Following the defeat of the Arizona Coyotes in a special election on Tuesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has come under criticism from Coyotes fans, with many calling him responsible for the failure.

The Arizona Coyotes' future has now become uncertain after, nearly 56 percent of the vote cast in Propositions 301, 302 and 303 (out of 29,153 ballots) were cast against them to build a new arena and entertainment district in Tempe.

Coyotes fans are concerned about their team's future in the NHL and have blamed commissioner Gary Bettman for the same. One said:

I wish no ill will towards coyotes fans...But fuck you Gary Bettman, let it the fuck go and admit you failed

@MikeGrinnell_ Every single hockey fan wants the Quebec Nordiques back in the NHL except Gary Bettman

Bettman is so insanely incompetent that he'd rather have a pair of teams in every US State before he ever considers a Canadian city, and even then it won't be Quebec.Why?Because Gary Bettman HATES Canada and Canadian hockey fans.

Why is Gary Bettman so obsessed with keeping the Coyotes in Arizona. Everybody has known for years this was not a viable location for this franchise. Yet Gary is oblivious to this fact

What this really means, is Gary Bettman is “terribly disappointed” that his little project is going to crumble. #NHL #ArizonaCoyotes twitter.com/tsn_sports/sta…

@TSN_Sports Who other than Gary Bettman wants a team there? They’ve done nothing but lose money causing every other team to have to keep them afloat

@ArponBasu Plan B is Gary Bettman falls on his sword rather than admit he made a mistake.

@UrinatingTree People I feel bad for @ArizonaCoyotes fans. People I don’t feel bad for, Gary Bettman.

Gary Bettman is financially good for the #NHL Yet he's not good at growing interest in the league! 1) NFL/NCAA2)NBA/NCAA3)MLB4)NHLThis is how most of America views the NHL

@frank_seravalli @spittinchiclets Dear Gary Bettman, move the team to Quebec, Hamilton, or between Regina and Saskatoon, Arizona is a failed experiment.

@UrinatingTree just move the Arizona #CoyotesToHouston already. I want my Houston Aeros back.I mean seriously, just how many more millions is Gary Bettman going to hemorrhage NHL funds into keeping the team there?

@MarkLazerus Coyotes deserve better... Gary Bettman does not... he deserves every last bit of this big fat L

Gary Bettman issues statement

Following the announcement of the special election results on Tuesday night, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman issued a statement.

He said that the league is disappointed by the outcome of the public votes on the Coyotes' proposal to build an arena and entertainment district in Tempe. Bettman also said that the NHL will consult with the Coyotes to determine the next course of action:

Meanwhile, as the referendum didn't favor the club, the Coyotes will likely have to start from scratch and find a new permanent home ice.

Initially, the Arizona Coyotes had proposed to build an arena that would boast 16,000 spectators and an entertainment district on city-owned land at Rio Salado Parkway and Priest Drive, West end of Tempe Town Lake.

The Arizona Coyotes' proposal received immense support from the city council and former mayors, but the public rejected the plan, and it was estimated that the cost for the construction would be roughly around $2.1 billion. So, the Coyotes will now have to explore other options.

Following the outcome of the election, the Coyotes released a statement that the steps for the future of the club will be determined by owners and the NHL in the coming weeks:

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