While the NHL’s future in Arizona may currently seem bleak, Mat Ishbia has provided a glimmer of hope that a franchise could eventually return to the desert.
Ishbia, the owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, told Sportico in an interview that he would be interested in bringing an NHL team back to Arizona after the Coyotes were sold to Smith Entertainment Group, relocated to Utah and rebranded as the Utah Hockey Club.
“I’m definitely going to be part of the community, and if I can help bring hockey back, I’ll look at that,” said Ishbia. “It’s definitely something I’m interested in. It’s a four-sport town. I’m disappointed we don’t have a hockey team, but I understand what happened, and we’re going to try to fix that one day.”
Previous owner Alex Meruelo retained the rights to the Coyotes’ name, logo and trademark after the sale and was also granted a five-year window to build an arena and reactivate the Arizona franchise. However, he informed the league in June that he would be relinquishing those rights after his latest plans for a new location fell apart.
According to Sportico, Ishbia would not disclose if he has already been talking to the NHL, and the league did not respond to requests for comment.
“I’m disappointed we don’t have a hockey team here. That’s what I’ll say,” Ishbia added. “Phoenix is a four-sport town. Maybe five if you want to include soccer, but it’s a four-sports town. Baseball, football, basketball and hockey. And I hope that one day we’ll be able to get hockey back.”
The Suns play in Footprint Arena, a 32-year-old building that recently underwent a $230-million renovation, and Ishbia’s lease there extends to 2036. He has expressed, however, that a new arena is part of his long-term plan in Phoenix.
“We’ll continue to make this one first-class, and when the time’s right we’ll make the next adjustment,” he said.
