Alex Meruelo confirms he no longer wants anything to do with the Arizona Coyotes

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Daniel Lucente
July 11, 2024 (12:50)

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The NHL has reported that the Arizona Coyotes and Alex Meruelo are a thing of the past, as Meruelo has officially announced he is disbanding the franchise for good.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has confirmed reports that Alex Meruelo has indeed folded the Coyotes' franchise, and no longer has any intentions of ever bringing a team back to Phoenix.

Per NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, Alex Meruelo has agreed to and signed all of the necessary agreements and paperwork to relinquish his rights to the Coyotes. The process is complete.

While the Florida Panthers were busy celebrating their first-ever Stanley Cup win, Alex Meruelo announced he was no longer interested in trying to get a new arena built in the Phoenix area to one day bring the Coyotes back, after they had just relocated to Utah to play as the Utah Hockey Club. The reason for this sudden change of heart was that Meruelo was extremely disappointed that the Arizona State Land Department canceled an upcoming auction where it was expected that Meruelo was going to bid on a piece of land where he had planned to build a $3 billion arena.

Commentary from last night on the canceled land auction and where Alex Meruelo goes from here in his Coyotes arena pursuit

The final sun has set on the poor desert coyote, and fans in that region no longer have any more guarantees that a team will ever return to play, as many other groups in various cities across North America are all vying to acquire an NHL franchise.

Credit Blades of Steel:
Alex Meruelo officially relinquishes his rights to the Arizona Coyotes