3 reasons why the Arizona Coyotes' proposed Utah relocation could fail

On Wednesday afternoon, news broke that the Arizona Coyotes are moving to Salt Lake City, per a tweet from Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli that set the hockey community ablaze.

As it turned out, the message blindsided many people, including the Coyotes organization, which continues to say nothing about the topic and deflect any negative energy from the discussion to its upcoming bid to obtain a vacant plot on the city's edge to build a new entertainment complex.

Although Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo has yet to comment on the relocation rumors, earlier in the week, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith took to social media to ask the general public what a new name for an NHL team in Salt Lake City should be.

Ultimately, the NHL has yet to say anything about this trending topic. Even though Salt Lake City could end up with the Coyotes or an expansion team in the future, here are three reasons why an NHL franchise in the city wouldn't work out today.

---

3 reasons why the Arizona Coyotes' proposed Utah relocation could fail

#3. The Coyotes owner could end up building a brand-new arena

As mentioned, Coyotes owner, Meruelo, awaits an opportunity to purchase a lot at an upcoming land auction on June 27. If successful in acquiring the vacant lot on the edge of Scottsdale Road and Loop 101, he would fund a new arena and entertainment complex that would eject over $15.5 billion into the valley over the next 30 years.

If the NHL allows the Coyotes to move to Utah or anywhere else, the proposed new arena, slated for a 2027 opening, wouldn't have a tenant.

Of course, Arizona could relocate during construction for a couple of seasons; however, doing so would create an unnecessary wrinkle. Despite the love for the Coyotes, the up-and-coming team struggles to fill Mullet Arena, a college arena with a capacity of 4,600.

If the new complex gets built, relocating the Coyotes back to the desert from a different city would create a hassle, continuing the narrative of whether hockey belongs in the valley to begin with.

#2. Salt Lake City is not a major sports city

Throughout its association with professional sports, Salt Lake has only had the Utah Jazz, who moved to there in 1979. Unfortunately, the Jazz have never won a championship, only appearing in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals.

Greg Ostertag and Karl Malone, Utah Jazz, 1997

Outside of hosting the 2002 Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City and Utah are known for mountain activities like skiing and snowboarding. Several minor league teams are in the area, including the Utah Grizzles of the ECHL.

Some of the state's most prominent sports draws are the University of Utah and Brigham Young University teams, nationally known for football and basketball.

Despite its population of over 1.2 million, no professional sports association outside the NBA has attempted to call Salt Lake City home.

#1. The Delta Center will be a Barclays Center 2.0

The Delta Center opened in 1991 and has been the home of the Jazz ever since. Considering they are the only professional team in town, the facility's layout is configured to host basketball games and is not user-friendly for hockey games.

Although the NHL has previously hosted games in the Delta Center, those were one-time events, not a regular occurrence over 42 nights from October to April. Like the New York Islanders, who played several seasons at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, an arena built for the NBA is never a good fit for professional hockey.

Even though Jazz's owner, Smith, promises a new hockey-friendly facility in the downtown area, that would take time to build, and the team would have to move from one complex to another yet again.

Of course, the Delta Center is ready for an NHL team and would be an upgrade over the Mullet Arena. But if the goal is to keep hockey in Arizona, why not dump all the resources into that project and let the league expand into Salt Lake City later?