ASU’s multi-purpose arena is on track for 2020
Arizona State Vice President of Athletics Ray Anderson expects ASU's new 5,000-seat, multi-purpose arena that will house hockey and some Olympic sports to be completed by November 2020, a year ahead of renovations at Wells Fargo Arena.
Work on both is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2019, or in the case of Wells Fargo Arena, after basketball season ends.
Anderson said basketball teams and other sports that currently utilize Wells Fargo Arena will continue to compete there during renovations like football has done at Sun Devil Stadium during its multi-year, $300-million rebuild.
"We're never going to kick ourselves out because that's not good for our athletes and our programs," Anderson said.
ASU's men's basketball team returned to the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time in four years and first under Bobby Hurley.
The ASU women's basketball has made five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and returns a team that could contend to host in the first and second rounds in March 2019.
Hockey close to having new venue
ASU hockey, meanwhile, could begin playing in its on-campus arena, to be built adjacent to Wells Fargo Arena, in 2020-21. The Sun Devils will be going into their fourth varsity season in 201819 and third playing a full NCAA schedule. They remain independent, a status that Anderson believes is advantageous going into the new arena after two more seasons playing primarily at Oceanside Ice Arena.
The National Collegiate Hockey Conference and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association are potential landing spots for ASU, more so than the Big Ten.
"We are keeping it completely open because as the stature of our program and the commitment we've made becomes very clear to folks in the hockey world, we've got a lot of folks advocating for us, even coveting us to be members of their conference," Anderson said. "Right now, we're a free agent and we like it that way because we're building up pretty good leverage."
Anderson remains strongly supportive of hockey coach Greg Powers and understanding of the challenge that comes with being a start-up Division I program that schedules some of the nation's traditional powers.
"You knew this was going to be a struggle, not a job for the faint of heart," Anderson said. "He has taken it and in a short period of time done a great job from my naive eyes as a non-hockey guy. I do know enough folks that know hockey that say 'Ray, you guys are doing something special and your coach is a big part of that.' "
Football, tennis, track, golf moving
Numerous other facility improvements are coming in the near future, tied into development of the Novus Innovation Corridor, a 330-acre athletic facilities district that will help to fund athletic capital projects.
These include building a fieldhouse and grass fields on the north side of Sun Devil Stadium to replace the Dickey Dome and Kajikawa practice fields, and moving the Whiteman Tennis Center and Sun Angel Track Stadium to the east side of Rural Road, where a lacrosse field also will be built.
"If you move us," due to Novus development, "you improve us," Anderson said. "When you evict us, you'd better be ready to improve our situation. Michael Crow has bought into that. So we either have to get evicted sooner or we have to come up with the lion's share of the start-up costs in terms of our philanthropy."
The golf teams are moving to Papago Golf Course, where a clubhouse and practice facility are being built, because Karsten Golf Course is part of the Novus Innovation Corridor redevelopment.
Baseball stadium, Camp Tontozona getting upgrades
ASU also is beginning a $4 million upgrade – new batting facility and bullpens and shortening fences – at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. As for football, already the beneficiary of a new home at the north end of Sun Devil Stadium, an artificial turf field is being installed at Camp Tontozona, where the Sun Devils will train from Aug. 6-11.
Anderson has renderings in his office of further improvements for Camp Tontozona that will make the facility outside of Payson more usable for almost every ASU team and other university functions.