Time has passed and one year after pulling in screaming crowds at Mullett Arena, the Arizona Coyotes have now transformed into the Utah Hockey Club, taking their crowds to Salt Lake City’s Delta Center. But remnants of the old Coyotes club are still kicking, evident by a lawsuit filed by the team’s former ownership group, IceArizona, in Maricopa County Superior Court on Friday. The suit demands the return of the $3.5MM security deposit they paid to OVG Venues – the overseeers of Mullett Arena – and Arizona’s board of regents, per Zach Buchanan of the Phoenix New Times.
According to the lawsuit, the Coyotes organization and former owner Alex Meruelo were compelled by the NHL to sell their team rights in the final days of the 2023-24 season. Per IceArizona, the unique circumstances of the sale should have triggered the force majeure clause in their lease with Mullett Arena – a clause that mutually breaks the lease in the event of any uncontrollable events, such as war, labor stoppages, or environmental damage. IceArizona also added that they offered to let the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners play in Mullett in lieu of the Coyotes – but the original lease only allowed for NHL games, not minor-league appearances outside of a few exceptions. Any change to that clause would have had to be approved by the Arizona Board of Regents.
No comments have been made on either side of the aisle – but this newest push continues to widen the gap between Arizona’s local hockey and the Meruelo-owned IceArizona. In January, the NHL met with a newly formed group of community leaders to discuss the steps needed to return an NHL team to Arizona. The new group doesn’t yet have an ownership group identified, though Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia expressed interest in owning an NHL franchise in the wake of the Coyotes’ departure.
Ishbia will join forces with local hockey personalities like Paul Bissonnette and Kenny Corupe to try and bring back the Coyotes, without the interference of the club’s previously failed ownership. Meanwhile, that latter ownership will push to get back whatever they can, after prematurely breaking their lease with their sale of the club. Arizona State University has taken over full control of Mullett Arena since the Coyotes moved out. They host routine youth hockey games and practices, and adult-league hockey, as well, operated through the Mountain America Community IcePlex.