Coyotes Could Be Locked Out of Glendale Arena for Unpaid Charges, Taxes

The Arizona Coyotes are reportedly in danger of losing access to their home arena.

Katie Strang of The Athletic reported Wednesday that the city of Glendale is threatening to lock the team out of Gila River Arena because of delinquent tax bills and unpaid arena charges.

Strang added that the Coyotes have a deadline of Dec. 20 to pay their delinquent bills and outstanding invoices, or employees will be denied access to the arena.

Arizona's next home game after the deadline will be on Dec. 23 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

According to Strang, the Arizona Department of Revenue filed a tax lien notice Dec. 3 against the Coyotes' parent company, IceArizona Hockey LLC. The notice was for more than $1.3 million in unpaid state and city taxes. Strang states that the city of Glendale is owed approximately $250,000 in taxes. The Coyotes' unpaid state taxes date back to June 2020.

In addition to denying access to the arena, the Gila River Arena management company, ASM, has been instructed to use the offices within the arena as administrative space if the debt isn't settled by the deadline. Arena vendors would be locked out as well.

The 2021-22 season is set to be Arizona's final year at the Gila River Arena after the city of Glendale notified the Coyotes in August that it was opting out of the joint lease agreement. The team will need to vacate the arena by June 30 of next year.

City manager Kevin Phelps told The Athletic in August that the city is ready to cut ties with the Coyotes, saying, "We've reached that point of no return. There's no wavering."