The NHL Will Not Return Without A New Arena

The fate of the NHL in Arizona has always been tied to a new arena in the right location. Ishbia has the arena, now named the Mortgage Matchup Center located in downtown Phoenix.

The Coyotes played in that building in their early years, before moving to Glendale out in the west Valley, a tough commute for anyone east of downtown. The problem with the now 36-year-old building is that it’s beautiful for basketball, but thousands of seats were obstructed for hockey.

Ishbia has invested millions of dollars on improvements to the Center since he purchased the franchise from Robert Sarver valued at $4 billion on Feb. 6, 2023. He also built a practice facility for the WNBA team and offices for both teams just south of it at the cost of $100 million. There’s plenty of land in that area for a new arena when the time comes for Ishbia and the city of Phoenix to team up on building it.

Currently, the Suns, who were just swept out of a first-round NBA playoff series by the Thunder, have a lease through 2037. They manage, operate the arena and pay rent, estimated at $60 million over a 15-year period, and own the naming rights. The arena, opened in 1992 at a cost of $89 million, underwent a $230 million renovation in 2019 with the city contributing $150 million and the Suns, under Sarver, spending $80 million.

As part of that deal, Sarver paid for the land and construction of the men’s practice facility, which opened in 2020, and is located near the Biltmore District of Phoenix about a 15 to 20 minute drive north from downtown.

Two years ago, Ishbia said this about the arena situation:

“I think our arena is first-class right now. I love our arena,” he said. “But at some point we’re going to have to get a new arena.”

This is what he had to say on Thursday:

“The arena, I think we have one of the best arenas in the NBA. I really like it. We have a great deal with the city. They’ve been very supportive. We’ve made some improvements. We’ve done some great things. So, I’m really proud of what we do in Phoenix and all the places around the arena. We have a lease for 10 more years so we’re not thinking about anything at this point yet.”

The Coyotes Long Struggled In The Phoenix Area

The Coyotes had a core base of hockey fans and made a major impact on youth hockey – both boys and girls – in Maricopa County. Under Meruelo the team didn’t pay some of its bills and was basically kicked out of the Glendale arena, now called Desert Diamond Arena. They played their last two seasons at Mullett Arena, a 5,000-seat facility built to house Arizona State hockey.

It was fun for a while, but quickly became old with NHL players and their union complaining bitterly about the sub-class locker rooms and lack of normal NHL amenities.

In 2023, three referendums to build on a still empty parcel of land in west Tempe went down by 3,500 votes each, spelling the death knell in the Phoenix area for the team, which lasted another season beyond that. The failure to have a new arena even on the horizon caused the NHL to force Meruelo out and the team to relocate.

Cost of building a stand-alone hockey arena and obtaining an NHL expansion franchise could be as much as $4 billion -- $2 billion for the team and the same for the building. There are already five arenas in Maricopa County – Mortgage Matchup, Glendale, the Coliseum and Arizona State basketball and hockey. Nobody needs another one.

That’s where Ishbia could step in, but not yet.

“I’m focused on the NBA team. The WNBA team. Making the arena a great concert venue. We do great things there, too. Just making it a great thing for the city of Phoenix. That’s my job in the community. So, that’s really my focus.”