The Arizona Coyotes have found their temporary home.
According to Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports, the Coyotes will spend at least the next three seasons at Arizona State University’s new multi-use facility while the organization works on a stadium project in downtown Tempe.
ASU’s facility, which is set to open in the fall of 2022, houses 5,000 fans, which is well below the standard for NHL arenas and also well below the Coyotes’ average attendance figures for the 2021-22 season. While some NHL executives have reportedly voiced displeasure in the Coyotes playing out of a college-sized rink, the league has been supportive of this plan.
“We’re not sure they’re going to be a material difference between their revenues at ASU than where they’re at a level at Glendale,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. “In fact, under one projection we’ve done, we think they may do better.”
The Coyotes were informed back in August that the City of Glendale would be opting out of the joint lease agreement for the Gila River Arena, meaning that the Coyotes would need to find somewhere else to play home games for the 2022-23 season and beyond.
Since then, rumors have swirled that the Coyotes could pack up and leave the desert, potentially relocating to Houston. Throughout those rumors, the Coyotes stated that the organization was committed to finding a long-term future in Arizona.
A big part of that plan involves building a $1.7 billion arena and entertainment district in downtown Tempe, a city just east of Phoenix that’s much more accessible than the current home in Glendale. The project hasn’t yet been given the green light by Tempe’s local government due in part to skepticism that stems from the Coyotes not paying some of their bills in the past.
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