TUCSON, Ariz. — After much speculation, the Tucson Roadrunners are here to stay for the 2024-25 full home schedule.
"It's our ninth season in the American Hockey League and our ninth season in Tucson and it's going to be really fun to bring that excitement to the fans for all the games," Roadrunners President, Bob Hoffman said.
On Monday, the Roadrunners announced they will play all 36 homes games in Tucson, switching from the original plan to play 30 games at Tucson Arena and six at Mullett Arena in Tempe
"If we had lost this team, we think it would have been over for us as a sports team," Rio Nuevo Chairman, Fletcher McCusker said.
On Tuesday, we reported Alex Meruelo's land auction in Phoenix was canceled.
It would have allowed Meruelo to build a new arena in Phoenix for an NHL expansion team within five years.
"There's still much like what we've seen over the past few months just with some speculation uncertainty of what will happen in the future and it's very difficult to tell what that looks like," Hoffman said.
The uncertainty follows a report of the potential relocation of the Roadrunners to Reno, Nevada.
The arena being built in Reno is set to finish in time for the 2026-27 season. However, the potential move has not been confirmed.
"I know that we've signed an additional year on top of our two years here so that's a minimum of three years here in Tuscon and as long as we keep drawing the support we've received and keep being Tucson's pro team and now the state of Arizona's pro hockey team I think we're going to be just fine," Hoffman said.
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Erin Patterson is a reporter for KGUN 9. She's agraduate of the University of Alabama with a Bachelor’s in News Media with a Sports Concentration. Erin recently obtained her Master's Degree in Sports Journalism from Arizona State University at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, where she gained experience a sports reporter, anchor and producer. Share your story ideas and important issues with Erin by emailing erin.patterson@kgun9.com.
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