Zac Electrifly

Basically, the Grand Sierra Resort is putting a billion dollars towards their property. That includes a new arena for the Nevada men’s basketball team. In addition to the arena, they are expanding the driving range at Grand Bay. They are going to be putting in walking paths where the driving range currently is with a water show. They are adding a hotel with eight hundred rooms. They will be adding parking. They will be putting in three hundred residential units. They are also building a “hockey practice facility”. That means Reno will have a second ice rink soon.

All we know about the arena is that it will be over 10,000 capacity with modern amenities. It would have to have a capacity of over 15,000 to work as an NHL arena. This could be a good way for them to bring in more sports teams to our arena. Having an ice rink on property makes me think that the arena will be able to host ice hockey when it opens. I wouldn’t be surpassed if they had some NHL preseason games here as soon as the arena goes up. If there is no arena deal in for the Coyotes in Arizona by the time this arena is being constructed they might move here. One of the best parts of this is that no public funds are being used to build this arena or ice rink.

Reno is getting a second ice rink. That is huge. Reno definitely needs it. Hockey is huge here and there is not a lot of ice time available at Reno Ice. A second rink will be great for the growth of the game in our area. As far as a pro hockey team goes, bring the Arizona Coyotes here. It will be way better than just having them play at Arizona State University. The only other options for pro leagues are the AHL and ECHL. The AHL is tight and tough to get into. It would be a good fit as they have four teams in California and multiple teams on the west coast. However I think all of the NHL teams are currently pretty satisfied with their AHL teams. It is almost impossible to get into the AHL without an NHL affiliate. The ECHL would be easier to get into. Teams don’t need to have an NHL affiliate to play in the ECHL. However with Lake Tahoe getting an ECHL team it could be tough on the west coast having two teams in basically the same market. I think this is and would be a good opportunity for the University of Nevada Reno to push for a hockey team. At this point I think that a Nevada hockey team is almost a guarantee. There is also the possibility of a junior team playing there. While not professional, depending on the level or team they have the same atmosphere as going to a NCAA, AHL, or ECHL game. The Arizona Coyotes currently do not have an ECHL affiliate so there is hope for getting an ECHL team.

This is not the first planned expansion to the Grand Sierra Resort. Back in 2006 there was a huge expansion plan that never worked out. Basically it looks like they were going to build up the whole entire property. They were going to add hotel/condo towers. They were going to add multiple condos by the river. They were going to add hiking trails by the river. They were going to add a sports complex. They were going to add mixed use housing and retail as well as a boardwalk on the lake. They were going to put a housing, retail and grocery store complex on mill street. There was going to be two water parks, a mall, more casino space, a new pool, a new spa, and an outdoor entertainment plaza. Long story short none of that happened.