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Arizona Diamondbacks Release Statement on NHL's Coyotes Relocation to Salt Lake City

With the Coyotes officially shipping off to Salt Lake City, Arizona Diamondbacks ownership made it clear that they were disappointed with the end result.
Sam Connon|
Mar 7, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo leads his team onto the ice at a Coyotes game.
Mar 7, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo leads his team onto the ice at a Coyotes game. | Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

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Arizona DiamondbacksArizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes' relocation to Salt Lake City was made official Thursday, and their MLB neighbors do not appear to be particularly pleased with the move.

Ken Kendrick – the Arizona Diamondbacks' managing general partner – and Derrick Hall – the team's president, CEO and general partner – released a joint statement expressing their dismay in Phoenix losing its NHL franchise.

"The entire Diamondbacks organization is disappointed in the now official news of our NHL team being relocated out of state," the statement read. "We firmly believe that we deserve and can support teams from each of the major sports and are troubled that a solution could not be found for all parties involved. We are sad for all sports fans and all who care so deeply about our community."

Phoenix's NFL franchise, the Arizona Cardinals, thanked the Coyotes for the memories on social media, while the NBA's Phoenix Suns and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury have yet to post about Thursday's news.

The Coyotes, who were previously the Winnipeg Jets, moved to Phoenix in 1996. The Diamondbacks arrived two years later, entering MLB as an expansion team and playing their first season in 1998.

Unlike the D-Backs, who have played in Chase Field from the start, the Coyotes haven't had quite as much stability on the arena front. They shared America West Arena with the Suns and Mercury from 1996 to 2003 before moving into a brand-new Desert Diamond Arena.

The Coyotes' deal with Desert Diamond Arena fell apart in 2021, though, and they wound up sharing Mullett Arena with Arizona State from 2022 to 2024. After multiple plans to build their own arena fell apart in Tempe, Mesa and Scottsdale, the team was eventually sold to Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith.

Phoenix had been one of 13 metropolitan areas to boast teams in all four major North American professional sports leagues. But now, with the Coyotes packing up and heading to Salt Lake City, they join Atlanta in losing their NHL franchise and getting knocked down to three-out-of-four.

Ironically, the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Manitoba in 2011 to become the second iteration of the Winnipeg Jets.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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