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The Coyotes would be ‘shocked’ if there was no arena announcement by June 24

Coyotes Future Hockey

FILE - In this April 12, 2011, file photo, the Jobing.com Arena, home of the NHL hockey Phoenix Coyotes, sits empty before a Stanley Cup playoff game in Glendale, Ariz. The city of Glendale has called for a special meeting on Wednesday, June 10, 2015, to determine whether to end an arena lease agreement with the Coyotes, further clouding the team’s future in the desert.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

AP

Anthony LeBlanc doesn’t want to say the Coyotes are getting close to announcing some arena plans, because he’s already said that a few times and there’s been no announcement yet.

But according to LeBlanc, the Coyotes are, um, getting pretty close to announcing some arena plans.

“There’s been significant progress in the past couple of weeks,” the team’s co-owner/president said today after the club unveiled its new management structure.

“Maybe I should learn my lesson; I’ll give myself a longer time line. I’d be shocked if we get to the draft on June 24 without a significant announcement in regards to the new arena.”

Where might that new arena be built?

In what may have been a strong hint, LeBlanc said there had been “substantial discussions with the City of Phoenix over the past week to two weeks.”

And though he didn’t rule out striking a deal with another group, he did say that “we’ve been very impressed with the leadership” that Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton has shown on the matter.

Stanton called last month for the Coyotes and NBA’s Phoenix Suns to come together and make plans to share a new downtown arena.

“You can read into it what you want,” LeBlanc said of his praise for Stanton.