Desert Diamond Arena (originally Glendale Arena and formerly Jobing.com Arena and Gila River Arena) is an indoor entertainment arena located in Glendale, Arizona, which anchors the 223-acre, $1 billion Westgate Entertainment District.
Located about 12.5 miles (20.1 km) northwest of downtown Phoenix, the arena was built east of Arizona Loop 101 (Agua Fria Freeway) and on the north side of West Maryland Avenue at a cost of $220 million. Owned by the City of Glendale and managed by ASM Global, Desert Diamond Arena is currently home to the Indoor Football League's Arizona Rattlers (since 2024) and was home to the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Arizona Coyotes from 2003 until 2022. Since then it hosts concerts and other entertainment acts throughout the year. Desert Diamond Arena has a seating capacity of 17,125 for ice hockey, 18,300 for basketball and about 19,000 for concert events. The arena has 3,075 club seats and 87 luxury suites.
History
Desert Diamond Arena before a Coyotes game; from south end, looking north
After the Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix in 1996, they spent their first 7+ seasons playing at America West Arena (AWA) as the Phoenix Coyotes. AWA had been designed as the new home of the NBA'sPhoenix Suns only four years earlier, so it had to be quickly retrofitted for hockey. The arena floor was barely large enough to fit an NHL regulation size hockey rink and some seats on the upper level hung over the boards. That obstructed the views for up to 3,000 spectators. As a result, before the team's second season in Phoenix, its hockey seating capacity was reduced from 18,000+ seats to 16,210 — then the second-smallest capacity in the NHL. After the Colorado Avalanche moved from McNichols Sports Arena into the Pepsi Center in 1999 and the Toronto Maple Leafs from Maple Leaf Gardens into the Air Canada Centre later that same season, America West Arena became the smallest NHL venue.
When the Coyotes were sold to a partnership led by Phoenix real estate developer Steve Ellman, they committed to build a new arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale. A lease agreement was signed with the City of Glendale in 2001, construction began on April 3, 2002, and the arena opened midway through the 2003–04 NHL season. The National Lacrosse League's Arizona Sting hosted the first sporting event in the arena, a 16–12 2004 NLL season opening victory against the Vancouver Ravens on December 26, 2003. The next evening, the Phoenix Coyotes hosted their first game before a standing room-only crowd of 19,052 ending in a 3–3 tie against the Nashville Predators. Their first win in Glendale was on December 31, 2003, with a 4-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
On August 19, 2021, the city of Glendale chose not to renew its contract with the team after the 2021–22 season, putting the franchise's future in Arizona into question. The Coyotes announced they would be seeking to build a new venue in Tempe in response.[8] The final Coyotes home game at the arena was played April 29, 2022, a 5–4 comeback win against the Nashville Predators. After the season, the Coyotes moved their home games to Mullett Arena at Arizona State University, where they played for the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons.[9]
Since 2005, the arena has hosted the Arizona state high school basketball, volleyball, wrestling and cheerleading tournaments in an event called "February Frenzy," resulting from a formal agreement between the City of Glendale and the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA).
The highest grossing event in venue history was UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2 on June 12, 2021, with 17,208 guests in attendance and $4,281,800 in revenue.
Prior to the 2018–19 season, the Coyotes purchased and installed the center-hung scoreboard that was formerly used by the defunct The Palace of Auburn Hills.[10]
The arena was a regular stop for the Professional Bull Riders (PBR)’s Premier Series for several years. Since 2022, it has become the home of the PBR’s Arizona Ridge Riders during the PBR Team Series season held from the summer to autumn.
The Arizona Rattlers announced that they would be moving to Desert Diamond Arena in 2024, after using the arena as a temporary home previously. This gives the arena their first tenant after the Arizona Coyotes had left in 2022.
Naming rights
The arena was initially named Jobing.com Arena after a Phoenix-based employment website under a ten-year, $30 million contract established in October 2006.[11]
The Coyotes terminated their agreement with Jobing.com and immediately announced a new nine-year naming and sponsorship deal on August 13, 2014, with Gila River Casinos — a group of tribal casinos that are controlled by the Gila River Indian Community. Former Coyotes President/CEO and Alternate Governor Anthony LeBlanc described the new agreement as the "most significant deal" made by the team under its new IceArizona ownership.[12] With it, the Gila River community became the first federally recognized Native American tribe to hold a naming rights deal with a venue for one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.[13]
On August 23, 2022, the arena reached an agreement with Desert Diamond Casino to rename the arena as Desert Diamond Arena.[14]
