New Tempe Arena

33°25′58″N 111°57′27″W / 33.43278°N 111.95750°W / 33.43278; -111.95750OwnerArizona CoyotesOperatorArizona CoyotesCapacity16,000

The New Tempe Arena was a proposed sports facility to be constructed in Tempe, Arizona which would have served as home arena for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). This was part of a conceptual $1.7 billion Tempe Entertainment District. The proposal would have also included hotels, retail, apartments, and a theater.^[1] It was rejected by City of Tempe voters on May 16, 2023.^[2]

After years of informal negotiations between City of Tempe Economic Development Development Office and Arizona Coyotes management, the Coyotes proposed a 16,000-seat arena that would have been located on a parcel of city owned land adjacent to the Salt River. The project would have been built on an old city dump site, requiring remediation and would have also been to relocate the city's municipal maintenance and storage facility currently on the site.^[3]

After a failed attempt to facilitate a new arena on the Arizona State University campus at the former Karsten Golf Course in 2017, the Coyotes organization started talking with the City of Tempe regarding alternate locations.^[4] On June 2, 2022, the Tempe City Council voted 5 to 2 to begin formal negotiations with the Coyotes, with a final agreement at least several months later. The City of Phoenix implied that litigation over development around the arena is likely if Tempe approves the development the Coyotes proposed. The FAA would have to approve all building heights and locations, as the proposed arena is directly under the centerline of runway 7L/25R. The Coyotes are also seeking city sales tax revenues and a 30 year waiver of property taxes to help pay for $200 million in additional costs, including infrastructure work.^[5][6]

On May 16, 2023, Tempe voters voted no on the new arena and entertainment district.^[7] Less than a year after the rejected votes happened, Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo and the NHL agreed to a planned wavering of the Arizona Coyotes franchise and the creation of the Utah Hockey Club for the 2024-25 NHL season, with an initial hope to revive the Coyotes by as late as 2029.

After the proposal in Tempe didn’t go through, the Coyotes proposed new arena renderings in northeast Phoenix in 2024. The new location would have been off of Arizona Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road.^[8] However, the Arizona State Land Department would cancel a land auction for a 110-acre parcel of land in north Phoenix that Meruelo planned to buy for a site for a new arena for the Coyotes on June 21, 2024.^[9] Days after that, Meruelo would announce he would no longer pursue further options to find new land or arena options for the team, later relinquishing his rights on the Coyotes franchise on July 10.^[10]

Due to the site location, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport officials have expressed concerns that the Tempe Entertainment District will cause a risk for inbound and outbound aircraft. Phoenix is also concerned that residential uses would occur within the 65db contour, violating a 1994 intergovernmental agreement between Tempe and Phoenix. In 2001, a similar roadblock prevented the Arizona Cardinals from building a stadium near Rio Salado Parkway, which resulted in them moving to Glendale in 2006. Local residents have also raised concerns about the community’s cost-benefit based on traffic congestion, quality of employment opportunities and impact on adjacent neighborhoods. ^[11] Months after the failed vote, the Arizona Attorney General's Office launched an investigation into City of Tempe taxpayer funds being used to gather information on members of the public who opposed the arena effort.^[12]