Desert Diamond Arena

History

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. 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.

Two years after their move, it was discovered through a report in April 2024 that the team did not collect items bearing the Coyotes branding and left them at the arena, including Shane Doan's jersey retirement banner. It was recovered by an arena worker, who gave it to Doan when the word surfaced days after the Coyotes' final NHL game.

Concerts and events

Desert Diamond Arena has hosted numerous concerts and events since opening in December 2003. A string of concerts in the arena’s inaugural year included performances by Prince, Rod Stewart, Toby Keith, Britney Spears, and Usher. Since then, other acts performing there included U2, RBD, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against the Machine, Billie Eilish, Kenny Chesney, Mötley Crüe, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, The Eagles, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana, The Weeknd, Harry Styles, Celine Dion, Coldplay, Eric Church, Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Sam Smith, Demi Lovato, Bon Jovi, Khalid, Madonna, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Usher, John Mayer, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, The Killers, Florence & The Machine, Enhypen, Lady Gaga, Zach Bryan, Benson Boone, Laufey, Conan Gray, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Hatsune Miku and For King & Country.

Desert Diamond Arena events in recent years included UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje, UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2, Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva, Nitro Circus Live, WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown, Stars on Ice, 2021 Gold Over America Tour, Street League Skateboarding, and WEC 53. The arena has hosted the traveling family-oriented shows Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Sesame Street Live, the Harlem Globetrotters and Cirque du Soleil.

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.

The arena was the temporary home of the Arizona Rattlers arena/indoor football team when their home arena, the Footprint Center, was unavailable due to other events. It hosted the Arena Football League's ArenaBowl XXIX in 2016, the Indoor Football League's playoffs in 2019 and was scheduled to host the team's IFL home season in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona.

Prior to the 2018–19 NHL season, the Coyotes purchased and installed the center-hung scoreboard that was formerly used by the now-defunct Palace of Auburn Hills.

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 permanently in 2024 after using the arena as a temporary home previously. This gave the arena its first tenant since the Coyotes left in 2022.

On February 19, 2025, it was announced that All Elite Wrestling would hold their Double or Nothing pay-per-view at the arena on May 25, 2025.

During the memorial service of conservative activist and Arizona resident Charlie Kirk at nearby State Farm Stadium on September 21, 2025 following his assassination eleven days prior, overflow attendees were sent to Desert Diamond Arena.

Naming rights

Glendale Arena was renamed Jobing.com Arena after a Phoenix-based employment website under a ten-year, $30 million contract established in October 2006.

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. 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.

On August 23, 2022, the arena reached an agreement with Desert Diamond Casino to rename the arena as Desert Diamond Arena.

References

References

1. . (August 5, 2013). ["Coyotes Purchased by IceArizona, Will Change Name to Arizona Coyotes After Next Season"](http://nesn.com/2013/08/coyotes-purchased-by-icearizona-will-change-name-to-arizona-coyotes-after-next-season/).
2. [http://portfolio.populous.com/projects/jobingarena.html Jobing.com Arena] {{Webarchive. link. (October 8, 2011 architect: [[Populous (company)). Populous]]
3. (December 26, 2003). "Jobing.com Arena". ICON Venue Group.
4. "Creating Exceptional Environments". [[Syska Hennessy.
5. "Jobing.com Arena". Ballparks.com.
6. Flannery, Pat. (December 27, 2003). "Today's the Day. This Is Just the Beginning: A Milestone in West Side's Rise". [[The Arizona Republic]].
7. (August 19, 2021). "City of Glendale decides not to renew operations agreement with Arizona Coyotes".
8. (October 28, 2022). "Coyotes reach deal with ASU to play at new Sun Devil arena".
9. (April 30, 2024). "One final insult for Shane Doan from the Arizona Coyotes".
10. (August 16, 2018). "Coyotes, Glendale & AEG Invest in State-of-the-Art Centerhung Video Board".
11. (September 21, 2025). "Huge crowds flock to Charlie Kirk service, leave exhausted and uplifted". The Arizona Republic.
12. . (October 25, 2006). ["Jobing.com, Glendale Arena deal confirmed"](http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/10/23/daily27.html). *[[American City Business Journals]]*.
13. (August 13, 2014). "With New Naming Rights to Their Arena, Arizona Coyotes Make Economic Statement". Bleacher Report.
14. (August 14, 2014). "An Arizona tribe is going to be the first to have naming rights to a professional sports arena". Washington Post.
15. "Desert Diamond Casino lands naming deal for Glendale arena".