Zac Electrifly

The Arizona Coyotes former ownership withdrew its support for brining a National Hockey League team back to Arizona. The Arizona Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo is no longer trying to build an arena in Arizona or bring the Arizona Coyotes back. He still owns the American Hockey Leagues Tucson Roadrunners. The Roadrunners were the primary affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes and will now be the primary affiliate of the Utah Hockey Club. Rumors have circulated of the Roadrunners relocated for a couple of years now since the team struggles to bring in fans. Just this year they tried to play some games at Mullet Arena which was the former home of the Arizona Coyotes. That did not end up happening. Alex Meruelo also owns the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno Nevada. The Grand Sierra Resort has a planned expansion that does include a new arena and possible ice rink. Since the announcement people have hoped the new arena could bring hockey back to Reno. Rumors have been going around for a while that the Tucson Roadrunners would move to Reno.

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There have been multiple reports that Alex Meruelo is planning to move the Tucson Roadrunners to Reno after the arena is built at the Grand Sierra Resort. I am skeptical. The American Hockey League nor the Tucson Roadrunners have out out statements about relocation of the team. Construction still has not started at the GSR even though the project was announced nine or so months ago. Previous expansion projects announced for the GSR or in Reno have not happened. Projects get announced in Reno all the time that never get off the ground. I am excited for the expansion of the GSR and I want Reno to get a hockey team. I am in the camp like a lot of people that “I’ll believe it when I see it”.

The Tucson Roadrunners are the fifth professional ice hockey team that has played in Tucson Arizona. They were created as part of the American Hockey Leagues western expansion back around 2016. They were named after the Phoenix Roadrunners who originally played from 1967 to 1997. The Roadrunners currently play at the Tucson Convention Center Arena. The arena was built in the early 1970s. The Tucson Convention Center Arena holds over six thousand five hundred fans for hockey games. The Tucson Roadrunners have not been able to average over four thousand three hundred fans in attendance in a single season. Two of the last three seasons saw the Roadrunners average under four thousand fans in attendance. They average over half of their building capacity in attendance. Eighteen of the thirty two current AHL teams averaged under six thousand fans in attendance per game. So four to five thousand fans is about the average attendance in the AHL. As far as I am aware the Roadrunners are not in a bad spot. Yeah the arena is older but it has been upgraded as recently as 2014. The attendance is solid for the capacity and is around the average of the AHL. The only reason to relocate the team to Reno is that it might be more lucrative. It will be a bigger and more modern arena. The area surrounding the arena will have more amenities. The interest in the team may be greater in Reno. The metro population of Reno is almost half the size of the metro area of Tucson. While I think Reno should get an ice hockey teams and will support it, I do not think that Tucson should lose their team so Reno can have a team.

For next season the Tucson Roadrunners will be the AHL affiliate of the Utah Hockey Club. It is unclear at this time if the Utah Hockey Club wants to continue their partnership with the Tucson Roadrunners long term. The Utah Grizzlies who currently play in the ECHL and were previously in the AHL would be a better fit as the AHL affiliate of the Utah Hockey Club. The future of the Tucson Roadrunners in the AHL is uncertain weather they relocate or not. Affiliations changes happen almost every season in the AHL and ECHL. This means that if the Roadrunners do relocate to Reno they could be an ECHL team. The ECHL does need more western teams. Tahoe is the western most team with only three teams west of Colorado. On the other hand the AHL would be a great fit for Reno. There would be nine other teams west of Colorado including five teams from California and one team from southern Nevada. What should happen is the Utah Grizzlies become the AHL affiliate of the Utah Hockey Club. When the NHL returns to Arizona, the Tucson Roadrunners return to the AHL, and the Arizona Sundogs return as an ECHL team. Reno would become an ECHL team. From there the ECHL would expand west. Sacramento, Stockton, San Fransisco, Oakland, Anchorage, Fresno, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Phoenix (with no NHL team), Tucson (if they relocate), Victoria, Fairbanks, Colorado Springs, Tacoma, Prescott Valley, El Paso, Albuquerque, Odessa, and Portland are just some markets that would be good for an ECHL western expansion.

How would this effect the Tahoe Knight Monsters? There would be an immediate effect of some people from the Reno arena no longer going to their games. This would include season ticket holders. The Knight Monsters would take a financial hit. The Knight Monsters would likely continue to receive support from the Reno Tahoe area but would have to rely more on fans from Lake Tahoe to keep the team going. The first thing both teams would have to do is make sure they are not scheduling games on the same nights. Otherwise that could hurt both teams. Support for a Reno team could be so great that games become hard to get tickets for in which case some Reno fans would support Tahoe more. I don’t think that will happen. If the Reno team is in the AHL, the Tahoe Knight Monsters would have the opportunity to be the cheaper option. I don’t see that happening. With the Tahoe Knight Monsters current ticket prices, no free parking, and the cost of the drive to Tahoe from Reno, I do not see them ever being the cheaper option. If the Reno team is in the ECHL, that could be a boost for both teams. It would cut down travel expenses. They could play up the rivalry which would be good for marketing both teams. Games between Reno and Tahoe at either venue would likely sell out. They would likely play each other the most. Looking at the current Knight Monsters schedule they could play each other up to twelve times. That is twelve potential sell outs. While both teams would still be competing to draw fans in, having Reno be an ECHL team would not give them a market advantage over the Tahoe Knight Monsters. The question becomes can Tahoe support an ECHL team without the help of Reno? They can. It just might not be as lucrative. A lot of that depends on how badly the ownership wants to keep the team going. If Reno gets an ice hockey team, any Tahoe Knight Monsters financial issues will become greater than if they were not competing with Reno.

At this point all of this speculation. We will just have to see how all of this unfolds. The new arena may never be built. The arena could be built and Reno might not get an ice hockey team. The Tahoe Knight Monsters may fold before Reno ever gets a team. The Tahoe Knight Monsters may be the ones to relocate to Reno. Who knows whats going to happen. I would love to see a team in Reno and for both Reno and Tahoe hockey teams to be successful.