Hockey in the desert heat? What could possibly go wrong?
The Arizona Coyotes are in need of a new home, and the crystal ball reality is becoming more clear every day, relocation is an immediate requirement for this franchise.
As we speak, the Coyotes have no home for the upcoming 2022-23 season since the city of Glendale opted out of the joint lease agreement for Gila River Arena.
The team had a proposal to build a $1.7 Billion, 16,000-Square-foot arena in the city of Tempe, but it seems unlikely as it's too close to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Eric Macramalla, a legal analyst for Forbes, shared this to Twitter on Thursday morning.
The plan is for the potential buyer to relocate the struggling team to Houston, Texas. This would be a great idea for the NHL as there would be a strong rival for the Dallas Stars, it would be the Battle Of Texas.
The Coyotes have since issued a statement saying: “This is false. Totally false. We’re not selling. We’re not moving. The Coyotes are 100 percent committed to playing in Arizona.”
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the U.S. by population, they would have no issues supporting an NHL franchise which they've never had before.
Tilman Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets, has always expressed interest in bringing an NHL franchise to the city of Houston.
The Coyotes are ranked last in the NHL in terms of value at $410 Million. Currently, they are owned by billionaire Alex Meruelo.
In 2009, the owner of the team Jerry Moyes declared bankruptcy, and the NHL had to take ownership of the team until they were sold in 2013 to Renaissance Sports and Entertainment. The following year, they were purchased by Barroway until he sold the team in 2019 to Meruelo.
The Coyotes currently have the 8th-lowest Cap Hit in the NHL currently just shy of $74 Million.
In terms of on-ice-performance, the Coyotes rank 31st in the NHL (12 points), only above the Ottawa Senators (9 points).
This will be interesting to see how this pans out, considering Quebec City had already shown interest in returning to the NHL.
