In a complete 180, the Tucson Roadrunners will now play all their 2024-25 home games in the Tucson Arena, and their owner reportedly has abandoned his interest in getting an NHL expansion team.
On Monday, the team announced that all 36 home games of the regular season will be in Tucson after the teamâs ownership saw a land auction that was scheduled for Thursday for a plot in north Phoenix canceled.
Previously, the Roadrunnersâ ownership, the American Hockey League, Arizona State University, Rio Nuevo and the City of Tucson had signed off in various ways to have six of the Roadrunners games take place at Mullett Arena on ASUâs campus. Mullett had been home to the NHLâs Arizona Coyotes through the 2023-24 season as they sought to find a permanent home.
âWeâre looking forward to our ninth season in front of the best fans in the American Hockey League,â Roadrunners president Bob Hoffman said last week, referring to the teamâs fanbase in Southern Arizona. âThe identity of the Roadrunners on the ice mirror the community that we play and live in, and we look forward to another successful season of hockey while we continue to add more hockey fans to cheer us on.â
The Roadrunners said anyone who bought the six-game Mullett package will be refunded this week.
The AHLâs full 72-game schedule will be announced in July, though the Roadrunners revealed last week their home opener will be Saturday, Oct. 19.
In 2016, the Coyotes bought the Springfield (Mass.) Falcons and relocated them to the Old Pueblo, renaming them the Tucson Roadrunners. Then, in 2019, Alex Meruelo bought the Coyotes and the Roadrunners.
Calgary center Riley Damiani wrists a shot past Roadrunners right wing Austin Poganski and on goal during the third period in the final game of last season.
In April, Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo, who also owns the Roadrunners, agreed to sell the Coyotesâ hockey assets to a group led by Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith. Meruelo, however, retained the Coyotes branding and getting the right to buy an expansion franchise if they have an NHL caliber arena within five years; he also retained ownership of the Roadrunners, which will be the AHL affiliate of the NHLâs new âUtah Hockey Clubâ for at least the 2024-25 season.
In April, Meruelo told Phoenix radio station Arizona Sports 98.7 that he wanted to move the Roadrunners to Tempe. A day later at a press conference announcing the sale of he NHL team, he suggested the Roadrunners will play half their games in Tucson and half in Tempe.
Then, in May, PHNX Sports reported that the Meruelo-owned Roadrunners were looking at playing 14 games in Tempe and 22 in Tucson before all sides agreed to the six games in Tempe and 30 in Tucson plan.
Last week, Tucson officials said they got an extra year tacked on to the lease in exchange for agreeing to six games away from Tucson; the teamâs lease originally said the Roadrunners could play up to five games away from the TCC.
âWe are proud to be the home of the Tucson Roadrunners,â Tucson City Manager Tim Thomure said. âWeâre excited that theyâre here for additional time, adding the extra year onto the back end of our existing contract is signaling to Tucson that the Tucson Roadrunners are here to stay.
âAnd our job is to make sure that they have a great environment to play in, great community outreach and great fan support,â he added.
The Roadrunners now have three years left on their lease.
Also on Monday, PHNXâs Craig Morgan reported that Meruelo is expected to give up on on trying to get an NHL team back in Phoenix. If Meruelo does decline the NHLâs expansion option that came as part of his agreement to sell the former Coyotesâ hockey assets so they could move to Utah, Arizona would become like any other expansion candidate, with prospective other new owners having to bid against competitors in other cities. Other locales said to have reached out to the NHL with an interest: Atlanta, Omaha, Kansas City, Houston and Cincinnati.
When the Arizona State Land Department canceled the auction, it said the Meruelo would need to get a special-use permit before an auction.
According to the PHNX report, the land had be zoned for a youth hockey complex and the Coyotes thought that would include a hockey arena.
With opposition in Phoenix and nearby Scottsdale, Meruelo decided to move on even though they had researched other options, according to the report.
PHNX said they are aware of at least two other ownership groups interested in bringing a new NHL team to Arizona.
Slap shots
On Monday, Utah HC signed forward Ben McCartney to a one-year, two-year contract. Last season, McCartney played in 46 games with the Roadrunners, his fourth in Tucson. He recorded 22 points and played in two NHL games in 2021-22.
