Transfer rumors have taken the Arizona Coyotes to new addresses. However, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has persistently supported Arizona’s sides.
Gary Bettman at the press conference before the start of the first final match. AOP / USA TODAY SPORTS
Commissioner of the NHL Gary Bettman is hopeful that the NHL’s crisis team, the Arizona Coyotes, can be kept in their home state, even though rumors of the team’s relocation have intensified in recent months.
The Coyotes have played their home games this season at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena. The team’s contract with the university still covers the next two seasons and has an option for the 2025–2026 season.
The university hall is known to be a temporary solution, as the Mullett arena can only hold about five thousand people. The NHL’s second smallest arena draws three times the number of spectators.
However, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is hopeful that the Coyotes can be held in Arizona.
– There are a lot of sports fans there. It is one of the largest customer bases in North America and a growing region. As a league, we are strongly in favor of not moving teams. We want to look at all options before we consider moving the team, Bettman said at the press conference.
Coyotes transfer rumors have been accelerated by the collapse of the new arena project. There were plans to build a new arena costing more than two billion in the city of Tempe, but the city’s residents voted against the new project. Bettman wondered about the town’s voters, but said he accepted the vote.
There is enough interest
Rumor has it Lauri Markkanen owner of the represented Utah Jazz Ryan Smith would be interested in bringing an NHL team to Salt Lake City. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has had a discussion about it with Smith.
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Operations director of the NHL players’ association Marty Walsh says the players are worried about the arena situation in Arizona.
– I would like to know by the beginning of next season what the plan is for next year. If we don’t know a new location in the near future, we should have serious discussions, says Walsh.
Bettman is hopeful that the team’s new home will be found in the state of Arizona.
– The Coyotes are looking at their options in the Phoenix area, and our hope is that one of those options will come true.