TEMPE — The Mullett will have a party in the front and the back Friday night.
By far the NHL's smallest venue, Mullett Arena takes its first spin in the national spotlight when the Arizona Coyotes host the Winnipeg Jets.“It’s a new chapter of hockey in Arizona and in Tempe," Coyotes forward Clayton Keller said. “I think everyone is excited and there will be a lot more eyes and a lot of people talking more about hockey.”
The 5,000-seat venue near Sun Devil Stadium is state-of-the-art and a perfect fit for college hockey. For NHL games, it's going to be like watching the Rolling Stones at an upscale city theater. The NFL's Los Angeles Chargers also had a unique venue after moving north from San Diego, playing three seasons at the 30,000-seat home of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy.
New technology was added for the NHL's replays, stats and video on the benches. Areas inside the arena were cleared out to accommodate more cameras for NHL games and the press box was adjusted for the various media members and NHL officials.