What Does Likely NHL Relocation of Arizona Coyotes Mean For AHL Tucson?

While the wheels seem to be in motion regarding the relocation of the Arizona Coyotes to Salt Like City, what would happen to the Coyotes' NHL-owned American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in Tucson?

The Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) are owned by the Arizona Coyotes (NHL), and would likely be included in any relocation sale to prospective Salt Lake City owner Ryan Smith's Smith Entertainment Group (SEG).

EDIT: According to Elliotte Friedman, Coyotes owner Alex Merulo is retaining ownership of the AHL club, and the expectation is that he will move the team to play in Mullett Arena in 2024-25. There's still uncertainty surrounding the AHL franchise's future, and there currently isn't an affiliation agreement in place between Utah and Tucson.

The Roadrunners began play in the AHL with the 2016-17 season, and have been playing in downtown Tucson out of the Tucson Convention Center Arena since their inception. The team is in the eighth year of a 10-year lease, an agremeent in which the Coyotes must give the city of Tucson 180 days notice of moving the team and also forfeit an estimated $3 million in the event of breaking the lease agreement.

One AHL source informed InsideAHLHockey.com that, in the event Arizona was relocated to Salt Lake City, the Tucson Roadrunners would be moved out of Tucson, Arizona to nearby Tempe, Arizona to play out of the Mullett Arena - where the Arizona Coyotes are currently sharing with Arizona State University (NCAA) - for at least the 2024-25 season.

It was not immediately known if this potential AHL relocation from Tucson to Tempe would be a permanent solution, or a temporary one, due to the swiftness - and the obvious priority - of securing the NHL franchise relocation.

It might seem like a head-scratching move on the surface, but the Coyotes have a multi-year venue license agreement to share the Mullett Arena with the ASU hockey team through the 2024-25 season and includes an option for 2025-26.

Would SEG be able to place their AHL affiliate in the Mullett Arena under that venue license agreement or be able to draft a similar agreement in the short term?

It certainly could be a viable option in the short term, giving SEG some time to find its AHL franchise a more permanent home.

Any potential AHL franchise relocation would need to be approved by the AHL's Board of Governors, which is set to meet again next month in early May 2024. It's not apparent that a decision and vote must be made at the board's next meeting, but certainly something that needs to be resolved before finalizing the entirety of the AHL's 2024-25 regular season schedule over the summer.

Obviously, this is a complex situation - with a ton of moving parts and in its initial stages.

It remains to be seen what exactly will happen with the NHL franchise's sale and subsequent relocation, but you can count on finding out the latest on what will become of the Coyotes' AHL franchise here at InsideAHLHockey.com

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