Two unrelated ownership groups in Phoenix have opened preliminary discussions with the National Hockey League about placing an expansion franchise in the metro area, nine months after the Arizona Coyotes relocated to Salt Lake City. The conversations are early but signal the league's willingness to revisit a market it occupied for 28 years before the April 2024 move.
The timing matters. The NHL collected a $1.2 billion expansion fee from Utah when Ryan Smith acquired the Coyotes and relocated them. Commissioner Gary Bettman has stated publicly that Phoenix remains attractive if the arena situation—long the Coyotes' Achilles heel—can be resolved. Neither group has disclosed venue plans, but league sources indicate arena certainty is the gate condition for serious consideration. The Coyotes spent their final season playing in a 5,000-seat college rink after losing their Glendale lease.
One group is led by local real estate interests with ties to prior arena development discussions in Tempe, which voters rejected in May 2023. The second group includes out-of-state capital and has floated a location closer to downtown Phoenix, though no municipality has confirmed formal talks. Both have hired advisors familiar with NHL expansion protocols—the same choreography Houston and Atlanta ownership candidates performed before those markets were named expansion finalists in 2023. The league has not set a timeline for awarding the next franchise, but Bettman has said he expects 32 teams to grow to 36 within the next cycle.
Phoenix's TV footprint—the 11th-largest designated market area in the U.S.—remains appealing to sponsors and broadcasters despite the Coyotes' attendance struggles. The franchise averaged 4,600 fans per game in its final season, but league executives privately attribute that to arena dysfunction rather than market failure. The original expansion fee in 1996 was $80 million; current league estimates place the next round of fees at $1.5 billion per team, driven by recent sales in Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and Utah.
The NHL has not officially opened an expansion application window, but informal courtship of Phoenix, Houston, and Atlanta suggests the league is building a portfolio ahead of a formal process. Phoenix's advantage is brand familiarity and infrastructure—broadcast contracts, youth hockey footprint, and corporate relationships largely survived the Coyotes' exit. The risk is repeating the same venue mistakes. The Tempe rejection was narrow—56% to 44%—but it killed momentum for private development. Any new group needs city council votes locked before league meetings.
Phoenix also carries political memory. Former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo retains a five-year exclusive right to reclaim an expansion franchise if he builds a suitable arena, part of the relocation agreement. That clock runs until 2029. If Meruelo moves first, the other groups are out. If he doesn't, the league controls the timeline.
Watch for venue announcements tied to municipal partnerships within the next six months. Bettman has said he will not grant expansion without shovel-ready arena commitments. Also watch Ryan Smith's Utah franchise—its first-season attendance and sponsorship velocity will either validate or complicate the case for returning to Arizona. If Utah sells out and Phoenix pitches another uncertain venue, the league waits. If Utah struggles and Phoenix delivers site control, the conversation accelerates.
The league has already banked $1.2 billion from the market once. Whether it collects again depends on concrete, not promises.
The takeaway
NHL listens to two Phoenix groups despite Coyotes' exit, but arena certainty gates any expansion deal—and Meruelo's reclaim window runs through 2029.
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