Xtream Arena, the Coralville arena that will host an ECHL team and some University of Iowa sports, has opened for business–mostly.
We’re not talking about just a 6,600-capacity arena here: it was designed more as a destination for the entire Iowa City area, as Coralville is a smaller community directly adjacent to the northwest corner of the city and the University of Iowa. In addition to the arena, an adjoining fieldhouse will seat A 100-room hotel will also open later as part of the arena project, while the facility also hosts a variety of other retail businesses and restaurants, including scaled-down versions of Pizza Ranch and Guild Wurst Tavern.
An open house celebrating the arena opening is being held this weekend.
It had already been announced that the Specta-managed facility would host University of Iowa volleyball as well as other club sports, but the biggest news as part of the opening was the addition of an ECHL team to the mix. In the early planning stages there was talk of a USHL team being wooed as a tenant, but in the end the higher-ranking pro league made a deal to play at Xtream Arena. The team will be owned by Dean MacDonald of Deacon Sports & Entertainment, which also owns the circuit’s Newfoundland Growlers and an expansion Trois-Rivières, Quebec team. Though the 2020-2021 season has not been released, it’s likely both the Coralville and Trois-Rivières teams will not begin play until the 2021-2022 season.
Photo courtesy Xtream Arena.
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