Mayor David Ortega said Scottsdale doesn’t have the “water resources” available to develop a new hockey stadium near the city.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega is telling the Arizona Coyotes that the team’s proposed arena in Scottsdale’s north end is not welcome.
The NHL team is eyeing 95 acres of state-owned land near Scottsdale Road and Loop 101 within Phoenix city limits. The minimum sale price for the land is estimated at $68.5 million.
In an editorial published Monday, Ortega said the proposed arena is not “feasible” and should be located far away from Scottsdale because the mayor does not support the plan.
“As it stands, the fantasy hockey project needs to move west, away from Scottsdale,” Ortega wrote.
The mayor emphasizes that the area has no infrastructure west of Scottsdale Road and is calling for all infrastructure to be removed from Phoenix because Scottsdale has no available water resources.
Last year, Tempe voters rejected a proposal to allow construction of a new entertainment district and Coyotes Arena near Rio Salado Parkway and Priest Drive.
You can read the mayor’s full statement below.
Last week, the Arizona Coyotes’ development team rolled out the same fantasy rendering used in Tempe’s mega-arena and mixed-use site proposal, but it suffered a crushing defeat at the ballot box.
Scottsdale and neighboring Phoenix’s version of the proposal is presented without addressing market demand for a new entertainment facility disguised as a hockey stadium, access to congested freeways, or questionable zoning qualifications for the arena. It was done. And the splashy offer was painted as a last gasp to keep hockey in Arizona.
The prospect of a new developer trying to purchase Arizona State Trust land with no infrastructure on the Phoenix side of the 101/Scottsdale Road intersection at the gateway to Scottsdale is unfeasible. , it is not something that can be welcomed.
why? The dreamy Coyote retail component is just around the corner from Retail Lion in Scottsdale. Commercial giants in the Greater Scottsdale Airpark area now have infrastructure and access to Scottsdale. Arizona’s empty Trust Land, on the edge of Phoenix, has no service roads and water and sewer services are located several miles away to the west. And as a condition of the sale, the 100 acres of land must be developed in its entirety off the 64th Street ramp for access.
As a Scottsdale City Council member in 2000 and now as mayor, I watched the internal dealings of the Coyotes when they abruptly left Scottsdale in 2002 and more recently when they vacated their former home in Glendale in 2022. It’s here. The team is struggling at Arizona State’s Mallett Arena. If the capacity he is less than 90%. And coincidentally, a new bill is being introduced in the Arizona Legislature in 2024 that would authorize a surcharge, a local sales tax to increase the viability of arenas, like the one currently being proposed by the Coyotes organization.
In March, Arizona Land Department officials met in my office and I pointed out that all of the improvements to Scottsdale Road from Route 101 north are entirely within our city. There is no infrastructure west of Scottsdale Road. I requested that the proposed site’s infrastructure, including water and sewer lines, be removed from the Phoenix property along 56th Street on the west side. Scottsdale’s water assets are completely unavailable.
Additionally, I requested that the 64th Street – Arizona Loop 101 north exit be built again on the west side of Scottsdale Road to serve this area. At our meeting, the Arizona Department of Lands agreed that these requirements would be bundled into the award of the property. I also met with the Mayor of Phoenix to confirm that all utilities need to extend from 56th Street.
I admire the sport of hockey, the Arizona Coyotes’ community involvement, and the Scottsdale Ice Den’s phenomenal youth club. However, I, along with City of Scottsdale officials, will continue to monitor any future actions that negatively impact Scottsdale. For now, fantasy hockey projects will have to move west, away from Scottsdale.
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