Arizona Coyotes apply to buy state land in north Phoenix with eye on new arena

The Arizona Coyotes are moving forward with a plan to buy state trust land in north Phoenix months after the hockey team was said to be scouting in the area, new records show.

“I can confirm that we have submitted an application,” Coyotes CEO Xavier Gutierrez told The Arizona Republic on Friday. “But ... I’m confirming with you that, as I’ve made very clear on a number of occasions, we are looking at multiple sites and we are not yet ready to announce which is the one that we are going to pursue as the primary one.”

An application to buy about 200 acres of state trust land northwest of the Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road was first filed in late June but said nothing about hockey and had no visible ties to the team under deadline pressure to find a permanent home.

The applicant was Fennemore Craig, a regional law firm with an office in Phoenix, and the proposed use of the parcel was a mixed use commercial development, according to a copy of the application.

State land records obtained by The Republic show that in mid-January, the paperwork was updated to a new applicant: Miracle Development, LLC. The applicant’s address is the Coyotes’ Scottsdale mailing address and the contact person is Ed Pascual of Bluebird Development, the development company of Coyotes majority owner Alex Meruelo.

Gutierrez confirmed the application on Friday, but declined further comment.

The records offer the first concrete evidence the team is still considering state land as an option for its arena after Phoenix City Councilman Jim Waring said in December the team had a meeting with him months earlier to discuss the prospect. The application documents suggest the team is pursuing a mixed use development plan in Phoenix just as it attempted in Tempe last year.

An application is the first step of a process to buy public land given to Arizona when it became a state in 1912. Millions of acres were endowed to Arizona, and those acres can be leased or sold to benefit services. The largest beneficiary is K-12 education.

That land is managed by the Arizona State Land Department and parcels must go to a public auction before they can be sold to the highest bidder.

Before an auction, a land sale must be approved by the Arizona State Land Department Board of Appeals and Commissioner Robyn Sahid. The land must be appraised and publicly advertised for sale for at least 10 weeks. It is a lengthy process that the department tells applicants “may exceed 12 months.”

A spokesperson for the State Land Department said late Friday the department could not comment on pending applications. Upcoming auction listings on the department’s website do not include the parcel sought by the Coyotes.

Public records on file with the State Land Department show other initial application steps, including an archaeological inspection for items of cultural significance that may be on the land, are pending.

The State Land Department has said nothing about the application and little about the application process. The Republic made four requests to the department in December and January for information about the application or the general process to purchase state land but did not receive a response. Department spokesperson Lynn Córdova responded Friday after this article published online to outline the general steps of the application process.

It appears to be unusual for a law firm to submit an application to buy land in its own name. Of 34 auctions held since January 2021 for which records were on file with the State Land Department, just two other applications were submitted by a law firm, a review of the records shows. Most often it is developers that apply to buy land and many of them ultimately become the highest bidder.

Jay Kramer, a real estate lawyer at Fennemore Craig who initially submitted the application in June, said Friday he was no longer involved and could not comment. He said the timing of the name change was not relevant.

The Coyotes have been under mounting pressure to find permanent home. The team has previously expressed interest in land in the East Valley, including in Mesa.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday at the NHL All-Star Game in Toronto that “Meruelo is focused on one piece of property” and that “it will be something that will be addressed in the next few weeks.” The same day, the sports journalism site The Athletic reported that Marty Walsh, the executive director of the NHL Players Association, had sharp words for the Coyotes.

The time it would take to buy land and build an arena could be more than 10 years, he said, adding, “As far as I’m concerned, that’s unacceptable on behalf of the players on that team and it should be unacceptable for the league.”

The Coyotes' future home has been uncertain, and the subject of much speculation, since 2021.

Glendale would not renew the team’s lease at Gila River Arena after years of tensions over payments, threats of relocations and contract disputes. The team then launched a campaign to build a $2.1 billion NHL arena and entertainment district in Tempe, a controversial proposal that was met with a tsunami of opposition.

Ultimately, Tempe voters soundly rejected the proposal in a public vote and crushed the team’s relocation plans.

The team now plays at Arizona State University’s 5,000-seat Mullet Arena, where it has a lease until mid-2026.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.

Commissioner speaks: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman addresses Coyotes arena search at NHL All-Star Game

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Coyotes in pursuit of state land in Phoenix for new arena home