Alex Meruelo walking away from ownership of Coyotes

This decision follows the Arizona State Land Department's cancellation of an auction last Thursday. Meruelo had hoped to buy a 95-acre parcel of land to build an entertainment district and a new arena for his team.

Meruelo agreed to sell the team in late April, with the sale finalized on June 13. The deal included an exclusive five-year window to reactivate the franchise and trigger an expansion draft if an arena was built. Reactivation would have required Meruelo to repay the $1 billion from the sale (with the remaining $200 million going to other owners as a relocation fee).

While Meruelo had a five-year exclusive window to bring NHL hockey back to Phoenix through expansion, the key deadline was actually at the 3½-year mark, according to deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who required 50% of the arena to be completed.

It's unclear when the NHL will officially announce the decision, but Daly previously said that if Meruelo were to step away, "Arizona becomes like every other potential expansion city» instead of having first rights as per the agreement.