An Arizona State University arenas project, which includes a new multipurpose venue and Wells Fargo Arena renovations, could break ground in the third quarter of 2019.
The upcoming ASU arenas project will address multiple facilities, including basketball’s Wells Fargo Arena, which will receive a renovation. Also on tap is a multipurpose, roughly 5,000-seat venue that will be constructed on the east side of Wells Fargo Arena and be designed to host several sports, including hockey, gymnastics, and wrestling.
No firm groundbreaking date has been set, but ASU vice president of athletics Ray Anderson indicated recently that his preference is to begin construction in the third quarter of 2019. That would put the Wells Fargo Arena renovation and new venue on track to be completed in 2021. More from the Arizona Republic:
“We don’t have a date per se for groundbreaking, but you know my impatience,” Anderson said. “My preference is third quarter of 2019. I’m not the only one who has a decision in this, but I’m pushing toward that and I have confidence we’ll get that done.”
He reaffirmed that men’s and women’s basketball and others teams currently using Wells Fargo Arena will not be displaced during renovation of the 14,000-seat arena, built in 1974. Like with the $300-million, multi-year renovation of Sun Devil Stadium, seating capacity of Wells Fargo Arena will be reduced to a total yet to be finalized.
“We don’t want to take any momentum off campus,” Anderson said. “A lot of work can be going on with the multi-purpose arena then when you get to the off-season, if you will, for Wells Fargo they’ll do most of the work there.”
Prior to the approval of the new ASU multi-purpose arena, there had been some discussions about the facility options the university could pursue for its hockey program. At one point, ASU was pitched on the idea of obtaining a new hockey arena through a partnership with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, but university officials opted early last year to not pursue that partnership.
RELATED STORIES: New ASU Multi-Purpose Arena Slated for 2020 Completion; Wells Fargo Arena Renovation, Indoor Venue Approved; ASU Pitching Wells Fargo Arena Renovation
