"The Mullett" "The Party Barn" [1] | |
Former names | ASU Multi-Purpose Arena (planning/construction) |
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Address | 411 S Packard Drive |
Location | Tempe, Arizona |
Coordinates | 33°25′36″N111°55′43″W / 33.42667°N 111.92861°W |
Public transit | Veterans Way/College Ave Marina Heights/Rio Salado Pkwy |
Owner | Arizona State University |
Operator | Oak View Group [2] |
Capacity |
|
Construction | |
Broke ground | January 2021 [2] |
Built | October 1, 2022 |
Opened | October 12, 2022 |
Construction cost | US$134 million [3] |
Architect | SCI Architects [2] |
Builder | Mortenson Construction [2] |
Tenants | |
Arizona State Sun Devils men's ice hockey (NCAA) 2022–present Arizona State Sun Devils women's ice hockey (ACHA) 2022–present Arizona State Sun Devils women's gymnastics (NCAA) 2022–present Arizona State Sun Devils men's wrestling (NCAA) 2022–present Arizona State Sun Devils women's volleyball (NCAA) 2023–present Arizona Coyotes (NHL) 2022–2024 [3] Valley Suns (NBAGL) 2024–present |
Mullett Arena (originally ASU Multi-Purpose Arena) is an indoor multipurpose arena at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.
The 5,000-seat arena is the home of the men's ice hockey, women's ice hockey, women's gymnastics, women's volleyball, and men's wrestling teams as well as the NBA G League's Valley Suns. It served as a temporary venue for the National Hockey League's Arizona Coyotes from 2022 to 2024, with seating capacity for NHL games capped at 4,600. [4] The facility is owned by Arizona State University and managed by the Oak View Group.
In November 2020, the Arizona Board of Regents' finance committee approved plans for a new 5,000-seat on-campus multipurpose arena, which replaced the privately operated Oceanside Ice Arena, which had been leased by the university long-term, as the Sun Devils men's hockey facility starting in 2022. [5] [6] [7] Originally known as the Multi-Purpose Arena, it is also used for women's hockey, women's gymnastics, men's wrestling, women's volleyball, and community hockey events. [2]
With their lease agreement at Gila River Arena expiring after the 2021–22 NHL season, [8] the Arizona Coyotes were in talks by January 2022 with Arizona State University to temporarily use the ASU facility for what was to be their next three to four NHL seasons. On February 10, 2022, the Coyotes signed what was to be a three-year agreement to play their home games at ASU's facility, beginning with the 2022–23 NHL season. [9] The additional cost of completing the arena to accommodate the Coyotes was approximately $19.7 million, which was paid for by the team. [3] During the Coyotes' short tenure in the building, it officially had the lowest permanent seating capacity in the NHL in the modern-day era.
On August 23, 2022, Arizona State University unveiled the new facility name as Mullett Arena. It is in honor of Donald and Barbara Mullett, two of the university's benefactors. [10]
On October 14, 2022, the Sun Devils men's hockey team played their first ever game at the arena against the Colgate Raiders. Josh Doan (son of former Coyote Shane Doan) scored the first ever goal in Mullett Arena history. The Sun Devils won the game, 2–0.
Two weeks later (October 28, 2022), the Coyotes' first ever game in front of a sellout crowd of 4,600 at Mullett Arena resulted in a 3–2 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets. Christian Fischer scored the first and second NHL goals at the arena. [11]
On April 17, 2024, the Coyotes played their final game at the arena against the Edmonton Oilers, where fans in attendance wore white for a final Whiteout, a considered playoff tradition for the franchise. [12] The Coyotes won the game 5–2, with the final goal at the arena being scored by Sean Durzi. Following that game's conclusion, the Coyotes were revealed to have agreed to suspend operations for a five-year period of time (thus ending their lease prematurely), with many of their assets moving to Utah to become a new, technically expansion Utah Hockey Club, but in June, the Coyotes franchise would more or less cease operations following the cancellation of a land auction that team owner Alex Meruelo was planning on winning during that month for the team.
On May 22, 2024, it was announced that the Valley Suns, the NBA G League affiliate of the Phoenix Suns, will play their home games at the Mullett Arena starting in the 2024–25 NBA G League season. [13] The Valley Suns would make their home debut on November 11, 2024, against the Stockton Kings after splitting their first two road games against the Santa Cruz Warriors, winning their home debut 108–100. Two-way contract player Jalen Bridges led the team in scoring in their home debut with 24 points that night. [14] Another two-way contract player in TyTy Washington Jr. had 20 of his friends and family cheering him on during that game due to him being a local player. [15]
Arizona State University announced on March 3, 2022, a multiyear naming rights partnership with Mountain America Credit Union for the ice rink on the west side of Mullett Arena. Officially named as the Mountain America Community Iceplex at ASU, it has a concession stand for hot and cold refreshments and a full hockey pro shop. [16]
For the first four Coyotes home games, temporary locker room accommodations were set up within the confines of the Mountain America Community Iceplex for the visiting teams. [17] The Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars used this location during that opening Coyotes homestand. After that, the Coyotes began a franchise record 14-game long road trip while ongoing construction of the annex was officially completed in time for their next scheduled home game (December 9, 2022, against the Boston Bruins). The building housed all of the on-site NHL training and locker room facilities during the Coyotes' temporary stay at the Mullett Arena.
The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area, which competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division, the Pacific Division (1998–2020) in the Western Conference, and the West Division (2020–2021). They played at America West Arena in downtown Phoenix from 1996 to 2003, at Glendale's Gila River Arena from 2003 to 2022, and at Mullett Arena in Tempe from 2022 to 2024. The organization was established on December 27, 1971, as the Winnipeg Jets, a charter franchise of the World Hockey Association (WHA). After seven WHA seasons they were one of four organizations enfranchised by the NHL on June 22, 1979, when the WHA ceased operations. Due to financial troubles, the Jets were sold to American owners who moved the team to Phoenix on July 1, 1996, where they were renamed the Phoenix Coyotes. The franchise was renamed the Arizona Coyotes on June 27, 2014. Alex Meruelo became the majority owner on July 29, 2019, later becoming the franchise's sole owner following the arrest of minority owner Andrew Barroway.
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The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The mascot was adopted in 1946; earlier nicknames were the Normals and later, the Bulldogs. The Sun Devil mascot, Sparky, was designed by Bert Anthony, a former Disney illustrator. ASU's chief rival is the University of Arizona Wildcats, and both universities' athletics departments compete against each other in the Territorial Cup Series.
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Alex Meruelo is a Cuban-American billionaire who holds business interests in banking, real estate, media, restaurants, food, casinos, and professional sports. He is the owner of Meruelo Group, as well as Meruelo Media, which owns five radio stations and two television stations in Los Angeles.
Sports in Phoenix include several professional sports franchises, and until 2024, was one of only 13 U.S. cities to have representatives of all four major professional sports leagues, although only one of these teams actually carry the city name and play within the city limits. Phoenix was the last of the metropolitan areas with teams in all four leagues to gain its first major professional sports team, when the Suns were granted a franchise in 1968.
The Arizona State Sun Devils men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents Arizona State University. It plays its home games at Mullett Arena in Tempe.
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The Arizona State Sun Devils women's ice hockey team represents Arizona State University (ASU) in American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) women's Division I competition as a member of the Western Women's Collegiate Hockey League (WWCHL). It plays its home games at Mullett Arena in Tempe, beginning in the 2022–23 season.
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Arizona State University got the go-ahead Thursday to build a $20 million addition that would allow the Arizona Coyotes to use a new campus arena as the NHL team's home for the next three years and possibly longer.
Events and tenants | ||
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Preceded by | Home of the Arizona State Sun Devils men's hockey 2022 – present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
Preceded by | Home of the Arizona State Sun Devils women's hockey 2022 – present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
Preceded by | Home of the Arizona State Sun Devils women's gymnastics 2022 – present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
Preceded by | Home of the Arizona State Sun Devils men's wrestling 2022 – present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
Preceded by | Home of the Arizona Coyotes 2022 – 2024 | Succeeded by Last arena |
Preceded by Franchise established | Home of the Valley Suns 2024 – present | Succeeded by Incumbent |