ASU Hockey to have “shovels in the ground” on new facility within 24 months
There is some uncertainty concerning the future of the ASU men’s ice hockey program, but this much is sure – they will no longer call Tempe’s Oceanside Ice Arena home following the 2016-17 season.
Despite offseason renovations before the 2015-16 season and continued support from the facility, it’s quite clear that the arena will not be large enough to host a full-fledged NCAA program.
While there is yet to be a confirmed location for the new hockey facility, head coach Greg Powers has said many times he hopes to be able to have an on-campus facility.
ASU's Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson shined a light on the timetable Thursday, saying he hopes to have a new facility underway as soon as possible.
“I tend to have a lack of patience when you’re trying to bring on new facilities, so I can’t say if for say, but I’m not real patient,” he said. “I’m thinking in the next 18 to 24 months, we should have shovels in the ground. That’s the kind of pressure we like to put on ourselves.”
The 18 to 24 months will come shortly after the completion of ASU’s Sun Devil Stadium “reinvention” to renovate the school’s football facilities.
In discussing options for the program, Anderson cited an ESPN.com article that proposed a deal between ASU and the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes to build an arena on campus in Tempe.
The report said the Coyotes are looking to leave their current Glendale location at Gila River Arena in order to get closer to their main fan base in Phoenix, Tempe, and Scottsdale.
“There was an ESPN article that came out last week where there’s a chance that ASU could build a joint arena with the Coyotes that would be a combination of a professional arena, college arena, basketball arena on campus, maybe downtown, maybe near here, maybe in Tempe,” Anderson said. “Think about that. Brand new.”
ASU has had ties to the Coyotes previously, hosting the inaugural Desert Hockey Classic at Gila River Arena this season as they played four games in the NHL arena.
Whether they will continue to grow the “friendly” relationship with the NHL club into a partnership remains to be seen.
“(ASU and the Coyotes) may be partners at some point, which is one of the options you have to think about,” Anderson said. “No matter what happens, as long as the Coyotes stay in this market we’ll be friends. They’re pro, we’re collegiate so they're mutual benefits that we could have.”
Another possibility, Anderson said, would to build a smaller arena on the ASU Tempe campus that would host smaller sports. He did not disclose where on campus that arena would be located.
“Would we construct a 5,000-6,000-seat hockey arena on campus that would also be women’s basketball, wrestling, gymnastics?” Anderson asked. “A more intimate setting than Wells Fargo Arena is currently? That’s something that is one of the options being discussed.”
The Sun Devils have played in Oceanside Ice Arena dating back to before the program’s move to from the ACHA the NCAA level in November of 2014. The facility will continue to host the current ASU club hockey team, and will also host the ASU women’s club hockey team when it starts play in 2016-17.
ASU made the move to the NCAA level for hockey after receiving a $32 million donation from donors Don and Chris Mullett, who said their funds would also go towards the establishment of women’s sports to complete Title IX regulations. Anderson has since named women’s lacrosse and women’s triathlon as the two newest varsity sports in order to meet the requirements.
It is not known if any of the $32 million in donations will go towards the creation of a new permanent men’s ice hockey facility.
Anderson said the options for the Sun Devil Hockey program are plentiful, and he hopes to make a decision soon.
“We’re not out chasing people for solutions,” Anderson said. “People are coming to us saying, ‘We want to partner with you as a potential to be part of the solution.’ The joy in that is realizing that you have an impact.”
