Arizona FINALLY Makes The Right Call!
Arizona State has finally made the right call to give the hockey team the rink they longed deserve. The team is in the news once again after dropping new jerseys last week, and this time it's because they are getting a fat new $115 million on campus arena. The team has been playing their games at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe, which is basically the local hockey rink you grew up playing in. Wikipedia has the capacity listed as 747 people, so getting a new 5,000 arena will be huge for the program. Away games must've been a treat for these guys. Playing in that dump night in and night out with a 747 capacity at the D1 level should be illegal. Must've been like a glorified high school game.
Playing at Oceanside was without a doubt the biggest knock on going to ASU and the only thing holding them back from NCAA dominance. You have recruits that are going on visits to North Dakota and Minnesota and seeing their top of the line facilities and locker rooms, then they go to ASU and see the team plays at Oceanside and have to share a locker room with the local peewee team.
I have long said that if you're currently a D-1 hockey recruit that is going through the recruiting process, looking at Arizona State is a no brainer. Now you add in a $115 million arena right next to the football stadium and recruits will be signing their papers on the plane as soon as they get off the ASU Barstool Instagram.