The Big Lead

Leaked tape indicts Arizona lawmakers of badmouthing Coyotes arena detractors: report

By J.P. Hoornstra

Apr 17, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Coyotes fans in the crowd hold signs for the players following the game against the Edmonton Oilers at Mullett Arena.
Apr 17, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Coyotes fans in the crowd hold signs for the players following the game against the Edmonton Oilers at Mullett Arena. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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The end of the Arizona Coyotes franchise was a sad story for hockey fans in the greater Phoenix area, marked by bad-faith negotiating by owner Alex Meruelo. The Coyotes' failed deal to secure a new arena in Tempe was just one of many wrinkles that led to the team moving to Utah last year.

As the Arizona Republic's Laurie Roberts reported in June 2024:

"In five years, (Meruelo) has managed to alienate the team, the fans, business and political leaders and, of course, Glendale, which finally threw him out in 2021, after months of stalled negotiations and past-due notices for payment. Meruelo then turned to Tempe, where voters rejected his plan for a $2 billion hockey development."

Meruelo isn't the only villain in this story.

The Phoenix New Times reported Tuesday that the Tempe City Council bashed voters in a new leaked tape of an "illegal secret meeting" in 2022. According to T.J. L'Heureux, "citizens who campaigned against the arena were (called) 'cave people,' while arena opposition ringleader Ron Tapscott was a 'crazy uncle'," among disparaging comments uttered during the Dec. 15, 2022 meeting.

The city of Tempe released the tape on Jan. 10 in response to a public records request from a resident, who then shared it with the Phoenix New Times.

Tempe voters shot down the arena proposal in a May 2023 vote. Meruelo tried to deflect the Coyotes' issues in finding a permanent home in an April 2024 press conference as the result of decisions that predated his tenure as owner. But fans clearly had little tolerance for his pleas for public dollars.

At least in Tempe, local lawmakers apparently had little tolerance for fans — and the leaked tape is just the tip of the iceberg. The New Times cited a city attorney who said two other illegal meetings in Nov. 2023 weren't recorded.

"What was said in the other two illegal meetings — and who else Tempe officials might have belittled behind closed doors — remains a mystery," L'Heureux writes.

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