Tour 2023: Mullett Arena

All photos of Mullett Arena available on Flickr.

On Saturday, Erik and I attended our first NHL game together in almost 15 years, which was Game 1 of our first ever two-sport doubleheader.  Not wanting to exercise for a 2nd day in a row, we needed something to fill our morning before the 1:00pm puck drop.  A quick Google search of "Phoenix bars open early morning" landed us at the Yucca Tap Room for some 9:00 AM college football watching.  If you close your eyes and imagine what a sketchy dive bar looks like, this had many of the characteristic traits - very worn down and in need of repair, a host of regular patrons, no drink list, one old grumpy bartender, and the only natural light was from the intermittent opening and closing of the front door made of plywood.  As opposed to all of the establishments we had been visiting in Tempe the previous two days, we felt right at home here.  We stopped for another drink at Fate Brewing down the street and then we were off to the arena, which was literally across the street from our hotel.

From what I knew of the tumultuous history of the Arizona Coyotes franchise, I went into this experience with very low expectations.  They originated after the original Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix in 1996, and after a brief period with Wayne Gretzky at the helm, declared bankruptcy in 2009.  Pretty much ever since then, there has been a looming threat of the team moving, with constant ownership changes and aborted sales, many years of low revenue and general futility, and many failed attempts at securing a new arena.  They were even evicted from their last arena in Glendale, which is why they currently play in a 5,000-seat arena that was built for the Arizona State Sun Devils.  So it was a pleasant surprise to walk into a sellout crowd for which we could only manage to procure standing room seats.  There was an electric energy the entire game and the building was loud from puck drop to final horn.  We'll never know if the Coyotes fanbase would have filled a normal sized NHL arena that day, but from what I saw at the game and around town in our 4 days in Phoenix, there is definitely an appetite for hockey in the desert that I was not anticipating.  If an NHL franchise can thrive and succeed like the one in Vegas, I have no doubt that with the right ownership and arena that the Coyotes can too.

The smaller size of Mullett Arena as opposed to a standard NHL arena of 3x that size made this a very unique environment.  I've been to a handful of NHL games, but the bulk of my hockey experience comes from the UW Badgers and Milwaukee Admirals, and even those teams play in considerably larger arenas, so this Coyotes game was like nothing I've ever experienced hockey-wise.  It truly felt like a raucous college crowd and it was cool to be a part of.  The exterior is non-descript, as there are very few windows and it consists of primarily one deck of seats so it is quite short.  The interior is ringed by a concourse on 3 sides that has a 100% open view to the ice.  Concessions are positioned in the 4 corners of the arena only, which really keeps the concourse open for circulation, or in our case, standing at a drink rail to watch the game.  The 4th side of the arena has a large private club area that interrupts the concourse.  The 2nd level features a row of small, intimate suites lining the long ends of the arena, and on one of the short sides is another private party deck.  I always clamor at ballparks about the large amount of private club/suite space versus areas accessible to all, but for them to build that much private space in an arena this small, it must be booked up with sponsors and wealthy benefactors and put to good use for the university.  We wedged into an area behind the goal that the 'Yotes shot at twice, sandwiched between two groups of people that understood absolutely nothing about hockey - some drunk guys from Ireland and some cheerleaders.  I love standing room areas and Erik and I had a blast being a part of the lively crowd.  Outside of eating the sorriest excuse for nachos I've ever seen, I thoroughly enjoyed Mullett Arena, and it was one of the most fun games of the trip.

The Coyotes lost to the new version of the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 5-3.  Arizona jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 1st period on a goal by J.J. Moser, assisted by Lawson Crouse on a nice little 2-on-1 breakaway.  Winnipeg woke up in the 2nd and there were a total of 5 goals scored in that period, and the score was tied 3-3 at the second intermission.  The Jets took the lead for good at 3:23 into the 3rd period on a slap shot by defenseman Brenden Dillon, who was for some reason left all alone on the weak side of the play.  The Coyotes went on the power play with about 5 minutes left in the game and Erik and I were obnoxiously screaming for them to pull the goalie for the 2-man advantage, but it was all for naught and a wasted opportunity.  Erik was excited to see Logan Cooley play for the 'Yotes, who was the #3 overall pick in the 2022 draft out of the University of Minnesota.  He was a relative non-factor in the game with a (-2) and only one shot on goal.

Following the game, we finally hit up the famous Micky's Hot Dogs and downed a couple of much-anticipated Sonoran Hot Dogs, which is an Arizona delicacy typically wrapped in bacon and covered with chilis and mayo, served on a doughy and flaky style of bun.  We paid the price for those the following day, but for now, we proceeded to Mesa with full bellies for game #2 of the day and the final game of our trip.

arena rankings and statistics:
aesthetics - 7 (low marks for exterior but high marks for interior)
view to ice - 9
surrounding area - 7 (ASU campus)
food variety - 3
nachos - 1 (bag of chips and cup o' cheese)
beer - 4
vendor price - 9
ticket price - 3 ($75 for SRO)
atmosphere - 8
walk to arena - 7
parking proximity - n/a
concourses - 4 (not active but points for view to ice)
team shop - 2 (one small team stand)

best food - the pizza looked good
most unique arena feature - being a one-deck college arena
best jumbotron feature - player/game intro
best intermission feature - Howler regales the crowd

starting goalies - Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) v. Karel Vejmelka (ARI)
Three Stars of the game - (1) Nino Niederreiter - WPG, (2) Brenden Dillon - WPG, (3) Lawson Crouse - ARI
opponent - Winnipeg Jets
attendance - 4600
score - 5-3 L
Admirals score that day - 2-1 L