By Ronald Sampson
In May 2023, Tempe voters had a decision to make. On the table was a privately funded, $2.1 billion entertainment district built on 46 acres of city-owned land near Rio Salado Parkway and Priest Drive. The plan included a 16,000-seat NHL arena, two hotels, a 3,500-person theater, restaurants, retail, and residential units. The project’s rallying cry said it all: “Landfill to Landmark.” All three ballot propositions went down in defeat, with 56 percent of voters saying no.
So. About that landfill.
The Vision That Wasn’t
The Arizona Coyotes had spent years trying to find a permanent home after a messy split with Glendale left them playing in a 5,000-seat arena on the ASU campus that made visiting NHL players wince. The Tempe deal was widely hailed as one of the best privately financed sports and entertainment projects the state had ever seen. At least $1.9 billion of the total cost was to come from private funding. The city’s own mayor called it the best entertainment and arena deal ever put together in Arizona. The NHL commissioner flew in personally to throw his support behind it. Four former Tempe mayors endorsed it.
The voters said no anyway, citing concerns about traffic, public funds, airport noise, and a general sense that something better might come along if they just waited.
What Came Instead
What came instead was nothing. The franchise collapsed. The NHL folded the Coyotes and shipped the franchise to Salt Lake City, where it became the Utah Mammoth. Attempts to find alternate Arizona sites, including a parcel near Scottsdale Road and the Loop 101, also fell apart when the state land auction was canceled. The Kachina jerseys, the franchise history, all of it…gone to Utah. And the 46 acres near Rio Salado Parkway? Still there. Still a landfill. No landmark in sight, no remediation underway, no grand plan announced for the former eyesore that was supposed to become the crown jewel of Tempe’s waterfront.
Photo Credit: Arizona Republic
Perfection Is the Enemy of a Hockey Team
The voters of Tempe chased perfection and got a parking lot with a methane problem. The concerns raised weren’t entirely without merit, but when the alternative is what actually happened, the cost-benefit analysis looks a little different in hindsight. Arizona lost an NHL franchise. A vibrant entertainment district that would have generated thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue never broke ground.
The landfill is still right where they left it. Enjoy the view, Tempe.