Coyotes switching name to Arizona from Phoenix next season

Reuters

(Reuters) - The Phoenix Coyotes will be renamed the Arizona Coyotes starting with the National Hockey League's 2014-15 season in a bid to attract fans from all over the state, the team said on Wednesday. The decision to change the name of the team, which plays its home games in Glendale, Arizona, will mean some minor changes to the Coyotes jerseys. "We also want to be recognized as not just the hockey team for Glendale or Phoenix, but the team for the entire state of Arizona and the Southwest," Coyotes co-owner Anthony LeBlanc said in a statement. "We hope that the name 'Arizona' will encourage more fans from all over the state, not just the valley, to embrace and support our team." Formerly the Winnipeg Jets, the Coyotes played their home games in downtown Phoenix from 1996-2003 before moving to their current arena. (Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Frank Pingue)