cap into the insane luxury tax 2nd apron or something, and is he even a hockey guy? He played college bball, so getting into the NBA makes some sense from a personal interest standpoint.

[muertecaza]

If hockey leaving made MLS expansion more likely, especially if they built the rumored stadium at the Mesa Riverview gravel pit, I'd count that as a win. But I'm not sure how much hockey leaving would factor into MLS expansion decisions if at all.

[MiEncanto]

I'm interested to see how the law changes on the theme park district impact MLS and Coyotes. The law has been around forever but it has never been utilized. I'm told it was originally created for a theme park in Williams that never happened. Then a few years ago I remember the Dbacks got it amended to make it work for what they wanted.

This year, it was changed again, ostensibly for MLS? A lawmaker from Snowflake sponsored so that doesn't make sense. Basically, instead of needing both the County Board and City Council to approve, you just need one. But only a City with 500k or more people can do it alone, which is Mesa, Tucson and Phx. At least that's my read.

The Dbacks have been saying now for a couple years they have no intention to use it, probably because you have to use your own money to pay the debt service on the bonds, which isn't much fun. It was funny that the Coyotes took so much heat for it being a sweetheart deal when the Dbacks have said several times that its such a bad deal for them they don't even want to use it.

The biggest challenge I see is no one wants their stadium/arena paying property taxes cuz that's a huge cost and literally no stadium in the country does that as far as I know. There's almost always some kind of municipal ownership thing.

So the only option for a team is a city builds and owns it (unlikely), the county does it like Chase (very unlikely), the state decides it wants to do another Cardinals deal with the Stadium district (very unlikely), tribal land, which is complicated because you won't get a full-up district with housing, or the theme park district.

The danger of doing it in Mesa is it could be referred to the ballot and I'm not sure how their voters will react.

[ASU Diablo]

Originally Posted by PHX31

/\Wow, that is GREAT news. But it makes me wonder if the NHL and Coyotes will ever come back now. Before it seemed like a 5 year guarantee to get a new team back. Now, it sounds like it's just starting from scratch (which could be a better thing with new unknown ownership).

I can't imagine Ishbia would be interested. He paid out the ass for the Suns, they are way over the Salary cap into the insane luxury tax 2nd apron or something, and is he even a hockey guy? He played college bball, so getting into the NBA makes some sense from a personal interest standpoint.

Kind of a stretch to call it a "guarantee", especially with Meruelo at the helm to try and get an arena built. All the signs/red flags were there that after the sale to Utah, he was never serious about bringing hockey back and he was taking his $1B and headed for the door. No one in the NHL or local government wanted to partner with him.

With him gone, better to have the band-aid ripped now than rather wait the full 5 years and reach the same outcome.

Regarding Ishbia, it's clear he wants to win and is a savy businessman. There is no indication he is slowing down in regards to spending w/ the Suns. I just think there is no appetite currently to support another arena in The Valley and this could be the best case for bringing hockey back to the desert.

If not Ishbia, then hopefully another ownership group revisits the Tempe landfill site and takes the time to do it right and educate the public. Meruelo, his son, and Xavier were complete morons in this regard.

[ASU Diablo]

This probably was his plan from the beginning.

He now gets to use the $1B from the sale to build his ~11K arena in Reno, NV and is taking the Roadrunners with him once built. The bright side of all this is that the 'Yotes rights are returned back to the NHL. Part of me wants future ownership to start from scratch (new name/logo) since it appears to be cursed, but at the same time, I love the 'Yotes name and the Kachina sweaters are amazing.

https://x.com/puckreportnhl/status/1...-9xto6gli9jVMg

Originally Posted by MiEncanto

I'm interested to see how the law changes on the theme park district impact MLS and Coyotes. The law has been around forever but it has never been utilized. I'm told it was originally created for a theme park in Williams that never happened. Then a few years ago I remember the Dbacks got it amended to make it work for what they wanted.

This year, it was changed again, ostensibly for MLS? A lawmaker from Snowflake sponsored so that doesn't make sense. Basically, instead of needing both the County Board and City Council to approve, you just need one. But only a City with 500k or more people can do it alone, which is Mesa, Tucson and Phx. At least that's my read.

Good point. The timing of the announcement (right after the sale being cancelled) was suspicious to say the least. This has to be a positive for future ownership group.

[ASU Diablo]

Progress (albeit slow) continues to happen. DBacks and the City/County just need to lock up the long-term lease already. After this whole Coyote/arena debacle, I'm sure many sports fans around The Valley are wiped out.

https://arizonasports.com/story/3549...e-field-lease/

On a related note, anyone have any updates on where the City stands w/ the proposed entertainment project? Last I recall, they approved spending $100Ks on a Consultant. Do we know when that report is supposed to be publicized?

[ASU Diablo]

Slow news month. Interesting comments by Ishbia over WNBA All-Star Weekend. Can't believe he's already thinking about replacing the Footprint Center.

In Ishbia we trust!

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/hoc...ix-1234790457/

The Arizona Coyotes and the National League Hockey have fled Maricopa County for Utah. But the sport might not be gone forever. If any sports figure in the city is equipped to bring it back, it’s Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia.

He has the wherewithal, the arena and more importantly the will. Ishbia told Sportico he was up to that challenge last week, as the WNBA All-Star Game came to Footprint Center and a $100 million women’s practice facility funded by Ishbia opened behind the arena.

“I’m definitely going to be part of the community, and if I can help bring hockey back, I’ll look at that,” he said. “It’s definitely something I’m interested in. It’s a four-sport town. I’m disappointed we don’t have a hockey team, but I understand what happened, and we’re going to try to fix that one day.”

One day could be sooner than anybody thinks. Ishbia wouldn’t say if he’s already talking to the NHL, and the league didn’t respond when asked to comment. The NHL clearly wants the team in a new or stable arena, and a new downtown Phoenix edifice is part of the long-term plan, Ishbia said.

“I think our arena is first-class right now. I love our arena,” he said. “But at some point we’re going to have to get a new arena.”

Footprint is 32 years old and underwent a $230 million renovation as recently as 2020, though it is cramped compared with more recently built venues.

Ishbia believes a new downtown arena is in the city’s future, and there’s plenty of room south of the current facility to build it, which is just what the NHL wants.

“We’re going to continue to evolve,” Ishbia said. “My investment in basketball and this community’s not going to stop.”

[CrestedSaguaro]

Originally Posted by ASU Diablo

Slow news month. Interesting comments by Ishbia over WNBA All-Star Weekend. Can't believe he's already thinking about replacing the Footprint Center.

In Ishbia we trust!

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/hoc...ix-1234790457/

By the time a new arena gets built, it will be close to around 2030 until it's done. Even the recent upgrades will start feeling a little dated by then. If he can grab the 'yotes franchise, a new dual-purpose arena would be stellar. Suns win, Coyotes win, Downtown wins, everybody wins!

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by CrestedSaguaro

By the time a new arena gets built, it will be close to around 2030 until it's done. Even the recent upgrades will start feeling a little dated by then. If he can grab the 'yotes franchise, a new dual-purpose arena would be stellar. Suns win, Coyotes win, Downtown wins, everybody wins!

Wow! No doubt about that one, too! I can’t imagine coyotes are coming back to Arizona. No wonder how much they loved the hockey game. It would be interesting to see what happens. I’ll believe it when I see it! Those Coyotes fans are going to be happy with this. That’s exactly what they want!

[locolife]

Originally Posted by CrestedSaguaro

By the time a new arena gets built, it will be close to around 2030 until it's done. Even the recent upgrades will start feeling a little dated by then. If he can grab the 'yotes franchise, a new dual-purpose arena would be stellar. Suns win, Coyotes win, Downtown wins, everybody wins!

I could see him wanting to do something big downtown. Entertainment, hotel, all mixed in. Looking forward to how this progresses. Combined with what the D'Baks can and should do with the CC and rebuild/remodel of Chase, a lot of momentum could hit the stadium district.

[ASU Diablo]

The gift that keeps on giving. At this point, I just feel like the County is in over their heads. Too bad the City of Phoenix isn't able to work out a deal where they turn over ownership of the ballpark to them.

https://arizonasports.com/story/3558...d-sour-county/

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been negotiating with Maricopa County about extending their lease agreement at Chase Field with the current deal ending in 2027, but the cordial talks took a negative turn this week.

AZCentral.com published a summary of letters from this week that show suddenly contentious exchanges between the D-backs and county. Maricopa County sent a counteroffer that Diamondbacks CEO and president Derrick Hall in a private reply called “extremely offensive.”

Hall confirmed Thursday to Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta the relationship has taken a sour turn in the past week. In fact, he said he now doesn’t “see a deal in sight” with the current lease expiring in 2027.

“It was definitely the offer, the counterproposal, which is in my words ridiculous,” Hall said of what offended him. “But also the fact that they went public with it. I don’t understand it. For quite some time, I’ve used words like ‘encouraging, optimistic.’ Those words are gone, for sure. And it’s sad.

“I mean, they decided to go public with this rather than to do what we’ve done all along, quietly, privately, respectfully. You go attorney to attorney, it stays confidential. They then send us a response and a counter and make it public and it goes into the media, and that’s just their side of the situation.”

Among the problematic parts of a counteroffer sent to the team is that the county is asking for a D-backs commitment of about $200 million if it wants to unlock zoning for mixed-use developments of restaurants, hotels and retail around the ballpark, Hall said.

Assistant county manager Zach Schira told AZCentral.com that the offer was “fair” and the county is committed to keeping the team at Chase Field. But the county did not respond to AZCentral.com when asked for a response to the D-backs’ public statements about the counteroffer. Hall told Arizona Sports that the article shows how difficult the county has been to deal with.

D-backs’ relationship with Maricopa County over Chase Field has an up and down history
The Diamondbacks had reached a gulf with Maricopa County a half-decade ago over who is in charge of the stadium — it is county-owned — but reached a deal that allowed the D-backs to take control of non-baseball events such as concerts. That put the team squarely in charge of keeping Chase Field up to date, the county has maintained.

Up until this week, Hall had said the relationship with the county was in a good place.

Separate discussions for the Diamondbacks about how to fund Chase Field upgrades revolved around a tax recapture similar to how the Arizona Cardinals fund upgrades and maintenance at State Farm Stadium.
But this week, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers’ response and counteroffer to a letter sent by Hall this summer took a different tone.

“I can’t figure out why they want it to be public. It just shows how bad of a proposal it was,” Hall told Bickley & Marotta. “This is a government authority that has proven all along that they do not have the desire nor the ability to put any money into their own building. Not a penny. And you can see it in their proposal.

“Here they are asking us to sign a 50-year extension without any public funding at the time — which we’re trying to seek through tax recollection, which is very realistic — and still asking us nonetheless to not even pursue mixed use, which we have said all along we need with restaurant, hotel, retail around the ballpark. And they say they won’t allow us to even talk about that opportunity and quote-unquote unlock that opportunity and possibility until we’ve put nearly $200 million into the ballpark. Again, they’re not even putting a penny.”

Hall said the timeline to find a solution remains the first month or two of the 2025 calendar year.

The upcoming election before then also comes into play, with the author of the most testy letter to the D-backs, Sellers, having lost his primary, meaning he won’t return to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Two other supervisors didn’t seek reelection, meaning most of the current five-member board won’t be returning.
Still, Hall said Thursday the tone from the county has “taken the wind out of any sails.”

“I don’t see a deal now with the county, at least with this current board composition. I mean, it’s just impossible,” Hall said. “We’ll continue to work with the state and city and see if there’s a way to bail them out with their problems that they’re building.”

Hall said the D-backs will still pursue avenues to keep the team at Chase Field. A Nov. 5 general election stands between his deadline. Finding answers to how the Diamondbacks will fund stadium updates remains a challenge itself.

“We need to know there’s that partnership, that private-public partnership,” he said. “If we can find that by that time (in early 2025), we’ll be fine.”