Arizona State Arena Finally Passes First Hurdle

After years of promises that ultimately went unfulfilled, Arizona State finally seems to have firm plans in place to build a new arena for their hockey program.

On Thursday, Arizona State’s Board of Regents Business and Finance Committee voted unanimously to send a plan for a $160 million renovation of Wells Fargo Arena, ASU’s basketball arena, that includes plans for an adjacent 5000-seat arena that will house men’s hockey, wrestling and gymnastics, to Arizona State’s Board of Regents when the group meets in February.

If all goes according to plan, construction on the new arena would begin next year, and is expected to be complete by the 2020-2021 season. Plans for the venue also include a second sheet of ice.

Shovels aren’t in the ground yet, but it’s a huge step forward for Arizona State to have a plan in place and know where the funding for it is going to come from. The lack of a suitable arena has been one of the major hold-ups keeping the Sun Devils from joining a conference. With a new plan in place, the Sun Devils could be on their way to finding a suitable, sustainable conference situation, which could shake up the college hockey landscape again.