A group of Phoenix-area leaders attempting to bring the NHL back to Arizona named members of its advisory panel Tuesday.
Chaired by Andrea Doan, the wife of long-time Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan, the board includes former mayors and the son of one of the original owners of the Coyotes in the Valley.
“Arizona is a hockey state, and it is evident by the outpouring of support from business leaders and community members that the public is passionate about the return of pro hockey to Arizona,” Maricopa County Board of Supervisors chairman Thomas Galvin said in a release.
“With the support of Andrea Doan and community leaders who understand the economic importance of professional sports and nuances of building a successful NHL franchise in the state, I am confident we will be able to bring the right people together to make this a reality. Thank you to the local business, hockey and political leaders who are willing to work on this effort and lend their expertise to identify an owner and find a suitable location.”
Advisory panel on Pro Hockey in Arizona members
Andrea Doan, chairwoman of the panel Sandra Watson, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority Danny Seiden, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jordan Rose, founder of Rose Law Group and leading Valley attorney on professional sports and sports law Taylor Burke, president of Rainy Partners, the parent company of the Ice Den Scottsdale and Ice Den Chandler (the Burke family brought the Coyotes to Arizona in 1996) Jerry Bien-Willner, former Paradise Valley mayor John Giles, former Mesa mayor Trey Terry, Goodyear councilmemberGalvin has led the push to bring hockey back to Arizona in the past year, after the Coyotes’ roster and hockey personnel departments were sold to Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith. The team has since been rebranded as the Utah Mammoth.
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The Coyotes played in the Valley for 27 seasons but used Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena as a home base their final two years under former owner Alex Meruelo. The team was pushed out of a lease at Glendale’s then-Gila River Arena (now Desert Diamond Arena) in 2021.
The eventual sale of the Coyotes in April 2024 came after the Meruelo ownership group lost a public vote on a plot of land in Tempe to build an arena and entertainment district. The last-ditch chance to stay in Phoenix came as Meruelo eyed a piece of land up for auction along the Phoenix-Scottsdale border. That auction was canceled by the state and a year later purchased by the Arizona Cardinals as a new practice facility.
Now, the advisory panel’s goals are simple: To find an interested pro hockey ownership group and potential land where an arena could be built.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said when Meruelo sold his franchise that “we shall return” to the Phoenix market, though that was under an agreement with Meruelo, who had the option to reactivate the Coyotes franchise.
Meruelo ultimately opted not to pursue that chance after the Arizona State Land Department canceled the auction for the potential Phoenix arena plot, and the NHL regained the team’s intellectual property and branding rights.
Bettman has remained in contact with Galvin about potentially bringing a team back to the Phoenix market, according to former Coyotes beat reporter Craig Morgan.
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