Coyotes plan to move into tiny 5,000 capacity arena for next 3-4 years

This just in from Arizona Coyotes insider Craig Morgan, the team is reportedly in "advanced discussions" to move into into Arizona State University's tiny 5,000 seat Multipurpose Arena (how's that for a name?) for the next 3-4 years as they continue to find a permanent home in the Arizona desert.

From Morgan's report for GoPHNX.com:

Per sources, the Coyotes are negotiating on a three-year deal with an option for a fourth year if construction of the permanent arena takes longer than hoped. ASU’s new arena will only seat 5,000 spectators so the venue is significantly smaller than other NHL arenas, or even Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which currently seats about 10,000 because some of its risers have been decommissioned and removed.

When asked specifically if the league would approve the Coyotes playing in an arena with a seating capacity as low as 5,000, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said it “depends on the totality of circumstances, but I wouldn’t rule it out.”

- Craig Morgan

What a joke. I mean... what other NHL team could you imagine moving to a college campus? You think the Boston Bruins are going to truck up to Harvard when TD Garden gets sick of them defaulting on bills? Imagine the Montreal Canadiens playing at McGill because Bell and Geoff Molson had had enough of them? Give me a break... get this team out of Arizona ASAP and get them somewhere where they can actually be successful.

You're crazy if you think that 3-4 years in a 5,000 capacity building will actually help the Coyotes. This is a team that has been bleeding money off the ice for decades and that has been an "also ran" on the ice almost since the moment they arrived in Arizona from Winnipeg back in the late 90s.

The fact of the matter is that NHL hockey has failed in the Arizona desert. Full stop. There's no other reasonable way to view this experiment and I personally believe that it's only NHL commissioner Gary Bettman's ego that's keeping the team there despite year over year losses in the tens of millions of dollars. There's literally no other franchise like this in all of pro sports.

On the bright side though... with a 5,000 capacity building maybe they'll actually have a sell out for once.