The Arizona State Land Department has cancelled the Phoenix land auction

[LuckyDay]

The other thing too it might be a matter of scheduling. The Land Dept said it has to be done on this date so Murelo agreed to do it on that date. My wife's scheduled surgery was like that - all these specialists had to sign off before they were allowed and their schedules were never timely - sometimes she'd have get the same test again, more often than not she's have to start over when one test does not pass the muster.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Who cares now... The team has thankfully moved away from all this embarrassing of a situation and hopefully to something real successful.

 

[ItWasJustified]

Arizona just don't want NHL hockey in their state.

Simple as.

 

[12ozPapa]

Can the NHL just please close the AZ chapter? It’s over

 

[gstommylee]

I had zero expectations for Meruelo getting the job done and I'm somehow still surprised at how little he can get done.

Meruelo would had to go through that same city political process anyways this just speeds up that part of the process to make sure he is actually allowed to build it. Whether he is allowed to is a whole separate question.

 

[PainForShane]

As a Zona fan (or rather, a hockey fan living in Phx, not sure what I actually am right now), this isn't a big deal. The auction is delayed for probably a month or two, who cares.

On the other hand, it'd be a VERY big deal if Meruelo doesn't end up winning the auction (which is a distinct possibility) and also a big deal if he's unable to get the entertainment district built on time (and personally I'd be surprised if he's gets the arena built on time). But, this is just a delay. It does make it harder to the arena to be built wrt deadlines etc but at high level it doesn't really matter that much.

EDIT: I got smarter about this the past few hours, this actually is a much more involved process than I initially thought it was. Writing a further post on page 3

 

[gstommylee]

Arizona just don't want NHL hockey in their state.

Simple as.

Or they want to make sure it actually get done. Again no one is allowed to acquire that land and just let it sit there doing nothing. This is NORMAL for the land department to require the permits.

As a Zona fan (or rather, a hockey fan living in Phx, not sure what I actually am right now), this isn't a big deal. The auction is delayed for a few months, who cares.

It would be a very big deal if Meruelo doesn't win the auction (which is distinct) and even more of a big deal if he's unable to get the entertainment district built on time (and personally I'd be surprised if he's gets the arena built on time) but this is just a delay. It does make it harder to the arena to be built wrt deadlines etc but at high level it's not that important

Getting the land is important but its also a much BIGGER deal is getting the city of phx to okay the zoning/permits. The auction is moot if he doesn't get the okay from the city.

 

[Jeune Poulet]

The fans deserve better.

No they don't.

Now that we have finally moved on from that embarrassment in Arizona, let's focus on the present and welcome the Utah fans, instead.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

So is the team gonna move?

 

[PainForShane]

Or they want to make sure it actually get done. Again no one is allowed to acquire that land and just let it sit there doing nothing. This is NORMAL for the land department to require the permits.



Getting the land is important but its also a much BIGGER deal is getting the city of phx to okay the zoning/permits. The auction is moot if he doesn't get the okay from the city.

Yep. I put that under "unable to get the district built on time" and absolutely you're right that getting the permits are an important part of that process

 

[StreetHawk]

Getting the land is important but its also a much BIGGER deal is getting the city of phx to okay the zoning/permits. The auction is moot if he doesn't get the okay from the city.

Better for the city, if the suns and NHL share an arena, especially since that land is in PHX not Scottsdale or Tempe or Mesa. Hopefully, that will be the case for the owner of the suns in like 2034 give or take.

 

[Edenjung]

Well that sucks for Zona fans

Change it from Guinea Pig to NHL team.

also what @JasonDemersWasOkay said. Except the personal insult.

 

[PainForShane]

No they don't.

Habs fans don't deserve a team either if you all go out of your way to make posts like this. Good thing most of your fanbase (and most ppl in general) are pretty good and don't do things like this.

Either way, at this moment seems fair to me that the Habs haven't won anything in the past 30+ years. For your sake, I hope that trend continues

 

[gstommylee]

Yep. I put that under "unable to get the district built on time" and absolutely you're right that getting the permits are an important part of that process

People just don't realize that while this is a delay its not exactly the end of it. Its just changing of order of the steps AM needs to get done. Seattle fans know what the city political process can be. You can never be to sure which direction the city will go when it comes to that actual decision.

 

[Edenjung]

@PainForShane
Yup.
Some people are just miserable.
But the majority of fans is just nice. My best friend is a habs fan as well as her family and they never speak crap about my team or our fanbase.

 

[lakeshirts37]

I would agree that the NHL probably are happy if AM can't deliver an arena.

Timing wise, the Suns lease expires in 2037, so we are about a decade away in 2034 before serious talks between the Suns and the City have to take place on what to do with the arena. Will it just be an NBA only one or will the Suns owner (whomever that may be in a decade) wants to own an NHL team or not? I think that's their best shot of returning to AZ, not a separate arena from the NBA suns.

Yup I think this makes perfect sense and likely what the NHL is planning/hoping for

 

[ItWasJustified]

Or they want to make sure it actually get done. Again no one is allowed to acquire that land and just let it sit there doing nothing. This is NORMAL for the land department to require the permits.

They've could've required the permits when they announced the auction.

 

[gstommylee]

They've could've required the permits when they announced the auction.

which is what i want to know why did this come up way way sooner.

 

[MCR74]

Yeah mods keep removing my comments cuz it’s always totally fine for people to endlessly talk shit about coyotes fans. People can say whatever the f*** they want about coyotes fans. f*** all of you

LOL! Tell us how you really feel.

 

[William H Bonney]

It's almost like you can't and shouldn't ever trust billionaires.

 

[AfroThunder396]

These are not serious people.

 

[red devil]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1804278594212106646

 

[archangel2]

The guy now has the money in theory. Curious to know why they cancelled it

 

[LPHabsFan]

The fans both are and are not to blame for this whole mess. The core fans have been super supportive of the team, way beyond what most sane people would expect, but it's that support that kept making the situation worse and worse.

How many times over the years did we hear from fans and NHL media about how every little step in the process was the thing that was going to solidify the team in that market and have success for years to come. How many times did fans and NHL media blindly support sub par and/or shady owners and arena agreements or future plans as the same above marker. How many times did fans and NHL media deny the financial reality that was facing the team. How many times did fans and NHL media look away when trying to sheepishly justify take tens of millions of dollars from local governments just to stay semi afloat.

Without all of that blind support, this situation would have been needed to be resolved over a decade ago.

 

[red devil]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1804285627141345485

Some other interesting quotes from the article

"You morons have never worked in good faith - nobody trusts you and nobody wants to work with you,” Jack Keeney wrote. “Years of being bad actors means you have to jump through some hoops to earn trust back, and instead you turn to complaining on Twitter.”

"Mr. Meruelo's fantasy hockey proposal was just a smokescreen as he exited after running the franchise under," Ortega said in a text message. Ortega also criticized