Desert Diamond Casino has signed a 10-year deal to have its name on one of Arizona’s largest concert venues.
The new name, Desert Diamond Arena, could grace the building at 9400 W. Maryland Ave. in Glendale in the next 60 days, said Desert Diamond Casino Chief Executive Officer Mike Bean.
Officials from Desert Diamond Casino — owned and operated by the Tohono O’odham Nation — and ASM Global — operators of the 18,000-seat arena in the Westgate Entertainment District next door to the Arizona Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium in Glendale — announced the deal on Tuesday.
“When someone says, ‘Hey let’s go to Westgate,’ we’re a big part of that,” Bean said, referring to the bustling 223-acre Westgate Entertainment District that includes dozens of restaurants, bars and shopping.
The move comes three years after Desert Diamond opened its flagship casino in Glendale at 9431 W. Northern Ave., less than a mile from the arena. The West Valley casino averages 500,000 visitors a year, Bean said, which is nearly double the total number of people who visit Desert Diamond’s two casinos in the Tucson area.
Bean would not say how much the casino is paying for the naming rights. The Gila River Indian Community, which had the naming rights since 2014, also did not disclose how much it paid to name it Gila River Arena.
The online recruiting company Jobing.com paid $1 million a year for the naming rights when it signed a 10-year deal in 2006, according to Phoenix Business Journal.
The City of Glendale built the $220 million multi-purpose arena in 2002 for the Arizona Coyotes NHL franchise. The hockey team left the arena in June after the City of Glendale refused to renew the team’s lease at the end of the 2021-22 season that wrapped up in April. The Coyotes in February signed a deal to play at Arizona State University’s all-purpose Mullett Arena at least through 2025.
Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps said the city has brought in HLK Architects, which specializes in arenas and stadiums, to make as much as $50 million in improvements to the arena including upgrading and building out new premium areas and food and beverage areas. Construction could begin early next year, he said.
With the Coyotes out of the picture, the city now reaps the full rewards from the naming agreement, Phelps said. The money will help the city offset its annual $5.3 million budget to operate the arena.
Glendale began soliciting offers for the arena name a few months before the Coyotes left in June. Phelps said they had several offers including from Gila River Indian Community, whose agreement expired along with the Coyotes contract. But city officials said tapping Desert Diamond Casino was the obvious choice.
“They are literally in the (West Gate) Entertainment District with an incredible, sizeable investment,” Phelps said “The fact that they are really close, they can leverage that proximity so much easier.”
“What really attracted us to Desert Diamond, it wasn’t just about putting the name on the building,” he added. “They have a sincere desire to see the entertainment district grow, expand and thrive because they know that as the entertainment gets better, it will equate to more success to their operation, as well.”
With the hockey team gone, the arena will have more flexibility to book concerts, which Bean said will be a boon to the Tohono O’odham’s casino.
“We will be able to have even more entertainment there than previously,” he said. “The goal is to provide and bring more entertainment to the arena and that will bring more people (to the casino).”
Desert Diamond, which has been in business for 29 years, has four casinos including its casino and hotel on South Nogales Highway in Tucson.
Desert Diamond Arena is the state’s second-largest arena behind downtown Phoenix’s Footprint Center, which is home to the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury professional basketball teams.
