It has been over a year since the sale of the Arizona Coyotes to Ryan Smith, who subsequently relocated the hockey operations to Salt Lake City. Included in that sale was not the team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, which former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo kept for himself.
In the past year, the Roadrunners, like their former NHL affiliate before them, have been through numerous relocation rumors. When Meruelo first sold the Coyotes, he said that he would be permanently relocating the Roadrunners to Tempe to fill the void of the Coyotes. That number went down to 14 games thanks to the opposition of the Utah Mammoth, the city of Tucson, and other tenants at Mullett Arena. Later, it shrunk to five games in Tempe and then again to none.
However, the threats of relocation elsewhere outside of Arizona have been in the mix. Since last June, reports of Meruelo moving the Roadrunners to Reno have emerged. As of Wednesday, the future in Tucson for the Roadrunners seems to get bleaker and bleaker with the newest updates on Meruelo’s arena project in Nevada.
The Grand Sierra Resort Arena Has Been Approved
On Wednesday, the Reno City Council held a meeting to discuss Meruelo’s Grand Sierra Resort arena. The proposed project would connect to the already existing Grand Sierra Resort, which Meruelo owns in the downtown area, and would include a 10,000-seat arena, ice rink, and other amenities, including aqua golf, which is a similar concept to Top Golf.
The arena is set to cost $435 million and host the University of Nevada’s men’s basketball team. Meruelo and his group expect the arena to host around 95 events per year, including concerts and other sporting events.
The meeting on Wednesday was specifically held to vote on the approval of tax-increment financing. During the meeting, many spoke with approval of the project, including Meruelo, University of Nevada athletic director Stephanie Rempe, University of Nevada president Brian Sandoval, members of the University’s basketball team, and members from the Reno Ice Group.
Both Rempe and Sandoval said the arena is necessary to make the University’s basketball teams competitive. Meruelo, who rarely speaks in public, spoke on Wednesday, claiming he wants to make Reno’s community better. He also said that he’s fought for the city repeatedly, including spending half a billion dollars on his Reno property in the past 14 years. The Cuban-American business owner donated $1.1 million to the University’s basketball program last season.
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In the end, after a nearly five-hour meeting, the Reno City Council voted 5-2 in favor of approving the tax increment financing (TIF) for the $785.7 million project. This means $61.3 million in property taxes would be abated before the full amount of property tax goes to the city starting in 2036. Ten percent of the TIF would be retained by the redevelopment agency. Reno Fire Station 21, which is on the Grand Sierra Resort property, would also be given to the city.
Meruelo has also promised to give $3.4 million (10% of the TIF) to Ward 3, represented by city council member Miguel Martinez, which will be used for youth sports and recreation. Meruelo also said he will be sponsoring the Reno Ice Group’s youth hockey leagues for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
“I love this city,” Meruelo said. “I’ve fought for this city, and I’ve put my money where my mouth is.”
The vote finally gets the arena project going after being announced back in the fall of 2023. Construction is expected to start in June and be completed in the summer of 2027, in time for the 2027-28 hockey and basketball seasons.
What Does This Mean for the Roadrunners?
The approval of the TIF for the Grand Sierra Resort arena puts a ticking timer on the Roadrunners’ time in Tucson. Back in late June, it was announced that Meruelo plans to move the Roadrunners to Reno. With the Coyotes gone and the auction of the north Phoenix land cancelled, there is no reason for him to stick around in the state of Arizona. He started sending off all of his assets in the state last November when he put his Paradise Valley mansion up for sale.
Also, last summer, the Roadrunners, the Rio Nuevo board, and the city of Tucson agreed on a lease extension to keep the team in the Tucson Convention Center until the end of the 2026-27 season. AHL president Scott Howson confirmed back in February during the AHL All-Star Weekend that nothing would happen before the end of that season.
“For the foreseeable future, I think they have two more years on their lease, and nothing’s going to happen before that,” Howson said.
So the Roadrunners will 100% be in Tucson for the next two seasons. However, Howson’s mention of the foreseeable future and nothing beyond the next two years is a huge red flag.
As you might’ve picked up on, the lease agreement with the Tucson Convention Center ends around the same time that Meruelo’s arena up in Reno will be finished. In October, the Grand Sierra Resort sent out an email to northern Nevada citizens asking for feedback on the arena. In that email, for the first time, it was acknowledged that the arena would be the home of a minor league hockey team.
The GSR sent today an email to Northern Nevada citizens asking for feedback on its new arena and for the first time publicly acknowledged the arena will be home to a minor-league hockey team. Alex Meruelo, who owns the GSR, also owns the Tucson Roadrunners. pic.twitter.com/ZgyohSqioA
— Nevada Sports Net (@NevadaSportsNet) October 1, 2024
During the meeting on Wednesday, it was announced that the new arena is expected to host 95 events per year. That obviously includes around 17 men’s basketball home games and a couple of concerts. However, it’s unclear what else that number includes. Each AHL team plays 36 home games during a season. It would be a huge boost to the confirmed 17 to make up the expected 95 events.
It is more than likely at this point that the Roadrunners will be in Reno in two years. There are still hurdles. Shovels aren’t officially in the ground yet. Relocation would also need to be approved by the AHL board of governors. Yes, a lot can happen in the next couple of years, but more than likely, at this point, both would go forward. There’s no reason why Meruelo would build an arena that can host a minor league hockey team while paying money for rent at the Tucson Convention Center.
The arrival of the Roadrunners in Reno would be another big win for hockey in northern Nevada. In the past year, not only has the community more than likely gotten a new sheet of ice with this project, but they also got an ECHL team earlier this season, just a couple of minutes west with the Tahoe Knight Monsters, who are currently in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
Meanwhile, the departure of the Roadrunners would devastate an already broken hockey community in Arizona. After losing the Coyotes last year, losing their final pro hockey team would leave Arizona State University’s men’s NCAA D1 hockey program as the highest level of hockey in the whole state. In Tucson specifically, the city would lose its only pro sports team, unless you count the Indoor Football League’s Tucson Sugar Skulls.
It is unclear if the Mammoth will continue being the NHL affiliate of the team if they move to Reno. It was reported on Friday that the two will be affiliated for the upcoming 2025-26 season. When the affiliation was first announced, many wondered how the relationship between Smith and Meruelo would work. Howson says currently there is nothing of issue between the two.
“I haven’t heard a word from Tucson or Utah about anything that would cause me any concern,” Howson said. “I think it’s been pretty smooth this year, and I deal with Alex Jr. all the time. Alex is really the point man on the franchise, and we have a great relationship. It’s been fine, very positive.”
However, everything can change in a second. Rumors have swirled around the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies being picked up by the Mammoth and promoted to the AHL once their affiliation agreement with the Colorado Avalanche is over next season. Meanwhile, rumors of construction on an ECHL arena in St. George have also been reported.
For now, nothing is really known besides the Roadrunners will be in Tucson for the next two seasons, the Roadrunners will be affiliated with the Mammoth next season, and the new arena in Reno is expected to begin construction this summer with the approval of the Reno City Council. However, the days of the Roadrunners in Tucson get grimmer and grimmer by the day as Meruelo begins what he calls his “legacy project.”
“This is my legacy,” Meruelo said. “It’s what I want to give back to Reno. I could invest here or I could invest in Vegas, and I’ve been asked many times, ‘Why don’t you put the money in Vegas where it’d be a better investment?’ And that’s a true statement. But I love Reno and want to be here, period.”
The Roadrunners finished this season with a record of 34-32-4-2, clinching their third straight Calder Cup Playoff appearance. Their season ended with a 2-1 series loss to the Abbotsford Canucks in the first round. The franchise will celebrate its 10th season in Tucson during the upcoming 2025-26 season.
