The Arizona Coyotes hope to see water return to the portion of the dry Salt River where the project would sit and say the team’s proposal could be a catalyst for that to happen in the future./Arizona Coyotes
By Sam Kmack |Arizona Republic
The Arizona Coyotes’ financial wherewithal to build an arena and entertainment district in Tempe may be among city leaders’ top questions as they vote this week on whether to open negotiations with the team.
Also in question will be the city’s push to include apartments in the project, which has Phoenix threatening in a May 26 letter to take Tempe to court over concerns at nearby Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
On the financial front, a city memo released ahead of the June 2 City Council vote gave the team’s plan a 40% score for “financial strength/ability,” the lowest mark on the six-category evaluation completed by city staffers.
In all, the team’s proposal received 890 of 1,200 possible points across the six categories, which measured everything from the developer’s experience to the project’s design.
