The Valley may have to wait much longer to get professional hockey back as reports late Monday surfaced that former Arizona Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo was giving up on his bid to return the team to the region.

According to a report from PHNX Sports reporter Craig Morgan, Meruelo told team staff on Monday that officials won't chase other arena sites after the Arizona State Land Department last week canceled an auction for a potential arena home.

Mereulo was given five years by the National Hockey League to find a new arena site to bring the Arizona Coyotes team back, either as a new franchise or a relocated team.

But plans for the $2 billion arena and mixed-used development faltered last week when for the second time the land auction for roughly 95 acres was canceled and ASLD officials were asking Meruelo to come back when he had a special-use permit prior to buying the land.

The land, which is in Phoenix, was not specifically zoned for a arena, officials told PHNX.

Meruelo sold the team in April and it was relocated to Salt Lake City after failing to find a home for an arena and after a first auction for the state trust land was canceled. The team initially had its sights set on land in Tempe, but voters rejected that bid.

The team left Gila River Arena in Glendale after the 2021-22 season after the city refused to renew its lease, which had been going year to year. That arena had been home to the Coyotes for nearly 20 years, but team officials had long sought a move to a more central or East Valley location through multiple ownership groups.

It had spent two years playing in Mullett Arena at Arizona State University, but seating capacity and facilities at that facility were not up to NHL standards, necessitating the need to find a new area.