Tempe City Council Approves Coyotes' District, Public to Vote in May

The Arizona Coyotes' plan to construct an entertainment district in the heart of Tempe was approved by the City Council on Tuesday, another milestone for the proposal that's over a year in the making.
The privately funded $2.1 billion district, which would be constructed on land at Priest Drive and Rio Salado Parkway in multiple phases, would include a new arena for the team. The parcel is currently a landfill.
The council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve three items - a development and disposition agreement, a zoning amendment, and a general plan amendment, which clears the way for the final public vote in a special election on May 16, 2023.

Coyotes President and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez said the team will now begin the formal process of gathering signatures in order to commence the referendum in May.
"It starts with gratitude tonight -- Thanking the city council and thanking the city staff for all of their incredible hard work," Gutierrez said. "It's about being able to touch every person in this city, in this community -- that is our community -- and starting with that by letting them know it is our community, to let them know just how incredible this is."

The Coyotes presented their plan for the 46-acre site in its entirety on Tuesday, highlighting the various aspects of the proposal that includes a 16,000-seat arena, practice facility and a music theater, as well as retail, hotel, residential, and office space.
Gutierrez, along with attorney Nick Wood of Snell & Wilmer, highlighted in the presentation that the city will benefit from over $240 million of project-supplied benefits, which includes district naming rights, multi-modal support, city use of arena/music venue/public spaces, free office space, traffic control, and a free public safety substation, among other things.
The team will also contribute $4.5 million of public art to the project.
Because it is currently a landfill, the parcel also requires extensive remediation before construction can begin. Once the deal is finalized and the team completes the purchase of the land, a $40 million non-refundable developer contribution will be made.

Tempe Mayor Corey Woods said the council has carefully considered the proposal since its inception, and he believes the project is "the best arena deal in the history of the state of Arizona."
Though the six-month period of information gathering wasn't without its challenges since the council awarded the RFP to the Coyotes on June 2, he said he's grateful for the collaboration shown by all sides.
"We're a city of about 42 square miles, totally landlocked, and [the Coyotes] went to all different sections of our community to get input and feedback from our residents, and take a lot of honest inquiries and questions," Woods said. "l found that they were very amenable to change, and to negotiations, and to adding additional things to help make the deal even better."
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly were also in attendance on Tuesday. Bettman said they were at the meeting to show the council the league's continuing commitment to Arizona.
The commissioner said the team could potentially host an All-Star Game and/or NHL Draft in the future, and is excited to see the project take the next step towards becoming a reality.

"We've seen the vision as to what the future can look like," Bettman said. "We've seen a passion and a commitment in terms of energy, effort, assets, and dollars.
"Everything is being put in place to make this a success."
Gutierrez said the Coyotes are grateful for everyone's effort to get the project to this point, from the citizens who provided their input throughout the process to the council's tireless effort.
"We're very thankful to the Tempe City Council. A 7-0 vote really shows their support of what we put forth," Gutierrez said. "We believe in this project. We've said from the beginning, this is the right project, this is the right deal, and we are the right team to execute on it."