TUCSON, Ariz. — The Roadrunners will be staying in Tucson.
This comes after the Rio Nuevo District Board of Directors came to a unanimous decision Tuesday to keep 30 games in Tucson and play only six in Tempe.
Back in April, it was announced the Arizona Coyotes would be relocating to Utah, leaving concerns about whether the Roadrunners would stay in Tucson.
After the Rio Nuevo vote, it's been decided Tucson would stay the hometown of the Roadrunners.
The deal says that Rio Nuevo will pay for 50% of the arena rent, which is about $180,000; 50% of the Roadrunners office lease, which is about $60,000; and they eliminated the $2 ticket fee which, depending on how many tickets are sold, could save about $240,000.
With the Rio Nuevo agreement, the AHL Board of Governors will not need to have the May 30th vote.
With the six games in Tempe, the plan is to have three two-game weekend series with three opponents, but those teams will need to approve playing in Tempe.
Now, this deal needs to go to Tucson Mayor and Council for a final vote.
They agreed to let the Roadrunners play five games outside Tucson Arena, which needs to be amended to allow that 6th game. That vote will happen sometime in June.
The Roadrunners' full 72-game regular season schedule will be released in July.
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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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