The Coyotes are expected to be sold to the owner of the Utah Jazz next week

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TEMPI. The Arizona Coyotes could be sold to Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith shortly after the team's last game and include a clause that would guarantee current owner Alex Meruelo an expansion team if a new arena is built within five years. The agreement was announced by the Associated Press on Saturday.

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The $1 billion sale is expected before the Coyotes' final game of the 2023-24 season on Wednesday and the start of the playoffs on Saturday, avoiding any contingencies, said the person involved in the planned deal on condition of anonymity. .

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The deal will transfer the franchise's hockey operations to Smith, who plans to move the team first to the NHL and then to Salt Lake City, while Meruelo will continue business operations to advance the planned $3 billion project, which will include a new arena. North Phoenix. Meruelo will also continue to own the franchise's AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, and plans to move the team to Mullett Arena in Tempe, the Coyotes' current temporary home.

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Once the arena is built, Meruelo will return the $1 billion and move forward with the expansion franchise.

Meruelo and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman are expected to announce the deal at a joint news conference next week after the deal is finalized. Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong traveled to Edmonton Friday night to update players and coaches on the team's plans following news of a possible move to Salt Lake City.

“We are focused on many outstanding issues, so we cannot make any official comments at this time,” Meruelo said in a statement released on Saturday. “However, you promise that I will speak up on all of these matters and that I will address all of your concerns as soon as possible.”

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The NHL backed the Coyotes' plan to buy land at auction to build a new arena, but the team has not hesitated to continue playing in the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena, which it shares with Arizona State University's hockey team. The Coyotes had hoped to close the deal for the $68 million land late last year before delaying the auction until June.

Meruelo said he doesn't want to sell the team and has turned down multiple offers over the years, but he's pursuing the deal because he believes it's unfair to the players to continue playing in an arena that doesn't meet NHL standards. said. The uncertainty of the land auction meant the Coyotes could not guarantee construction of a new arena, prompting the NHL to look to Meruelo for other options, given the franchise's past struggles to find a permanent home.

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Meruelo wanted to keep the Roadrunners, move them to Tempe, work with Phoenix city officials to build a new arena to keep most of his business operations in tact and continue the franchise's youth hockey programs in the state, the person said. .

The Coyotes have been in limbo almost since the day the franchise relocated from Winnipeg.

The team shared the then-America West Arena with the NBA's Phoenix Suns before moving to Glendale in 2003. When the ownership group, which included developers Steve Ellman and Wayne Gretzky, ran into financial difficulties, the franchise was sold to trucking magnate Jerry Moyes in 2005.

When Moyes filed for bankruptcy in 2009, the NHL assumed operational control of the franchise and paid its bills for the next four years until the franchise was purchased by a group of Canadian businessmen in 2013. Philadelphia hedge fund manager Andrew Barroway bought a controlling stake in it. team next year and the rest of the team's stock in 2017. Meruelo bought a controlling stake in Barroway in 2019.

The Coyotes had a long-term, multi-million dollar deal to play at what was then Gila River Arena in Glendale. Until the city abandoned it in 2015. The franchise had an annual lease with Glendale. 2021-22 season.

The Coyotes had hoped to build a $2.3 billion entertainment district in Tempe with a new arena, but voters overwhelmingly rejected a referendum last year. The team spent the last two seasons at Mullett Arena.

— AP hockey writer Steven Wyno contributed to this report.

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