Latest: Mesa officials tell me the @ArizonaCoyotes reached out yesterday following their loss in Tempe. The team is eyeing the Fiesta Mall site – prime land in the East Valley‘s largest city. Caution: any potential arena deal there could require another public vote. #azfamily
— Dennis Welch (@dennis_welch) May 18, 2023
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gorefloor
37 Comments
Any chance Mesa doesn’t push it to public referendum? I’d rather be somewhere where a vote isn’t needed.
If it requires another public vote it’s not going to happen. Full stop.
Can’t wait for the new propaganda to drop about why we can’t have a stadium in this crucial, important, indispensable part of Mesa
Dear god please go to the res, I’m begging you not fiesta
If this was to actually happen would it even be possible to build an entertainment district on that land? I haven’t been over in the area in the valley since at least 2018.
Oof, I was wondering about Mesa. If it requires a vote I can’t see it happening, not after Tempe. It’s encouraging to see they’re looking at their options here at least.
NO MORE VOTES.
That’s not a great spot.
Been a fan 20 years but I’m just tired of all this. This can’t be waiting in limbo for two more years. Move the team if they can’t figure it out soon.
I want this spot over tribe land only because I think it’s more financially viable long term for the team (with an entertainment district attached) but I really, really do not want a vote.
Lol Mesa voters don’t even like voting for tax increases on fire and police.
I don’t think Mesa would actually be a bad location. It’s definitely more east than the Tempe location but no issues from the airport. It’s close to the highway and people that already live there, and the fiesta mall area is legitimately large enough for a 16-17000 seat area and practice facility without knocking down any of the buildings surronding. Could also do a chase center thing as well. Plenty of options I think this is a good move
They should come to Scottsdale man. Nobody gives a fuck about billionaires up here so that narrative will disappear real quick.
At least people can’t say they need more affordable housing in Mesa.
I used to have to drive south 101 to east 60 to get home. Holy shit what a traffic nightmare. Add in a weekday night game. Nightmare. Idk that this is viable honestly.
If Meruelo buys the land and maybe doesn’t ask for a GPLET this time, why would it need to go to a public vote? No dump to clean up and the land isn’t owned by the city.
Edit: Sounds like some of the land is owned by the city
If it does require a vote, I really hope they learned they need to be better at countering the misinformation from the opposition
If Tempe voted No I have a hard time seeing Mesa being any better
If they get that, could run in to the same issue as Glendale. Too far out for people on the other side of town to drive.
Can’t wait to hear what reasons the Canadians come up with to mask their “please relocate, Coyotes” pleas for this one
Well a parking lot is already there and so is an actual hole for the rink to sit in. The area kind of sucks though.
Hear me out, MetroCenter
Flames fan here who’s been to Arizona many times. Why do all of these projects have to go to plebiscite? Perhaps things are just done differently in Canada but these decisions are made more with representative democracy and most of the time projects can simply be approved with local city council approving them as well.
I do hope you guys get an arena. I loved going to see games in Glendale in the past despite it being far away. I’m actually familiar with this mall as I ate at a restaurant nearby last time I was in the area. Seems like a good location and I hope it works out
Craig mentioned Yotes are looking at 5-6 possible sites. This one is most likely low in n the list since it most likely require a public vote.
It wouldn’t be surprised if Mesa officials purposely leaked it to get people taking.
If it takes a vote then the old NIMBY boomers in Mesa will vote it down guaranteed.
Just moved out of the area a year ago, they have been really building up everything around Fiesta mall while leaving it untouched basically. I think the area would really benefit. MCC is just around the corner and they have been pushing to become a university. I think it’d be a good move honestly.
Mesa would kind of suck tho.
I hope something could happen around Talking Stick on Indian land then I’m pretty sure just the tribe would have to approve it.
Scottsdale area is a lot closer to a central location than fricken fiesta mall lol
Are the Coyotes just shopping the Tempe plan around with the same structure (assuming with less funding needed because of the lack of land clean-up needed)?
Middle of fucking nowhere
Build it on the reservation near talking stick. No vote required.
I live in this area and it’s not nearly as bad as everyone is saying (besides the rundown mall lol). They are expanding the highway system where all the traffic happens in the Broadway Curve area between Baseline Road and 40th Street already. The project area is an 11-mile section of I-10 between I-17. I actually think this would be an excellent spot and if it goes to a vote, HOPEFULLY the campaign would learn from their failures and get their messaging out to Mesa residents quickly.
The most recent similar vote in Mesa would have to have been 2018 when the city requested $1.5M to build a sports and event complex in SE Mesa. The vote failed with 53% voting No.
Although the complex was built anyway despite the vote…
https://ballotpedia.org/Mesa,_Arizona,_Question_5,_Sports_and_Events_Complex_Expenditures_Charter_Amendment_(November_2018)
The Yes campaign for Tempe was done horribly and was the reason we lost, and now that they probably learned their lesson on how to run a proper campaign itd still be way too easy to smear since it already failed in tempe. I sadly have little hope for any arena that requires a vote.
I selfishly hope they do Mesa!! Would make coming up from Tucson faster and easier.
I would honestly be happy if they put it in Flagstaff at this point though.
Oh shit! They could put it even more north right by the Hoover dam, maybe we could poach some of the Vegas success!
Why is the option near Talking Stick so out of question? Does the tribe want too much?
As someone that lives in cg, And don’t give a fuck which city it’s in. Hearing people complain about a 15-20 minute drive is funny as hell
According to the Maricopa County Assessor’s office, the total lot size of the Fiesta Mall parcels is 3,402,796 sq. ft (roughly 78.12 acres). This is only the central part of the property, not including the surrounding businesses and their parcels (that would total 120 acres).
The Coyotes’ former arena (Desert Diamond Arena) sits on 45.08 acres of land, including the parking lot parcels surrounding the arena. This is including the Dave & Busters parcel (102-01-261), because the parking lot was also used for arena parking.
In terms of Infrastructure, the Fiesta Mall area is big enough to accommodate such a venue. Southern Avenue was recently redesigned to be a 2-lane road, when previously it was a 3-lane road. Not to mention the proximity of this area to 2 major freeways (US-60 and Loop 101), which would ease traffic congestion during special events. And parking can be accommodated with parking structures.
That type of development would be a boon for West Mesa. Hopefully my fellow Mesa residents don’t squander this opportunity the same way they did with the Cardinals stadium. Something like this is long overdue for a city with 500,000 residents.