A bill to provide $225 million in public money to build a new arena for the Arizona Coyotes is facing serious opposition in the state Senate, lawmakers told The Arizona Republic Thursday.
The proposed plan would allow the NHL to build an arena in downtown Phoenix or the East Valley. With the total cost estimated at $395 million, $225 million would be picked up by taxpayers.
The team reportedly wants out of its 13-year Gila River Arena deal “built specifically for the team and funded chiefly by Glendale taxpayers.” In 2015, the city cancelled its deal with the club, ceasing its subsidization. The team says that the West Valley, where it currently plays, is not a viable location for its fans.
Coyotes chief executive Anthony LeBlanc said that the team will continue to push for public funding.
“There are a lot of moving parts in this legislative process and everything is malleable and open for discussion until the very end,” he said. “We will continue to educate lawmakers about a complex project that creates a true public-private partnership and offers the Coyotes an economically viable solution to remain in the Valley for the long term.”
LeBlanc said in November that a public-private partnership in funding an NHL arena is “an absolute requirement.”
“Let’s be realistic here: These types of arenas don’t happen without some kind of public-private partnership,” LeBlanc said at the time. “It’s an absolute requirement, but the world has shifted where teams would look for the entire bill to be covered by a governmental agency, you see a shift toward the middle of the spectrum.”
According to the current proposal, the Coyotes would pay for 43 per cent of the total arena cost with taxpayers paying the remaining 57 per cent.
The Coyotes are contractually bound to stay in Glendale through the 2017-18 season.
Senate president Steve Yarbrough has said he’s had “serious reservations” about the plan to build a new arena.
“You are using taxpayers’ money to pre-fund a significant private enterprise,” Yarbrough said. “And those don’t always turn out so well.”
[relatedlinks]
