The Arizona Coyotes officially introduced businessman Alex Meruelo as their new Majority Owner, Chairman and Governor. He brought something to the table that other Arizona Coyotes owners have not really brought to the table, Passion.
It's not often you find ownership that is passionate enough to drop s-bombs in their introduction to their fanbase. To hear him come out and say that he has to earn the trust of fans is very important too and hopefully he follows up on that promise and we see him at games and in the community. Meruelo was also very honest about the team's financial issues and its honestly refreshing to hear that kind of candor from a member of any front office to take that head on and explain why turning businesses around is nothing new to him.
The other thing to be excited about Mr. Meruelo is what he can do to continue to grow the Coyotes fanbase. It's a HUGE deal that Meruelo is the first Latino owner in the NHL and that during his opening remarks he spoke in Spanish. It's no secret that the Coyotes need to grow their fanbase and what better way to do that than to reach out to the 31 percent of the state population that is Latino, according to estimates from the US census bureau.
It's only one press conference but i'm excited that Meruelo seems excited and passionate about making things work long-term in the state of Arizona. His passion and trust in his front office personnel in GM John Chayka and President Ahron Cohen was refreshing to hear and it's a far cry from the owner of the local basketball team.