NHL expects to have Arizona Coyotes play at Mullett Arena in 2023-24 season

The Arizona Coyotes are expected to remain at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona, for the 2023-24 NHL regular season. There was a vote late Tuesday by the city of Tempe that turned down plans for a new Arena project that would cost around $2.1 billion, $1.9 billion being privately funded.

The vote failed and now there’s speculation that the NHL will need to move the Coyotes to a new city. While that appears to be imminent, it may not happen right away. For now, the Coyotes will continue playing in Tempe at Mullett Arena, home of Arizona State Sun Devils hockey.

Many of the reasons the city of Tempe turned down the new arena plan were disappointing, but it’s tough to blame the community given the situation. Arizona isn’t a hot bed for hockey and the population is mostly elderly citizens with little incentive to pay more tax dollars to fund a team. The Coyotes had been the Phoenix Coyotes, playing in Glendale before having to move to Tempe when the franchise decided not to stay in Gila River Arena. The team has an agreement to play at Mullett Arena at least through the 2024-25 season. After that, we could see the franchise moved.