ASU plans to renovate Wells Fargo Arena and build new hockey venue

This story was originally posted on Wednesday. It was updated on Thursday with new information.

Arizona State University unveiled preliminary plans this week for a $160 million renovation of Wells Fargo Arena with an adjacent indoor sports complex to house men's hockey, wrestling and gymnastics.

The plans were reviewed by the Arizona Board of Regents Business and Finance Committee on Thursday, and members voted unanimously to send the plans to the full board for approval in February.

About half of the $160 million would go toward renovating Wells Fargo Arena and the other half on the new hockey venue, which will be right next door on what is now parking spaces.

ASU officials say the arena has had only modest improvements since opening 43 years ago. The major renovation will include reconstructing the entire lower bowl to maximize center-court seating and replace retractable seating.

Construction likely won't start for another year.

MORE: ASU takes down wall in upper deck at Wells Fargo Arena

Here are the major highlights

New club, premium seats

The arena's new concourse will have a wider pathway. Restrooms and concessions will be upgraded. Between 250 to 300 club seats will be added along with 48 loge seats.

The total number of seats when completed is not yet available.

The arena now seats about 14,100.

New, indoor complex for hockey

The men's hockey team now rents ice time for practice and games at Oceanside Ice Arena near McClintock Drive and McKellips Road in Tempe. The team also plays a handful of games at Gila River Arena in Glendale.

ASU Chief Financial Officer Morgan Olsen on Thursday said the Oceanside Arena seats a little less than 1,000, and it's not uncommon to have 50 to 100 people stuck outside, unable to get tickets for games.

Olsen said the operators of Oceanside are great to work with, but that venue is "not what we need to be able to grow the program and accommodate all the people who want to go to games."

The Sun Devils would move into a new, indoor sports complex that will be connected to Wells Fargo on the east side and what is now a parking lot. The 5,000-seat venue also will be home to gymnastics and wrestling.

Plans include space for a second ice rink, which would be available to the community for youth and adult hockey.

Olsen acknowledged that the addition of the new venue would reduce football tailgating spaces at that location. He added that a new parking structure is planned near Alpha Drive, which runs southeast away from Wells Fargo Arena. Alpha Drive is where ASU's fraternity houses used to be.

Will basketball stay on campus?

Yes, according to plans presented to the regents.

Last summer, Vice President of Athletics Ray Anderson said basketball would likely remain on campus, but he added they were reviewing this, citing a handful of other ASU sports that were off campus such as baseball, beach volleyball and hockey.

Plans given to the regents this week say that Wells Fargo will be renovated "for men's and women's basketball and volleyball."

When will construction start?

ASU expects to start designing the arena renovations and the indoor sports complex in May with construction beginning about a year from now, in February 2019.

Preliminary plans call for the indoor sports complex to be largely finished by July 2020 with renovation of Wells Fargo mostly complete by July 2021. It's unknown as this time if the teams will play somewhere else during the renovation process.

What will the new arena look like?

Architectural renderings aren't available yet. But look for ASU to unveil more details within the next year.

There's "still a lot of planning to be done," Olsen, ASU's CFO, told regents on Thursday.

What happens next?

With the plans voted on unanimously by members of the Regents' Business and Finance Committee on Thursday, the next step is to send them to the full board for approval in February.

Once the regents give approval, the design process can begin. As the project progresses, the updated plans will come before the regents again for approval.

Reach reporter Anne Ryman at 602-444-8072 or anne.ryman@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at: twitter.com/anneryman.