SALT LAKE CITY — Gary Bettman wore the same outfit for his two news conferences on Friday in Phoenix and Salt Lake City: A dark navy suit, a crisp blue dress shirt — with an unbuttoned collar and no tie — and black dress shoes.
The expression the commissioner wore on his face, however, was markedly different in each city. During a 35-minute session with reporters at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Phoenix, Bettman was understandably frustrated seated alongside Alex Meruelo. The questions from the assembled media were pointed and direct. The general tone and vibe of the room seemed to be negative and combative, as Meruelo and Bettman were left to explain why the NHL was pressing pause on the Arizona market.
The news conference opened with a tough question for Meruelo from veteran Arizona hockey reporter Craig Morgan, who ended his thought saying, “There’s a lot of anger, there’s a lot of disappointment. And there is an enormous amount of distrust for anything you say at this point.”
When the topics of the Coyotes financial health was raised, Bettman painted a grim picture.
“Was he losing a lot of money? You betcha. He was losing a ton,” said Bettman.
Meruelo tried to piggyback on the commissioner’s comments at which point Bettman took his hand and placed it on Meruelo’s arm — preventing him from speaking further.
“I got it,” said Bettman. “You don’t have to say it.”
At another point, a reporter asked Meruelo if unpaid bills from the Coyotes were a reason why the franchise was being de-activated and moved the Utah.
“I’m not aware of any unpaid bills,” Meruelo responded.
That answer was followed by a query as to why Meruelo hasn’t made many public appearances over the past year.
“Because I don’t like the media,” he said flatly. “I own two TV stations in Los Angeles and five radio stations in Los Angles and I’ve never once been on radio or TV. I just avoid media for many reasons.”
Knowing that answer would not sit well with fans in Arizona, Bettman quickly intervened to try and save Meruelo.
“Let me translate that a little bit,” interjected Bettman. “I think he doesn’t like being a public person. Not that he dislikes the media, because as he says he owns media. Some people don’t like to be out there in public. He wouldn’t be the only owner in any sport who feels that way.”
It was an awkward moment and sadly probably the lightest point in an otherwise somber press session.
Contrast that with Bettman’s opening remarks a few hours later inside a large room inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Stuffed with media, local politicians and dignitaries and Utah Jazz staff, Bettman received a loud ovation when he was introduced for his opening statement.
“Since you’re all about to be hockey fans, you’ll learn rather quickly I don’t normally get that kind of reception,” Bettman said, a comment that drew a hearty laugh.
The news conference in Salt Lake City started at 5 p.m. locally, often the prime time slot for a bad news dump from a major organization on a Friday heading into the weekend. If Bettman and the NHL had their druthers, they would have certainly swapped the two news conferences, burying the session in Arizona so it could vanish into the Friday evening air. But you can’t blame league officials for wanting to get the bad news of the day pushed aside, before fully turning their attention to the upbeat situation in Utah. It’s better to swallow the bitter pill first and wash it down with a tasty beverage than the other way around.
And Bettman couldn’t help but throw a not-so-subtle jab at the arena dysfunction in Arizona while he was sitting 650 miles to the north. After Ryan Smith laid out his vision for transforming the Delta Center into a state-of-the-art, dual-purpose facility that will eventually house 17,500 fans for hockey and basketball, Bettman made a point to bring up how he was excited for a smooth transition in Salt Lake City.
“I’ve been assured by local leaders that we will have no arena drama,” Bettman said. “Based on where we came from, I prefer no arena drama.”
The fact that Smith could accomplish in a matter of weeks what Meruelo couldn’t do over the span of years is very telling. The Coyotes tenure in Arizona was punctuated with endless battles with government officials. After the 2021-22 season, the Coyotes were kicked out of their previous home, Gila River Arena, by the city of Glendale. The move came after failed discussions over lease extensions amid multiple notices concerning outstanding balances under their previous lease agreement. Tempe voters then rejected a proposal last year to build a new arena for the Coyotes.
The relationship between the hockey team and politicians in Utah is markedly different.
At Friday’s news conference in Salt Lake City, Utah governor Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County mayor Jenny Wilson all took turns speaking at the podium.
“This is an epic day in Utah. We’re so excited, we’ve been waiting for this for a while,” said Cox.
Cox revealed that his first conversation with Bettman took place in the first week of February. From there, discussions went into warp speed after Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly informed Meruelo on March 6 that he was out of time in Tempe. With Smith running point, multiple levels of government in Utah and Salt Lake City quickly worked together to create an arena solution in the snap of a finger. The deal was completed this week, with the final papers signed at 2 a.m. Friday morning.
“There were a thousand ways this could have gone wrong and almost did go wrong,” said Cox. “But so many people came together to make this work.”
“I’m so incredibly amazed, but not surprised at how we show up,” added Smith. “Throughout the whole process, from our state legislature, I’ve never seen so many Republicans and Democrats and religious leaders all on the same page before. It’s emotional.”
While Bettman had heavy reservations about Meruelo’s plans to eventually build an area, he turned to Smith at one point and seemed to exude sheer confidence in the plan laid out by the Jazz owner to overhaul the Delta Center to make it an NHL-worthy venue.
“I have been assured by you and I’ve seen the plans that in relatively short order, in the next couple of years, we’ll get to 17,000,” said Bettman.
On Friday evening, Smith announced that 22,700 people had placed a $100 deposit for a chance to purchase season ticket plans for the NHL team in Salt Lake City.
“To hear there are deposits for more than 22,000 season tickets, that’s a little gratifying don’t you think?” said Bettman.
Club officials are hoping many of those 22,700 fans show up for a splashy launch event planned for Wednesday at the Delta Center.
Former Coyotes players and staff — now fully property of Utah — will make their first visit to Salt Lake City with a chance to see the arena and meet the fans. Smith and his wife Ashley met with the players and staff in Arizona on Thursday. Smith said his plan is to retain general manager Bill Armstrong and head coach Andre Tourigny, both of whom signed contract extensions with the Coyotes last fall.
“We’re only acquiring the people. We need the people. We need everyone,” said Smith.
And that really seemed to summarize the two news conferences perfectly. Smith was touting collaboration and partnerships, whether it was with politicians or his new staff. Meruelo, conversely, seems to be isolated on an island, with alliances extremely difficult to come by. And it’s clear that any faith Bettman had in Meruelo to get an arena project completed has shifted entirely to the Smith family for now.
“We’re thrilled. We had confidence from the outset and this was from getting to know Ryan over the past couple of years,” said Bettman. “There are special people who don’t question why. They just go full speed ahead and get done what has to be done. I had confidence that Ryan and Ashley could do that.”
Required reading
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
