Wednesday, August 27, 2014

GLENDALE, ARIZONA --- Arizona Coyotes Co-Owner, President and CEO Anthony LeBlanc announced today that IceArizona has invested over $3 million into soon to be named Gila River Arena to enhance the fan experience at the venue with improvements to concession stands, food and beverage options, existing clubs and a remodeled Fanatics team store. The Coyotes are also renovating the team’s dressing room and have added a new corporate office for staff.

“We are constantly striving to make the fan experience at Coyotes’ home games and other arena events the best it can possibly be,” said LeBlanc. “We care about our great fans and encourage them to provide us with feedback. We listened to them during the off-season and have addressed their main concerns. We’re confident that our fans will be thrilled with our new food and beverage options and the improvements we’ve made to the Coyotes Den.”

Coyotes Den Team Store

In April, the Coyotes signed a multi-year agreement with Fanatics Retail Group to manage the team’s retail store at Gila River Arena. Fanatics is the leading online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise and offers the largest selection of team merchandise found anywhere along with advanced e-commerce and fulfillment solutions for hundreds of professional teams and colleges, leagues, conferences and media sites.

The Coyotes team store, located next to Gate #4, has been completely remodeled and will now provide fans with a wider variety of Coyotes merchandise. The new Fanatics team store, which will open in September along with seven retail stands throughout Gila River Arena, will offer hundreds of new styles of men’s, women’s and kids apparel and one of the largest selections available anywhere of Coyotes hats. The new team store will also offer more than 150 accessories and novelty items from manufactures such as Sher-Wood, Wincraft and Forever Collectibles.

Fanatics will offer fans popular apparel lines such as Reebok and Antigua. In addition to the main team store at Gate #4, Fanatics will have retail stands throughout Gila River Arena at Gate #2, Gate #6 and a store located between sections 104 and 105 on the south end of the concourse. Fanatics will also have two stores located on the east and west sides of center ice on the upper level concourse.

“We are looking forward to unveiling our new arena team store in September,” said Brendan McQuillan, Vice President of Stadium Commerce at Fanatics Retail Group, “Coyotes fans will be very impressed with the wide variety of great merchandise that will be available this season.”

Levy Restaurants Food & Beverage Options

Coyotes fans will enjoy fresh new menu options at Gila River Arena this season courtesy of Levy Restaurants, the official restaurant partner at the arena. Levy and the Coyotes have expanded offerings and enhanced service for guests within the arena, by increasing the number of concession stands on the lower and upper levels (14 new portables) and also adding more points of sale (27 total) to keep the lines short and the focus on the game.

Led by Executive Chef Stephen Tilder, locations throughout the arena will offer a wider variety of high quality, craveable selections including hand-carved sandwiches, street tacos, beer braised bratwursts and more. Additionally, fan favorite Papa John's pizza will satisfy traditional appetites, while section 108 will feature a new Grab ‘N Go area with a new selection of healthy options.

“We are all about the Coyotes fans,” said Stephen Tilder, Executive Chef for Levy Restaurants at Gila River Arena. “We are excited to help take the experience at the arena to a new level and welcome fans back with great food and outstanding hospitality.”

Concession Stands

To enhance service in concession areas, nine lower level concourse stands will now feature digital menu boards. The new technology will improve the speed of service, so fans can enjoy exactly what they want, when they want it and get right back to the game. The Coyotes have also moved the popular Tim Horton’s coffee stand on the lower concourse to the south end of Gila River Arena near sections 106/107.

Clubs and Specialty Areas

Specialty areas, such as the Terrace Bar (suite level) and the Rinkside Club (event level) have experienced significant renovations and design upgrades. The Coyotes have also built a permanent ticket sales information and service kiosk inside Gate #2 of Gila River Arena. In addition, the Coyotes have built a new pre and post-game set for broadcast partner FOX Sports Arizona above section 104. This new set will provide FOX Sports Arizona with a great sightline of the ice before, during and after games and more interaction with fans.

Coyotes Offices and Dressing Room Renovation

The Coyotes dressing room underwent a major improvement this summer. A players’ theater room for watching game video was added along with a renovated players’ lounge and new offices for the coaching staff. In June, the Coyotes also moved their entire corporate offices from Westgate Entertainment District to the Gila River Arena. The new offices are located at the north end of the service level and accommodate all of the organization’s hockey and business operations staff.

DAS Upgrade

In partnership with Crown Castle, the country’s largest independent owners and operators of shared wireless infrastructure, the Coyotes have upgraded their Distributed Antenna System (DAS) in Gila River Arena. This will improve the signal and reception for phone and data connectivity to 4G LTE from 2G for all fans in the arena.

About Fanatics

Fanatics is the leading online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise and provides the ultimate shopping experience to sports fans. As a Top 50 Internet Retailer Company, Fanatics comprises the broadest online assortment offering hundreds of thousands of officially licensed items via its Fanatics (www.fanatics.com) and FansEdge (www.fansedge.com) brands, as well as the largest selection of sports collectibles and memorabilia through Fanatics Authentic (www.fanaticsauthentic.com). In addition, the Company powers the e-commerce sites of all major professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, PGA, UFC), major media brands (NBC Sports, CBS Sports, FOX Sports) and over 150 collegiate and professional team properties.

About Levy Restaurants

Levy Restaurants, founded in Chicago in 1978, is recognized as one of America’s fastest growing and most critically acclaimed restaurant companies, and is the leader in premium sports and entertainment dining. Levy was recently named one of the 10 most innovative companies in sports in the world by Fast Company magazine. The company’s diverse portfolio includes award-winning restaurants such as James Beard Award-winning Spiaggia in Chicago, Fulton’s Crab House, Portobello and Wolfgang Puck Grand Café at Walt Disney World Resort, renowned sports and entertainment venues like Churchill Downs in Louisville, STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Wrigley Field in Chicago and American Airlines Arena in Miami, Ohio State University and events including the Super Bowl, World Series, U. S. Open, Kentucky Derby, NHL and NBA All-Star Games and the GRAMMY® Awards. For details, visit www.levyrestaurants.com.