Is Mesa the next city on the Arizona Coyotes' radar? Here's how Mesa leaders are reacting

As the Arizona Coyotes continue looking for a new home in metro Phoenix, after Tempe voters resoundingly rejected the team's proposal to build an arena, Mesa is the latest city being floated as a lifeboat for the team.

How realistic that idea is depends on who you ask.

Mesa Mayor John Giles told The Arizona Republic, the Valley's second-largest city would be a great spot for the Coyotes. Although he has not had a conversation with the Coyotes, he said he'd be surprised if they didn't take a look at the options in Mesa.

Unlike the Tempe plan, those options would be on privately owned land.

The buzz of where the Coyotes could land include Phoenix's Footprint Center, the shuttered Fiesta Mall property, other privately owned land in Mesa or another east Valley city.

Xavier Gutierrez, Coyotes president and CEO, said Wednesday the team is committed to Arizona and has "already started re-engaging with local officials and sites to solidify a new permanent home in the Valley." The team's Twitter account posted a poll asking people to vote where the Coyotes should build their "new home." The poll had four east Valley cities including Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler and Gilbert.

The Arizona Coyotes declined comment for this article.

The possibility of renovating Phoenix's Footprint Center to allow the Coyotes hockey team to be a tenant has also been floated.

The day after Tempe's no-vote, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said through a spokesperson, she would be "happy to discuss potential options" with the team if it wanted to work together to keep playing in the Valley.

Councilman Jim Waring, whose district oversees northeast Phoenix, said Wednesday that Phoenix offered " potential lifeboat" for the team. Bringing the Coyotes could "maximize the investment" of the Sun's Footprint Center " if it pencils out," he added, citing a possible boost in tax revenues for his city.

On Thursday, as the complications of retrofitting the Footprint Center to accommodate basketball and hockey in a shared venue sunk in, Gallego said through a spokesperson that the NHL franchise had not reached out.

Tempe officials have remained largely silent since the election.

But in Mesa, Giles said there are several options that would be ripe for development along the freeway corridors. Fiesta Mall is one of those options, he said. The infrastructure exists there to build out the area and it would need few public improvements, he said.

"I think it's worth keeping (the Coyotes) in the Valley and continuing to nurture that sports franchise and youth sports systems that are a part of that," Giles said. "I don't want to see them leave the Valley... One of the strategic locations in Mesa would be a good choice for them."

Earlier this year, the developers of the mall property filed a pre-submittal application signaling it will raze the building to make room for master-planned development.

No formal submittal for development of the Fiesta Mall site has been filed with to Mesa, a city spokesperson confirmed.

“Fiesta Mall is one of the most attractive pieces of urban real estate in the Valley today. It is massive, adjacent to three major highways and only 20 minutes from two major airports,” the city said in a news release.

“We look forward to working with the property owner on proposals to bring diverse uses to the Fiesta Mall site and long-term sustainable and vibrant economic activity to the Fiesta District.”

The city would not confirm to The Arizona Republic if it has been approached by the Arizona Coyotes regarding a potential proposal.

Giles said there are other properties along the Loop 202 Red Mountain freeway that he knows could be ideal spots for the development.

Per the city charter, voters would need to approve any expenditure of public funds, grant tax concessions or relief. Similarly, voter approval would be required if the city incurred debt greater than $1.5 million to construct or aid in the construction of an entertainment facility, arena or other multi-purpose facility. Giles said he doesn't see a scenario where a vote would take place because it would be taken of care by private development.

How other local leaders are reacting

Maricopa County Supervisor Thomas Galvin, who represents areas of Mesa, said in tweet he would love for the Arizona Coyotes to permanently settle in his east Valley district.

“I’m willing to help find taxpayer-friendly answer that makes sure the (NHL) sees (Arizona) as a long-term home,” Galvin wrote.

Reactions: Glendale, Coyotes officials react after Tempe voters reject hockey arena deal

Councilmember Scott Somers, who represents southeast Mesa, told The Republic that he has not had any conversations about the potential interest from the Coyotes to move to Mesa and that it is too early to speculate where the Coyotes could land.

However, conceptually, he said he’d entertain the idea, but anything involving “sales-tax dollars would pretty much be a non-starter.”

He said using mechanisms like GPLET, a tax incentive agreement to temporarily replace a building’s property tax with an excise tax, or to create a community facilities district to obtain community funding for property development are methods that would protect Mesa taxpayers.

Both tools were part of the doomed Tempe deal, rejected by voters. Opponents derided the incentives as tax giveaways for billionaires.

However, a privately-financed deal for the Coyotes would be the best bet for the team to find a home in Mesa, Somers said. He pointed to the development of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California where the NFL Rams and Chargers play as an example of what that could look like.

He said the 80-acre Fiesta Mall property could be a good spot for the team to land.

Councilmember Jenn Duff, who represents the central area of the city and downtown, said she has not had any meetings yet related to the Coyotes. She was surprised to see Tempe’s ballot fail.

“For me the arena isn’t as much of a question as what comes with that and how deals are structure,” she said.

Duff’s district does have a notable 25-acre vacant piece of city owned land along University and Mesa drives, commonly known as Site 17. She does not see that land as a potential spot for consideration. “It is not something that I think feeds into… what we’re trying to accomplish in the downtown area.”

Giles also said Site 17 would not be on the table for consideration.

Councilmember Mark Freeman, who represents the area in northeast central Mesa in a text message to The Republic said, “I think it’s exciting as far as I’m concerned and we’ll see how far it progresses.”

Councilmembers Alicia Goforth, Francisco Heredia and Julie Spilsbury did not respond to inquiries from The Arizona Republic.

Republic reporters Sam Kmack, Taylor Seely and Jason Wolf contributed to this article.

Reporter Maritza Dominguez covers Mesa/Gilbert and can be reached at maritza.dominguez@arizonarepublic.com or 480-271-0646. Follow her on Twitter @maritzacdom.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Here's how Mesa leaders are reacting to a possible Coyotes arena