The saga of the Arizona Coyotes and its messy run in the NHL continues after a surprising new development that has the owner of the rights for the team fuming. Alex Meruelo has released a statement expressing shock and disappointment at the State of Arizona for cancelling a land auction at the last minute.
According to the statement released by Meruelo, the auction for a piece of land that he was planning to buy in order to build a new arena for the Coyotes has been shut down.
Meruelo insists the state is losing millions, "and potentially billions" of dollars by delaying the sale of the land. For its part, the ASLD told the Associated Press it wants to start the whole registration process over, with Meruelo now having to apply for a special use permit for the property before submitting a bid.
Meruelo sold the Coyotes to Ryan Smith of Utah earlier this year on the condition that he got to keep the Arizona Coyotes' name and could apply for re-entry into the NHL as soon as a new arena was built for the team.
POLL | ||
23 JUIN | 135 ANSWERS Arizona Coyotes hit massive road block in bid to get back to the NHL Do you think Alex Meruelo will get the Coyotes back in the NHL within the next 5 years? | ||
Yes | 10 | 7.4 % |
No | 108 | 80 % |
Not sure | 17 | 12.6 % |
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