Tempe community divided ahead of May election on Coyotes arena
Legal battles swirl around Tempe Entertainment District
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Preserving community
We cannot let these developers grab more land while the city ignores the demands from the community like having more affordable housing, funding for public schools, support for small businesses, more elder and childcare and more equitable solutions that uplift ethnic communities.”
--May Tiwamangkala, Director at Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders for Equity
Tempe residents are speaking out in gusto, in support of and against, the proposed Tempe Entertainment District, which has been steeping in controversy despite being approved unanimously by city council.
Meanwhile, just weeks before Tempe residents will vote on the future of the proposed large development, both city of Phoenix and Bluebird Development have submitted legal filings in court.
The proposed development project, which will refresh a 46-acre landfill at the corner of Rio Salado Parkway and Priest Drive, will entail the construction of numerous new attractions including the Arizona Coyotes hockey arena, a new music venue, hotels and multi-family housing.
In the upcoming special election on May 16, three propositions are on the ballot that will allow the formation of the Tempe Entertainment District. Propositions 301, 302 and 303 amend city zoning laws, tax rates and general plan to award Bluebird Developments the plot of land to create the project.
Owner of Bluebird Developments and the Coyotes, billionaire Alex Meruelo will pay the city $50.3 million for the land, including $40 million of non-refundable cash due up-front.
Meruelo’s grip on the project is one of the reasons that some Tempe residents oppose the entertainment district. Opposition group, Tempe 1st, lists a number of grievances on its website with Meruelo’s past actions, alleging that he has a history of unpaid taxes, creating toxic workplace cultures and failing to pay employees, vendors and other partners.
A representative for Bluebird Development has publicly rejected negative claims made about Meruelo.
Court filings
The city of Phoenix and Sky Harbor agree with the project at large, but a lawsuit filed on March 28 stems from a reportedly lengthy and brutal negotiation concerning the construction of multi-family housing to be built in an area that’s been deemed “incompatible” with residential development by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Addressing the issues with Sky Harbor, former Tempe mayor Hugh Hallman acted as the primary source on the lawsuit, sharing his expertise as a former city official and what he experienced finalizing the project proposal he called “spectacular.”
With Sky Harbor, Hallman explained that Phoenix is protecting its own interests by limiting the development potential of Tempe through its latest litigation — something he says has been a recurring issue with new projects in the city.
“Their lawsuit is a complete fabrication, and it is a political document not a legal one,” he said.
The lawsuit alleges that Tempe is in breach of a contract with Phoenix that was established to mitigate flight paths disturbing Tempe residents.
In this contract, an area was defined by the FAA as unsuitable for future residential developments because of noise, and Tempe “promised to prevent new residences from being developed along much of this flight path and, more generally, on the airport’s east side,” according to the lawsuit.
Phoenix and Sky Harbor are led to believe that the residential units would violate this agreement, with the special election redesignating parts of the 46-acre lot as residential rather than industrial.
Hallman went on to say that when the agreement was made, Sky Harbor and Tempe were deliberating on whether single-family housing would be built in the noise zone, ultimately deciding no, but permitting future multi-family housing.
In response, Bluebird filed a claim with the city of Phoenix and Superior Court of Arizona on April 5.
(File Graphic)
The proposed development would include a new arena for the Coyotes and a number of residential units.
Bluebird’s notice of claim seeks $2.3 billion, equal to the entitlement value of the Tempe Entertainment District from the city of Phoenix. A litigation hold also was sent to the city instructing staff to preserve a variety of documents and communications related to the dispute between Phoenix and Tempe.
Bluebird also filed a motion to intervene and a motion to dismiss with the court.
“Phoenix City Hall’s bad behavior seems intended to preserve its downtown sports venue monopoly and has nothing to do with safety or soundness of the airport,” said Coyotes President and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez. “While Phoenix bureaucrats have allowed developers to build a basketball arena, a ballpark, and apartments in flight paths, when Tempe attempts to do the same a manufactured crisis arrives.”
The Phoenix Aviation Department has said previously it does not object to the sports arena, restaurants and shops proposed in the Tempe Entertainment District.
In support
Tempe Wins, a community group of supporters that is sponsored by Bluebird Developments, hosted a media event on March 30 in response to their opposition’s growing presence and legal issues with the airport.
Alexis Meruelo, chair of the Arizona Coyotes Foundation Board of Directors and representing her father, also provided comments at the gathering on her father’s dedication to “working hard and honestly” along with further details on what they hope to accomplish with the Tempe Entertainment District.
(Independent Newsmedia/Caroline Yu)
“We strongly believe that professional sports are a vessel to amplify the community and to advocate for that. We are committed to investing in Tempe well beyond this project, and we want to see the city’s residents and small businesses flourish,” Meruelo said.
She added that the Coyotes Foundation supports over 50 Valley nonprofits, invests in youth hockey programs and actively aims to bring in diverse voices to their organization.
Previous Tempe mayors, representatives from the Coyotes and other community stakeholders also spoke in support of approving the Tempe Entertainment District and against the “extortion and bullying” that they’ve encountered, addressing the issues with the planned residential units that Phoenix is against.
In opposition
Speaking at a March 20 rally at a Tempe residence, Dawn Penich-Thacker, one of the Tempe 1st organizers, denounced Meruelo’s actions and invited community leaders to speak on the negative impacts to be brought on with the Tempe Entertainment District.
Tempe 1st emphasized their goal throughout the rally to reject the district’s formation, imploring the city to consider another use for the land and to invest in the other areas of need.
“We will not be harassed into silence by a Las Vegas billionaire looking to profit from exploiting us,” Penich-Thacker said.
(Independent Newsmedia/Caroline Yu)
Aside from Meruelo’s alleged past, Tempe 1st also takes issue with the propositions “publicly subsidizing and allowing” the building of Meruelo’s sports franchise and entertainment district at the expense of neighboring residents.
Penich-Thacker specifically spoke of small, local businesses who would be unable to compete with the high-end, more luxury retail options to be brought along with the district, resulting in loss of livelihood and unstable living situations.
Many community leaders spoke at the Tempe 1st rally, including former City Council Member Lauren Kuby, Director at Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders for Equity May Tiwamangkala and owner of Changing Hands Bookstore Gayle Shanks among many others.
Reporter Caroline Yu can be reached at cyu@iniusa.org
To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Caroline Caroline Yu joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2020 as a summer intern covering Scottsdale. As an intern, she continued her coverage of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Tempe. After graduating in 2022, Caroline became a full-time reporter for Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. She is currently reporting for the Tempe market.
Community: She is a supporter of the environment and tries to get involved with related community events.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, with a minor in French.
Random Fact: She used to be a ballet dancer for 10 years.
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Addressing the issues with Sky Harbor, former Tempe mayor Hugh Hallman acted as the primary source on the lawsuit, sharing his expertise as a former city official and what he experienced finalizing the project proposal he called “spectacular.”
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