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Coyote officials hope Tempe will approve new arena project later this year

Clayton Keller, J.J. Moser, Matias Maccelli, Travis Boyd, Barrett Hayton
Posted at 8:57 AM, Oct 17, 2022
and last updated 2022-10-17 10:57:38-04

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes are looking to move forward with their $2 billion entertainment district.

The project, if approved, would include a new hockey arena, hotels, and restaurants.

“We are still in the negotiation phase with the city of Tempe,” said Marina Carpenter, the team’s general counsel.

On Saturday, team officials and developers answered questions about the project.

Some people raised concerns over the potential flight path problems.

“The aviation component is probably the most muddied situation, so my hope is that learning that our building heights are only 120 feet, we’re not impacting flight paths, will give them some ease about the project,” Carpenter added.

The team is hoping Tempe will approve the project later this year. They also hope to pay for the entertainment district using some of the sales tax generated in the area and save money by not paying property taxes.

Team officials told KNXV that nothing had been finalized.

Meanwhile, Tempe officials are scheduled to discuss the plan during a few upcoming meetings starting on Nov. 15.

The project will be broken down into phases, but the arena section is expected to be completed in 2026.

Currently, the team is temporarily playing at Mullett Arena, which is the 5,000-seat indoor multipurpose arena at Arizona State University.

Patrick Hayes at KNXV first reported this story.