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The Arizona Coyotes now find themselves without a home.
The city of Glendale announced Thursday it had decided not to renew its operating agreement with the hockey team beyond the upcoming 2021-22 season, which will still be played at Gila River Arena.
“With an increased focus on larger, more impactful events and uses of the city-owned arena, the city of Glendale has chosen to not renew the operating agreement for the Arizona Coyotes beyond the coming 2021-22 season,” the statement said.
The statement continued, saying the Coyotes had been informed of the decision. The agreement with the National Hockey League team had been operating on a year-to-year basis since 2016.
“We are thankful to the NHL and the Arizona Coyotes for being part of the Glendale community for the past 18 years,” Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps said in a statement. “The decision to not renew the operating agreement with the Coyotes was not made overnight or in a vacuum. We carefully weighed input from key stakeholders, our expert economist, our arena management firm and our city council.”
In a statement, Coyotes President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez said the team was disappoined Glendale pulled the plug on negotiations and sought to move on.
"We are disappointed by today's unilateral decision by the city of Glendale to break off negotiations on a multiyear lease extension agreement," he said. "We are hopeful that they will reconsider a move that would primarily damage the small businesses and hard-working citizens of Glendale. We remain open to restarting good-faith negotiations with the city.
"Most importantly, the Coyotes are 100% committed to finding a long-term arena solution here in Arizona, and nothing will shake our determination to do what is right for our organization, residents of the entire Valley and, most important, our fans," he added.
The news comes as Glendale continues to invest in the Westgate Sports and Entertainment District; the city has spent approximately $3 billion in the area to date.
The city will also soon be home to a brand-new Mattel theme park and Crystal Lagoons Island Resort, which is set to open ahead of the Glendale-hosted Super Bowl in 2023.
Lindsay is a Phoenix native and is thrilled to be reporting in her hometown.
After spending several years in advertising after college, she switched gears and graduated with her master’s degree in journalism at Arizona State University in 2019.
When she’s not writing, you can usually find her reading a book or playing with her family’s dogs.
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