Coyotes' arena plan in Tempe rejected by voters; future cloudy - ESPN

The Arizona Coyotes' plan to build a new arena in Tempe as part of a $2.1 billion entertainment district was rejected by voters on Tuesday, and the team said its future «will be evaluated by our owners and the National Hockey League» in the coming weeks.

«The NHL is terribly disappointed by the results of the public referenda regarding the Coyotes' arena project in Tempe,» league commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. «We are going to review with the Coyotes what the options might be going forward.»

The Coyotes were seeking to build a 16,000-seat arena and an entertainment district on city-owned land at Rio Salado Parkway and Priest Drive, at the west end of Tempe Town Lake. It's a 46-acre tract of land located roughly two miles from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

The total project cost was estimated at $2.1 billion, with at least $1.9 billion privately funded, and would have included two hotels, a 3,500-person theater and up to 1,995 residential units. The project also was expected to include a gambling component. Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo owns the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, and the Sahara Las Vegas.

One of the team's rallying cries for the project was «Landfill to Landmark,» as 1.5 million tons of trash would have been removed from the site at an estimated cost of $75 million.

The Coyotes needed voters to approve Propositions 301, 302 and 303 on a special election ballot. Those ballots were mailed to voters on April 19 and were returned through May 9. In-person voting was held through Tuesday for ballots that were lost, spoiled or not received.

Internally, the Coyotes had been optimistic about the vote entering Tuesday. When the initial returns had 56% of voters selecting «no» on the ballot for the