The Arizona Coyotes‘ arena proposal will require approval from the Arizona State University (ASU) board of regents, according to officials.
Since the project was announced last month, the Coyotes have been zeroing in on a new arena in Tempe. The venue would be constructed on ASU’s Karsten Golf Course, and cost $400 million. Along with a 16,000-seat arena for the Coyotes, the project includes an adjacent facility that host would ASU hockey games.
The arena is being packaged as part of a larger development that would include lodging and other commercial properties. The proposal is already subject to some major hurdles, including consideration from the Arizona State Legislature about whether to authorize a special taxing district around the arena. Now the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) is weighing in, saying that it has jurisdiction to review the project.
According to ABOR vice president Sarah Harper, the arena would require approval because it was not included in an agreement that was reached earlier this year. More from The Phoenix Business Journal:
ABOR Vice President Sarah Harper said in March the Regents authorized ASU executives, including President Michael Crow, to execute ground leases in the Catellus-managed development district east of the school’s Tempe campus.
There are some conditions to that approval, Harper said.
“One of the conditions of that authorization is that any material changes to the master development plan will require ABOR approval,” she said.
That includes projects or uses not originally outlined in the development district plans.
“A proposed arena for the Arizona Coyotes was not part of the original master plan and so would require approval by the Arizona Board of Regents,” Harper said.
The team has said it could contribute $200 million to the project.
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