Coyotes, Oak View Group join forces for sales partnership at new ASU arena

A business decision the Arizona Coyotes have made could help strengthen their case for a new arena and entertainment district, the proposal for which is currently being reviewed by the Tempe City Council.

The Coyotes and Oak View Group on Monday announced a one-year agreement to jointly market and sell sponsorships at Arizona State University’s new multipurpose arena for Coyotes games. In a separate deal, Oak View Group manages the ASU facility that will be the temporary home for the Coyotes and permanent home of ASU hockey, wrestling, and gymnastics next season.

OVG is a major player in the arena development and operations business with a number of ongoing projects in addition to the already built facilities it owns or works with. It's conceivable that starting a relationship now could lead to OVG being involved with the development and/or management of the Coyotes' proposed new arena. 

That kind of partnership could be a big selling point to Tempe city leaders when the project goes up for a vote, given OVG's successful track record. 

For now, though, the relationship-building starts at ASU. 

“We are very excited about our partnership with Oak View Group and the opportunity to work with Tim Leiweke, Daniel Griffis and Peter Luukko and his great team,” said Coyotes’ President & CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez in a statement from the team. “By combining our sales efforts, we will be able to leverage the power of our combined resources to provide great value for our corporate partners.

“We can’t wait to play our home games at Arizona State University’s new multi-purpose arena next season. This will be a state-of-the-art venue located in the heart of Tempe with incredible sight lines. Our fans can look forward to a tremendous game night experience," Gutierrez added. 

Griffis, president of OVG's Global Partnerships division, said the Coyotes represent a unique opportunity for the firm to work with what will be a new venue with an intimate setting. 

Related: Coyotes finish off Predators for win in finale at Gila River Arena

According to a statement from both parties, OVG Global Partnerships has been able to drive more than $4 billion in sponsorship sales across 144 top brands, including 15 naming rights deals across the NFL, NHL, NCAA, AHL, ECHL and minor league baseball. It has been the primary sales representative for all of the company's owned and operated arenas including the Seattle Kraken's Climate Pledge Arena, the New York Islanders' UBS Arena and Acrisure Arena, future home of the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds in Southern California. 

The Coyotes will play all of their home games at Arizona State University’s multipurpose arena starting next season (2022-2023) through the 2024-25 season with an additional option for 2025-26. The arena is scheduled to be completed this fall.

"As a tenant, we thought it made great sense to actually formalize and deepen the relationship (with OVG) ... obviously leveraging their incredible infrastructure, their incredible team," Gutierrez said. "It's literally saying 'You are the manager of the facility, we have a great working relationship, how do we partner together to jointly market, jointly sell, and really make not only the physical facility the go-to facility during this tenure that we're going to have, but let's go and build even more memorable experiences for our corporate partners and for those that would like to be part of this experience.'"

Oak View Group, led by CEO Leiweke and Facilities Chairman Luukko, has long-standing relationships with corporate partners that the Coyotes work with as well as those the organization is looking to attract, Gutierrez said. Locally, OVG is also involved with Mesa's Bell Bank Park sports facilities. 

"We just think this was the next development in our move to the ASU multipurpose arena," Gutierrez said. 

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM.