Alex Meruelo walks away from ownership of dormant Arizona Coyotes
Billionare casino owner Alex Meruelo has walked away from his ownership of the dormant Arizona Coyotes franchise, PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reported Monday evening.
Meruelo, 60, purchased a majority stake in the Coyotes organization in 2019 and oversaw an extremely tumultuous period for the club, which ended up being deemed inactive upon the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
BREAKING:
It's over. Multiple sources confirm to @PHNX_Sports that Alex Meruelo is walking away from his ownership of the Coyotes.https://t.co/vqAaIjsCkr
The Coyotes franchise has suspended play indefinitely amidst the ongoing arena saga in Arizona. After being evicted from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale after the 2021-22 season, the Coyotes spent two years at the 4,600-seat Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University.
Late in the 2023-24 season, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith paid $1.2 billion to acquire the Coyotes’ hockey operations department, roster, prospects, and draft picks from the Meruelo Group. The NHL received $200 million of the purchase price, with the remaining $1 billion going to Meruelo.
However, Meruelo was revealed to have an exclusive five-year window to potentially revive the Coyotes if he was able to secure a new NHL-sized arena for the team in Arizona. His initial plan was to construct an entertainment district in the north end of Phoenix on a parcel of land that directly bordered neighboring Scottsdale. If he had been successful, Meruelo would have had to return his $1 billion to the league.
Amidst local opposition to Meruelo’s plans, the Arizona State Land Department cancelled a land auction scheduled for June 27 that would have allowed the Coyotes to bid on that parcel. With his plans seemingly on life support, Meruelo appears to have thrown in the towel on his attempts to revive the Coyotes.
Meruelo had previously attempted to develop a parcel of land in Tempe, Arizona, located just minutes away from ASU, but his proposal was defeated soundly in a public vote shortly after the end of the 2022-23 season.
Earlier on Monday, the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners announced that they had abandoned plans to play six of their games in the 2024-25 season out of Mullett Arena. It is unclear whether Mereulo will retain ownership of the Roadrunners, who play out of the Tucson Convention Center.
With Meruelo now seemingly out of the picture, the door appears to have re-opened for the NHL to engage with prospective owners who wish to bring top-level professional hockey back to Arizona. During Meruelo’s ownership, the Coyotes qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs just once in five seasons.