Arizona Coyotes Announce New Rink Plans That Include Arizona State

After months of waiting and speculation, the Arizona Coyotes announced on Monday that they have entered into an exclusive negotiation agreement with the Catellus Development Corporation to build a pair of arenas on the site of Arizona State’s Karsten Golf Course.

The Coyotes’ announced plan includes a 16,000-seat arena for the Coyotes, as well as a 4,000-seat arena to house Arizona State’s programs, Coyotes practices, and other hockey events.

The plan is great news for Arizona State’s program. The 4000-seat arena should be an appropriate size for a college hockey, and the location of the new arena is excellent.

Here’s a map for point of reference, with the little black marker being the proposed site. As you can see, it is a little closer to campus than ASU’s current home at Oceanside Arena:

Late this past summer, we had speculated that the Coyotes were looking at a different site, across the street from Oceanside Arena, but speculated that the site they eventually picked was a the most valid back-up option.

The next step in the process is to create an overall budget for the project, which must be done by January 30th, 2017.

Once a budget is established, the Coyotes still need to figure out a way to pay for everything. The press release says the Coyotes are still finalizing a partnership that would include help from the state of Arizona and the city of Tempe. That help would likely either come directly, or through the use of special taxes for businesses near the new arena complex.