American Hockey League (AHL) hockey will be staying in Tucson. The Tucson Roadrunners announced on Tuesday (May 28) that the team will be playing at least 30 games at the Tucson Convention Center for the upcoming 2024-25 season. The Roadrunners also announced they will stay in the city for the foreseeable future.
Tucson Keeping the Roadrunners
After the uncertainty surrounding the team’s future in Tucson for the past couple of months, the Rio Nuevo District Board of Governors voted unanimously for the Roadrunners to stay in the city for the foreseeable future. The team also offered to extend their contract, which expires in 2026, an additional year.
“The Roadrunners staying here is a win for the region and great news for Arizona hockey,” said Fletcher McCusker, Chairman of Rio Nuevo District. “Tucson is to Phoenix as Austin is to Dallas, a professional sports super region. We want Tucson to be the AHL piece of that kind of partnership.”
The Roadrunners have been located in Tucson ever since being relocated from Springfield back in 2016. The team has enjoyed success, making the playoffs four of the seven seasons they’ve played out of the Tucson Convention Center. They’ve also developed numerous NHL players like Josh Doan, Dylan Guenther, Michael Kesselring, and Michael Carcone who are all expected to play significant roles next season with NHL Utah.
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During the sale of the Arizona Coyotes hockey operations, the Roadrunners’ ownership was maintained by Alex Meruelo. Meruelo reached a deal with new owner Ryan Smith for the Roadrunners to be the AHL affiliate of NHL Utah next season. However, the entire coaching staff, players, and hockey operations are under contract by Smith and NHL Utah.
“We are thrilled to know that the Roadrunners will continue to play in front of our loyal Tucson fans for the foreseeable future,” said Roadrunners president Bob Hoffman. “We look forward to an exciting 2024-25 season where we build on last year’s success with the support of the best fans in the AHL.”
The Roadrunners had one of their best attendance numbers this past season with an average of 4,123 fans each game. The team also had their best season in franchise history recording a franchise-best 43 wins which helped them clinch the second seed in the Pacific Division. They were swept by the Calgary Wranglers in the first round.
The Roadrunners staying in Tucson also keeps the sport of hockey alive in the city. The University of Arizona men’s ACHA hockey team plays on the Roadrunners’ sheet of ice in the Tucson Convention Center along with the Jr Roadrunners. It is the lone sheet of ice in the city of Tucson. Arizona’s new women’s ACHA hockey team will add to the arena’s busy schedule, beginning play this upcoming season.
Future in Tempe
The Roadrunners are expected to play six home games at Mullett Arena next season. Their original contract with the Tucson Convention Center prevented the team from playing more than five games outside of the arena. However, it is expected that the Mayor of Tucson will amend the contract to let the team play the six in Tempe.
It was reported by Craig Morgan of PHNX that NHL Utah was a key part of the opposition to the plan to allow the Roadrunners to play half the season in Tucson and the other half in Tempe. It’ll be interesting to keep an eye on the relationship between the two teams in the next year and see if Meruelo chooses to renew the affiliation for the 2025-26 season.
It was reported when the Coyotes’ hockey operations were sold to Smith and relocated to Salt Lake City that Meruelo would relocate the Roadrunners to Tempe. He confirmed this in his April press conference, however, he later backtracked and stated he would be okay with playing half the season in each location. He now settles for six games.
“We would like to thank the Rio Nuevo District Board of Directors for their tremendous support that enables the Roadrunners to maintain a strong presence in Tucson and throughout Arizona,” said Alex Meruelo Jr (son of Meruelo). “This is an important step in our continued commitment to a bright future of hockey in Arizona.”
The Roadrunners no longer need approval from the AHL Board of Governors to play the amount of games at Mullett Arena. However, the scheduled opponents will need to approve the games. The Roadrunners will play those opponents in back-to-back games in Tempe.
Mullett Arena’s schedule will continue to be busy even with the departure of the Coyotes who called the arena home for the past two seasons. The NBA’s Phoenix Suns G-League team, the Valley Suns, will play out of the arena next season, and the main tenant, the ASU NCAA men’s D1 hockey team, will only draw more fans as the highest level of hockey now in the Phoenix area.
The AHL is set to release their 2024-25 schedule in July. It’ll be the Roadrunners’ ninth season played in the Tucson Convention Center and Tucson. They finished last season with a 43-23-4-2 record and their second straight playoff berth.
