The Arizona Coyotes are at a crossroads few NHL teams have ever come upon.
And Xavier Gutierrez, the club’s president, CEO and alternate governor, wants to make something clear about what’s ahead:
“The narrative that has been surrounding this organization, that’s not us,” he told ESPN recently. “We are taking actions that you have to take to undo [past] decision-making that has really hampered this organization for many years. We want others to understand that this narrative simply isn’t what is going on today. And we feel confident in the strategic plan that we have put together.”
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The process of getting out from under those referenced blunders hasn’t been, and won’t be, easy. But ready or not, the Coyotes are about to close one chapter of franchise history and open the door toward a hopeful, if still uncertain, future.
On Friday, Arizona will host Nashville in the franchise’s final game at Glendale’s Gila River Arena, ending a home-base tenure that began in December 2003. Gila River refused to negotiate a new lease with the Coyotes, after threatening last December to lock the team out of its facilities over $1.3 million in unpaid city and state taxes (the Coyotes said “human error” led to the misunderstanding and it was resolved swiftly).
Next season, the Coyotes will begin a three-year residency playing at Arizona State University’s new multipurpose arena, which is under construction and slated to be finished by fall. ASU’s $134.7 million project required the Coyotes absorb $19.7 million in add-ons (including a 15,000 gross-square-foot annex built next to the arena housing NHL-quality team facilities along with home and away dressing rooms) to make the space NHL-ready. Arizona is locked in through the 2024-25 season, with an option to renew for one more year after that.
The venue will hold only 5,100 fans, a far cry from Gila River’s capacity of 18,300. Tickets will also be more expensive, costing up to $89 for the cheapest seat from what was around $55 in…