For the moment, the Coyotes have headed to Utah, but the National Hockey League is not closing the door to hockey in the Arizona desert.
At least that’s what Gary Bettman said during a rather crazy press briefing on Friday in Arizona, with former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo at his side, who seemed a little overwhelmed by the events. during this conference, among others, broadcast by the Sportsnet network.
Meruelo, obviously not very comfortable in front of the microphones — “I don’t like the media,” he finally sighed, before Bettman tried to clarify what Meruelo meant, namely that he doesn’t like attention – has repeatedly said that he did everything to save the lives of the Coyotes in Arizona.
According to him, his project for a new arena in Tempe was moving forward at a brisk pace before a public referendum on the issue resulted in it being rejected. After this failure, the end of hockey in Arizona was only a matter of time.
But Gary Bettman insisted Friday that everything is not over: the NHL is giving Meruelo a five-year deadline to obtain a new field and build a new arena. If the businessman can do it, the Coyotes will come back.
PHOTO ROSS D. FRANKLIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alex Meruelo and Gary Bettman
On several occasions, Bettman has spoken of “reactivating” this team which is no more, but which could one day become again.
“Our support for the Coyotes in Arizona has been unconditional, to say the least,” the commissioner explained in front of the cameras. There were many occasions where we could have made another decision with this team and we didn’t. »
In the immediate future, Alex Meruelo is pinning his hopes on vacant land in Phoenix which will be put up for auction on June 27. This is a project which would then be carried out without public money and without tax holidays, according to Meruelo himself, who seems quite confident in this matter.
The businessman, however, seemed a little hesitant at other times, including when he was questioned about the amounts to be reimbursed to Coyotes fans who had already paid for season tickets for the next season. “Let me catch my breath,” he pleaded, visibly uncomfortable.
This press briefing is undoubtedly part of the very long and strange saga of this team which has never done anything like the others. Commissioner Gary Bettman, usually icy, appeared to be running out of patience on a few occasions.
What is more certain is that the Coyotes were not going to continue like this in an arena of some 5,000 seats (the Mullett Arena), and that external pressures, among others from the Players’ Association of the NHL, precipitated this move.
“If we stayed, in the best case scenario, the Coyotes would have had to play games at Mullett Arena for another three to five years,” added Gary Bettman. Which would have been unfair for the Coyotes players, but also for the opposing players, because it is not a major league arena. And the idea of maybe playing playoff games there, or even Stanley Cup final games, it didn’t work. »
It remains to be seen whether this umpteenth attempt to impose hockey in the desert will work or not. Gary Bettman seems confident, having taken the liberty of quoting American General Douglas MacArthur when concluding: “We will be back…”