Alex Meruelo is Ruining the Arizona Coyotes

In the never-ending saga of the fate of the Arizona Coyotes, it seems their owner Alex Meruelo is ruining the chances that the franchise can actually move towards respectability. His irrational lack of paying his financial commitments is literally ruining the Arizona Coyotes.

The Tempe Arena Project is Now in Jeopardy

By Alex Meruelo not paying his taxes and rent in a timely manner, it may come back to haunt him. It was revealed by Coyotes insider Craig Morgan that his sources have told him that the arena proposal lacks a majority vote it needs to go forward with the project. Apparently, there are three ‘yes’ votes, two ‘no’ votes and two undecided voters who are leaning towards a ‘no’ vote.

If that margin holds true, the entire $1.7 billion project may be scrubbed. It leaves Coyotes’ fans not only wondering where the team may play NHL hockey next season, but years down the road. It was almost a foregone conclusion that Tempe would approve the project which would bring in new jobs and revenue to the city. That could all be lost if the city council feels it can’t trust Meruelo’s lack of fiscal responsibility.

In other words, if he treated the city of Glendale the way he did, what’s to stop him from doing the same thing to Tempe? Good question.

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With Millions to Make From Sports Gambling Meruelo May be Losing Out

Even though Meruelo has an Arizona Sports gambling license, if he doesn’t own the hockey team, he could lose out on millions from gambling revenue. He is thought of as an astute businessman taking businesses over and making them successful. In the case of the Coyotes, he has darkened their image and made them the laughing stock of the NHL.

Then, to blame the unpaid bill oversights which inevitably are his responsibility on “human error”, just takes the cake. Perhaps he shouldn’t have purchased the team if he intends to act the way he has. This is not the pizza business and even in that business the owner must pay his commitments or the business will fail.

Things Started Out Nicely

When Meruelo bought the team he boasted of bringing the Stanley Cup to the valley. Teams who win the Cup have owners who pay their bills. He did spend to the salary cap limit in his first year owning the team. That was a step in the right direction. Acquiring and paying Taylor Hall $6 million was a bold move, but it failed. Hall moved on as he like most NHL players, wanted to win a Stanley Cup.

Then, Katie Strang from the Athletic wrote a stinging article depicting how the Meruelo organization was run. One striking comment in Strang’s article was from one of the 50 people she interviewed for the story. Their comment was, “If I was talking to a future employer, I’d say it’s been a learning experience. “If I was being frank with you, I’d say it’s a shitshow.” Another former employee stated that “they basically took how they managed radio stations, pizza chains, and casinos and used that same playbook for a hockey team.”

The Coyotes Future is Very Uncertain

When a team’s ownership has as many red flags as Alex Meruelo in the nearly three years he has owned the team, concern for the future starts to mount… sorta like those unpaid bills tend to do when ignored. Meruelo has had controversy to deal with, and yet has he EVER come out publicly to explain things? In fact, he’s had literally no press conferences since his cheerleading speech after he purchased the team. He allows his CEO, Xavier Gutierrez, to do that. Gutierrez was tasked with making certain that the arena project was his first priority. It was all the smokescreen involving how the team will not be relocating, remember?

The same lack of information about where the team will play next season is also frustrating. Do they think they have all the time in the world to decide this? The 2022-23 season starts in 10 months and not a peep from Gutierrez or Meruelo where the team can hang their hockey gear next season. If they’re stalling for time, it’s not working! Fans know it, the NHL knows it, but it seems the management of the team is oblivious to it.

If by some huge miracle this entire mess of a franchise can recover from all this, it will be difficult to see how they stay in Arizona. It’s those relocation rumours calling again. Maybe this time they will come true. It seems Mr. Meruelo should stick to what he knows best… pizza parlors, casinos, and radio stations. Thus far his track record as an NHL team owner leaves a lot to be desired.