Reports: New 5,000-seat arena on horizon for Arizona State hockey

The Arizona Board of Regents will meet Thursday to discuss plans for a new multi-purpose hockey arena as well as renovations to Wells Fargo Arena, arizonasports.com and azcentral.com reported.

The arena will hold 5,000 seats, approximately 175,000 gross-square-foot, with 250 to 300 club and 48 loge seats, according to the Arizona Boards of Regents’ project schedule. It will also host wrestling and gymnastics.

The project is expected to cost $160 million in total out of the ASU’s $590 million capital development plan and is projected to be constructed by the 2020-21 hockey season.

The arena will sit on campus just north of Wells Fargo Arena near the ASU Desert Arboretum Park, according to arizonasports.com.

“The men’s ice hockey team currently rents ice time for both practice and games at Oceanside Arena in Scottsdale, which is suboptimal for team development and has limited seating capacity” the project justification schedule said. “Student engagement has been high and demand for seating has been greater than the capacity of the venue.”

Arizona State hockey has called Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe its home since it was a club team, but with a capacity under 1,000, it isn’t suited for a NCAA Division I program.

The fan interest is undeniable, as both the student section and the general admission have nearly sold out every home series this season.