The 18,300-seat Desert Diamond Arena no longer has a major anchor sports tenant after the city ended the NHL Coyote’s lease last year, but it has done well in spite of it. The city of Glendale and ASM Global have agreed to a new long-term lease and a $40M renovation plan for Desert Diamond Arena following a record year of business for the venue in 2022.

ASM Global has operated the arena since it was built six and a half years ago. HOK has been selected to help design the arena renovation.

As part of the new agreement, which includes a lease/buy option for ASM to exercise, the company plans to leverage its anchoring of the adjacent $1 billion Westgate Entertainment District, the regional, mixed-use development destination for shopping, dining, entertainment and commercial office space. Desert Diamond Arena has a seating capacity of 18,300 for basketball and about 19,000 for concert events. The arena has 3,075 club seats and 87 luxury suites.