The Arizona Coyotes NHL ice hockey franchise will have to continue its search for a permanent home after Arizona State University backed out of a deal to build a new arena in Tempe.
After the Coyotes announced plans for building the arena with the university in November, ASU said that it had “no intention of proceeding to sign a development agreement or an option to lease or any other agreement with the Coyotes,” according to the Arizona Republic newspaper.
There was no indication for the reasons behind ending the negotiations. However, recent legislation proposals regarding the financing of the arena were conflicting.
The Arizona Republic reported that one plan would allow half the sales tax generated within the arena to pay for the construction costs, while the opposing plan promoted allowing universities to keep their sales tax and pour it back into research facilities and repairs.
Sen. Bob Worsley said he is trying to keep the Coyotes in Arizona with legislation that would allow the creation of a new “community engagement district”.
On the other side of metropolitan Phoenix, Rep. Anthony Kern of Glendale does not want to see taxpayer funds go into building a new arena that would compete with Gila River Arena.
Current Coyotes games are held at Gila River Arena in Glendale, where taxpayers still owe nearly $150m for the arena that opened in 2003. However, according to the Associated Press news agency, the team and the city of Glendale have been at odds over their contract for several years, with the city cancelling the contract in 2015 and then agreeing to an interim deal.
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