Coyotes Announce Plans To Build New Arena In Arizona, But Still Have To Win A Land Auction First

The Arizona Coyotes are calling their shot and have unveiled plans for a snazzy new arena that will keep the team in the desert, but there's still a bit of uncertainty.

The team hopes to build the arena and entertainment district on a piece of land in the City of Phoenix that they haven't purchased yet.

The land is up for public auction, but the team announced that they are committed to buying it.

"My family and I are committed to winning this land auction and building a transformative entertainment district that will not require taxpayer funding for the first time in Arizona history," Coyotes Chairman and Governor Alex Meruelo said in a team statement. 

"We will buy this land, build this development and finish a project that will incur the cost of more than $100 million in infrastructure improvements with no burden placed on taxpayers."

The 'Yotes also released a slick video that shows the project and features what sounds to me like the same music in every video I've ever seen while doom-scrolling Zillow. 

You'll know what I mean when you hear it.

The plan for the arena is to have 17,000 fixed seats as well as some additional seating available for non-hockey events. Plans for the area around the arena include a theater, retail space, residential units, bars, restaurants, and more.

Finding a new arena has been a real headache for the Coyotes, who moved into Arizona State's Mullett Arena last season. That barn holds somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 fans. That's awesome for college hockey, but not awesome for the NHL.

That was always a temporary solution but things looked grim after voters shot down plans for a new arena in Tempe. 

If the team can purchase this land and build a new arena without taxpayer dollars, that's the best option for them to stay in Arizona, especially with interest from other cities, perhaps most notably Houston and Salt Lake City.