The Arizona Coyotes made a breakaway Tuesday toward their goal of moving a minor-league hockey team to Tucson.
The American Hockey Leagueβs governing board approved the Coyotesβ purchase of the Springfield (Massachusetts) Falcons franchise.
That means the team can check off two of three agreements needed to complete the deal, which would allow the team to begin playing in Tucson this October, probably with a new name.
Each of the agreements includes conditions that all three pieces be in place before the move is final.
The first was an agreement last month with Rio Nuevo. That group will upgrade the Tucson Convention Center arena to meet AHL standards at a cost of $3.2 million.
The third agreement needed is a lease agreement with the city for the use of the arena.
City Manager Michael Ortega said the city is βvery closeβ to reaching an agreement. No city tax dollars will be involved, he said.
The Tucson City Council is expected to meet Wednesday in executive session to get an update on the negotiations. The council could vote on the agreement at its May 17 meeting.
Once the team has all the agreements in place, Rio Nuevo will work on arena upgrades including renovated locker rooms, new boards and a new press box.
Rio Nuevo projected a $7 million economic impact to downtown Tucson for 34 sold-out games.
AHL regular-season games attract an average of 5,982 fans per game. The downtown Tucson arena can seat around 7,000 hockey fans.
Coyotes executives have said they like the Tucson location because it would be easy to call up players to the teamβs main arena in Glendale on short notice.
The city and Rio Nuevo would benefit from increased sales tax revenue from game tickets and fansβ spending at restaurants and bars.
