There is some truth and some fiction to the issue of moving the Coyotes arena from downtown Phoenix to Glendale. By freeway, the new arena is only about 20 minutes further, 30 minutes on a gamenight, so it's not like you are adding 1-2 hours to go to the game, it's just a little further. The new Cardinals (NFL) stadium is right next door to the Coyotes arena, and when that is open, and the area is fully developed, you'll see a population explosion in that area which is already quite healthy. There is an argument to be made that the currently largest growth area in the metro-Phoenix area is on the east side of town. If the east side wanted the arena that badly, they would have made more of an effort after the team failed to develop the arena in Scottsdale like it was originally planned.
The season ticket base is low right now, and it'll be tough to get back into the swing of things for the Coyotes when the game returns. The simple answer is to ice a winning hockey team, and the average Phoenix hockey fan will show up -- that's all they need. Keep in mind that the team has seen season ticket packages fall from 16K to 2K in the same span the Coyotes were fighting for home ice in the playoffs to getting lottery picks in the draft. In Phoenix, if you aren't winning, you aren't drawing -- hockey, football, basketball, baseball -- it's all the same.