Arizona Coyotes Ink a Deal with Gila River Casinos

The ice hockey team Arizona Coyotes announced on Tuesday that it had entered into a brand sponsorship agreement with the Gila River Resorts & Casinos. This will see the latter as the first Native American gaming company to be advertised on a National Hockey League’s (NHL) jersey.

Gila River Resorts & Casinos Logo on the Kachina Jerseys

This is the very first time an NHL team would be allowed to wear sweaters with ads on them. The Arizona Coyotes’ official home jerseys can have advertisements from gambling companies and sportsbooks. The name and logo of Gila River Resorts & Casinos will appear on the Coyotes’ black sweaters. According to press releases, the jerseys with the new ads would be presented to the fans for the first time on Thursday, September 22, 2022, at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler at 5:30 p.m. The ice hockey team is currently looking for other sponsors for their road sweaters.

Kenneth Manuel, chief executive officer at Gila River Resorts & Casinos, commented that the Arizona Coyotes and the Gila River Indian Community had maintained a long and strong partnership, which brought many positive changes to the community.

Additionally, Gila River Resorts & Casinos will be the Arizona Coyotes’ “presenting sponsor” and will include activations around games at the new temporary home arena of the ice hockey team at Arizona State University, Mullett Arena in Tempe.

Arizona Coyotes changed Gila River Arena with ASU Mullett Arena

The Arizona Coyotes’ previous home arena was Gila River Arena, a multi-purpose facility located in Glendale, owned by the City of Glendale and controlled by AEG Facilities. In 2014, the Arizona Coyotes, the Gila River Resorts & Casinos, and the Gila River Indian Community entered into a nine-year partnership agreement, which included the naming rights of the facility. In August 2022, the city of Glendale changed the name of the entertainment facility to Desert Diamond Arena. Glendale ended its lease agreement with the ice hockey team for the venue after the 2021-2022 season.

According to a press release, Xavier A. Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer of the Arizona Coyotes, commented that the ice hockey team would gain more funds from the advertisements of Gila River Resorts & Casinos on the sweaters than it obtained from the Coyotes’ former arena. Gutierrez added the Arizona Coyotes’ new partner believed in what the team was doing and in the club itself.

The ASU Mullett Arena will be the temporary home arena of the Arizona Coyotes until at least 2025. Meanwhile, the team is seeking to build its own home arena on city-owned land in Tempe.