TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes are heading to Tempe!
The NHL team announced Thursday that the club had reached a multi-year agreement with Arizona State University for the Coyotes to play at the Sun Devils' new multi-purpose arena starting next season.
The team will play home games through 2025, with an additional option for the 2025-26 season, the Coyotes said in a news release.
We’re headed to Tempe! 🙌
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) February 10, 2022
We’ve reached a multi-year agreement with Arizona State University to play at the Sun Devils’ new multi-purpose arena beginning next season. Details: https://t.co/7t17FoTEqE
"We are thrilled that we have arranged to play our home games in Arizona State University's new multi-purpose arena starting next season," said Coyotes President and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez in a statement. "This will be an incredible, intimate, and exciting fan experience in a state-of-the-art new arena in a fantastic location in the heart of Tempe. We are very grateful to Dr. Crow, the ASU Administration, ASU Athletic Department, and the Arizona Board of Regents for agreeing to provide us with this temporary arena solution for our team as we continue our efforts to secure a long-term home for the Coyotes in the Valley."
The Arizona Board of Regents approved the agreement on Thursday.
"The National Hockey League thanks Arizona State University for its support of the Coyotes during this transition period and for what will be just its latest major commitment to growing our game in the Valley," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "Having made the full-time transition to Division I just seven years ago, ASU hockey already has an NCAA Tournament appearance to its credit and now is moving into a new, state-of-the-art facility. Hockey is thriving in Tempe, and we are delighted that the Coyotes' passionate fans will get to experience ASU's on-campus energy while the Club's new arena is being built."
The team plans to move its corporate offices closer to Tempe later this year.
As part of the transition, the team announced it is negotiating with Ice Den Scottsdale to make the complex the team's full-time practice facility, which was built in 1998 as the club's primary practice facility.
The team will continue to play at Gila River Arena in Glendale through the rest of the season, with their lease expiring on Jun. 30, Sports Illustrated reported.
The Arizona Republic reported that the new arena isn't expected to be completed until October and is a third the size of Gila River Arena.
News of the new deal isn't surprising since the relationship between the team and the City of Glendale has been rocky over the years.
Last December, the city leaders sent the team's owners, IceArizona Hockey, a letter letting them know they'd be locked out of Gila River Arena if they didn't pay more than $1.3 million in back taxes.
According to the Associated Press, the team submitted a bid for a tract of land in Tempe in hopes of finally calling a place of their own.
