The Arizona Coyotes have a new majority owner.
The team announced on Monday that the sale of the team to Alex Meruelo has been completed, making him the controlling majority owner of the team. Andrew Barroway, the team’s previous majority owner, will retain a minority ownership stake in the team and become an alternate governor with the team. Barroway had been the Coyotes’ majority owner since December, 2014.
The sale to the 55-year-old Meruelo is historic as he becomes the first-ever Hispanic owner of an NHL team.
“This is an incredible moment for me and my entire family,” said Meruelo in a statement released by the team.
“The Arizona Coyotes team is poised to do great things on and off the ice. I look forward to helping hockey continue to thrive in the desert, and I am committed to providing our passionate fans, loyal partners and the entire State of Arizona with a team they can be proud of for years to come.”
The Coyotes have not made the playoffs since making a surprising run to the 2011-12 Western Conference Final, but have started to assemble a promising young team. They added it to this summer with the addition of Phil Kessel in a blockbuster trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.