Report: Arizona Coyotes players informed franchise will be relocating to Utah
The Arizona Coyotes were informed Friday night that the franchise will be relocating to Salt Lake City, Utah for the 2024–25 season, according to a report by PHNX Sports‘ Craig Morgan.
Prior to their game against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, Coyotes players were addressed by general manager Bill Armstrong and told that the team will be moved out of Arizona, where it has spent the last 27 seasons.
According to multiple reports by Daily Faceoff‘s Frank Seravalli, Salt Lake City-based businessman Ryan Smith is formalizing an agreement to purchase the Coyotes from Alex Meruelo, who bought a controlling stake in the team in 2019. An official announcement on the sale is expected in the next week — potentially as soon as April 17.
The Coyotes have spent the past two seasons playing at the 4,600-seat Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. They are expected to move into the Delta Center, the home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, on a temporary basis.
Per multiple sources, the Coyotes have been informed that relocation to Salt Lake City is real.
Now hearing it could actually be announced on April 17; the date of the Coyotes’ final game at home vs. Edmonton.
It’s going to be quite an atmosphere that night at Mullett Arena.
Earlier this month, the Coyotes announced their intention to build an NHL arena and entertainment district in north Phoenix on a plot directly adjacent to the Scottsdale border. That plan met vocal opposition from the mayor of Scottsdale and would have required the Coyotes to win a land auction in June.
The Coyotes previously sought to build an arena in Tempe, but their plans were defeated by a public vote in May 2023. Although they reportedly pursued the Phoenix land auction as a backup plan, it became clear in recent weeks that the team was destined for Utah.
After relocating from Winnipeg in 1996, the Coyotes spent their first few seasons sharing a facility with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns before packing up for the northwestern suburb of Glendale in 2003. That move proved costly for the team, with fans complaining about the long commutes to games; the team failed to make the playoffs in Glendale until 2010.
The Coyotes filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and were briefly under league ownership before being passed around by various businessmen throughout the 2010s. Under Meruelo’s ownership, the team’s relationship with Glendale deteriorated until its arena lease deal was terminated in 2021.
While the terms of the complex agreement between Meruelo, Smith, and the NHL have not yet been finalized or publicized, it stands to reason that the league will look to return to Arizona in the future. Until then, the league will make its first foray into a Utah market that only currently hosts one Big Four professional sports team.
The Coyotes currently rank seventh in the Central Division with a 34-40-5 record and 73 points in 79 games this season. Their young core includes the likes of Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Matias Maccelli, J.J. Moser, Sean Durzi, and Connor Ingram.