The Arizona Coyotes have agreed to purchase the Springfield Falcons AHL franchise with plans to relocate the team to Tucson.
The Arizona Coyotes acted quickly after reports surfaced that they were seeking to move their AHL affiliate to Tucson, AZ.
That rumored move would have required the Yotes to purchase their own AHL franchise in order to initiate the process.
Today, the team announced that it had agreed to purchase the Springfield Falcons. The Falcons are the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate, which was located in Springfield, MA. That would take the AHL affiliate from 2,608 miles away to 127 miles away.
That’s quite the upgrade.
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Here’s the Arizona Coyotes’ press release on the purchase:
"The Arizona Coyotes and the Springfield Falcons announced today that the two clubs have signed an agreement for the Coyotes to purchase the Falcons American Hockey League (AHL) franchise. The agreement is contingent upon AHL Board of Governor approval, finalizing closing conditions, and signing an arena lease agreement. Once approved, the Coyotes hope to have the AHL team play at Tucson Convention Center (TCC) and are in conversations with the City and Rio Nuevo to relocate the franchise to Tucson, Arizona, beginning with the 2016-17 AHL season. In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams with close to 90% of today’s NHL players being American Hockey League graduates."
Having their AHL affiliate locating in Tucson would be amazing for the Coyotes franchise moving forward.
Not only would call-ups for injury or other issue be much easier to coordinate, it would facilitate the growth of the sport in the second largest city in the state.
With a professional hockey team playing in the Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, paired with the University of Arizona’s ACHA hockey club, there will be plenty of on-ice action for Tucson residents to watch and take in beyond catching the Yotes on television.
There’s also the potential of growth for the sport among the youth of the city.
Tucson has no ice available to skaters outside of when the University of Arizona is playing. Presumably, the Falcons move to the area might spur the growth of a rink or two in the city to get more kids involved in hockey.
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The more kids the Arizona Coyotes can get involved in the sport and wearing the team’s jersey the better.
Now the question is what will this new Tucson AHL affiliate be named? Could the Coyotes resurrect the Roadrunners, perhaps?