NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed that Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo has “terminated his right to reactivate” the team, according to Eric Engels of SPORTSNET.ca. PHNX Sports reported earlier this week that last Thursday’s decision from the Arizona State Land Department’s to cancel the auction for the land Meruelo was bidding on for the arena project “essentially killed his chances of meeting the NHL’s requirement" of having construction at least 50% complete by Dec. 31, 2027 before applying to the NHL for reactivation. As to where this latest development leaves the future of NHL hockey in Arizona, Bettman “was non-committal.” He said, “That’s not something we’re focused on right now. I think there are fans there, I think it’s a good market. But somebody, before we can even have this conversation, has to solve the arena problem, and that has been daunting.” When asked if anyone else in Arizona has expressed interest in taking on that problem and reviving NHL hockey in the state, Bettman said, “No, not to us, and that’s not something we’re interested in pursuing right now.” With Meruelo moving on, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly “confirmed" that all intellectual property of the Coyotes "now belongs to the NHL." He said, “That doesn’t necessarily mean we can’t license them if they have youth hockey programs they want to do, but everything comes back to the league” (SPORTSNET.ca, 6/26).
PACKING BAGS: In Tuscon, Charles Borla cited a report from Sportico which noted that Meruelo-- who owns the AHL Tucson Roadrunners-- “plans to move the team out of the Tucson Convention Center and up to Reno, Nevada." City of Tucson spokesman Andy Squire said that a potential move-out of Tucson “was not discussed between parties” when the Roadrunners, the Rio Nuevo board and the city amended its license agreement to keep the Roadrunners there through the 2026-2027 season. The amended agreement, offered by the Rio Nuevo board in late-May and approved by the Tucson City Council in early-June, is expected to keep the Roadrunners playing in the Tucson Convention Center "for at least the following three seasons.” Squire: “We have a three year contract with them now. That’s being ratified. Whatever contract they enter into with us, we will hold them to that contract” (ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 6/26).
