The Arizona Coyotes are biting back against the City of Phoenix in what seems to be shaping into a bitter battle. It was just a little over a week ago when Phoenix said it was suing the City of Tempe over its proposal for a new development that would include the Coyotes' new home arena. Phoenix said the two cities agreed in the 90s not to build any residential units within a 1.9-square-kilometre radius of Sky Harbor International Airport, due to the high volume of noise.
Now, Tempe, the Arizona Coyotes, and its development arm, Bluebird Development, have filed a countersuit asking for billions of dollars, claiming Phoenix broke its word not to interfere with the development.
Residents of Tempe are set to decide whether the arena development - which includes retail stores, restaurants and apartments - can go ahead. A vote is scheduled to be held in May. In the meantime, the Coyotes continue to play at Mullet Arena, a 5,000 seat arena in Tempe used by the Arizona Sun Devils' college team. The Coyotes were evicted from Gila River Arena in Glendale after the 2022-22 in a dispute over taxes and unpaid rink charges.