SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes are expected to leave the state by the end of the week.
Owners have yet to confirm the move to Salt Lake City, but fans are bracing for a possible announcement any day now.
“Sad. It’s just sad we’re going to lose a major sports team," Derek Moore, a Coyotes fan, said.
From Phoenix in 1996 to Glendale in 2003 and now Arizona State University's Mullett Arena, fans have followed the National Hockey League team through all of their local moves.
“I joked with my husband that we might need to move and follow them over there. Like, I can’t imagine not going to hockey games," Janaye McCarthy, a Coyotes fan, said.
A long distance jump was writing on the wall for some fans.
“I feel like hockey would work here if we had the right ownership, if we had an arena," Moore said,
Tempe voters rejected a proposal to build an arena in 2023 and there has been recent pushback on current development plans in North Phoenix.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow and it’s hard when neighboring cities say I don’t want you here," Joseph Holmes, a Coyotes fan, said.
All these fans have something in common. Their kids all started playing hockey after going to a Coyotes game.
“One ice touch and he came out with the biggest smile on his face and it’s been all hockey ever since," Holmes said.
The parents agree the kids who grew from Little Howlers to Junior Coyotes will take the hardest hit.
“They’re great guys, great, you know, with the kids and it was cool for them to see and look up to that and have it so close," McCarthy said.
Fans said their passion for the sport won't dwindle, but it would be a loss they won't get over soon.
“It will be tough and we’ll feel this for awhile. I think the hockey community here is going to take it pretty hard," Holmes said.
The anticipated last game in Arizona will be played at Mullett Arena Wednesday night.
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