Mak Barden skates with the puck against Colorado State on Friday, Oct. 31, 2014 at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe. ASU will continue playing at Oceanside during its hybrid 2015-16 season. (Photo by Ben Moffat)Earlier this season, the No. 1 ASU hockey team announced it would be transitioning into NCAA Division I, playing a hybrid of NCAA and ACHA teams in 2015-16. This move was made possible by longtime hockey supporters and their $32 million donation.
The team's move brought questions about where the team would play, with its current home (Oceanside Ice Arena) only having a capacity of 500. But for at least one more season, ASU will play at Oceanside Ice Arena and the arena will be renovated.
In a Facebook post, the arena announced, "We are the home of ASU NCAA hockey for the 15-16 season and beyond," and in a second Facebook post said, "The renovation to the arena is extensive but we will only be down for 2 weeks - 1 week in March and 1 week in July."
https://twitter.com/OceansideIce/status/554739659620618240
The arena location for 2015-16 was first reported by azcentral sports's Jeff Metcalfe.
"We need your help building an arena that will help us now be a top-tier Division I program," Athletic Director Ray Anderson told him. "We think that will come. For our hybrid year (2015-16), we'll stay at Oceanside (Arena). We're potentially having discussions about playing some of the bigger games perhaps in Glendale if we bring a really big team in here."
Reach the reporter at kewens@asu.edu or follow @katlynewens on Twitter.
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