Photo via Arizona Coyotes Facebook
By: Scott Shumaker, Ken Sain | Gilbert Sun News
In the wake of the crushing May 16 voter rejection of the Arizona Coyotes’ deal with Tempe, other East Valley communities are bubbling up in discussions about the hockey team’s future home.
On May 16, Tempe voters’ rejected a plan for a hockey arena and entertainment district on 46 acres of city-owned land that was once a landfill near the Salt River and Priest Drive.
As speculation began about where the team might try to land, Coyotes President/CEO Xavier Gutierrez would only say the team has started “re-engaging with local officials and sites” and is “committed to Arizona.”
The team fanned those conjectures about a home in a different East Valley community when it created an online poll asking whether the Coyotes should move to Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler or Gilbert.
Scottsdale was far and away the top choice among the 100,000 votes cast, followed by Mesa.
But few, if any, East Valley communities have spoken with the Coyotes as of last week.
