Gila River Arena Gila River Arena is a sports and entertainment arena located in Glendale , Arizona . It is home to the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) and was home to the Arizona Sting of the National Lacrosse League ( NLL ) . Completed in 2003 , the arena cost $ 180 million . It seats 17 , 799 for hockey and lacrosse . The arena sits across the street from University of Phoenix Stadium , the home of the NFL ' s Arizona Cardinals . The arena is part of the much larger Westgate City Center development funded by millionaire New York architect Ron Elsensohn , which is going to be an entertainment and retail hub located around the arena ; a 320 - room Renaissance Hotel and Conference Center was recently completed . History . The arena ' s construction broke ground in 2002 , and the Coyotes moved into the arena a year later in late 2003 . The team had spent its first several seasons since relocating from Winnipeg in 1996 in the America West Arena ( now the US Airways Center ) in downtown Phoenix . The AWA was not an old arena ( it had made its debut as the new home of the National Basketball Association Phoenix Suns only four years earlier , in 1992 ) but it was primarily designed for NBA basketball . It was quickly retrofitted for hockey . However , the arena floor was just barely large enough to fit a regulation hockey rink , and several seats had badly obstructed views . As a result , before the team ' s second season in Phoenix , it had to be cut down from over 18 , 000 seats to just over 16 , 000 — the second - smallest capacity in the NHL at the time . After the Colorado Avalanche moved from the McNichols Sports Arena into the Pepsi Center in 1999 , and the Toronto Maple Leafs moved from the Maple Leaf Gardens to Air Canada Centre later in the same season , America West Arena was the smallest NHL venue . A small section of seats on the lower level actually hung over the boards , obstructing the views for up to 3 , 000 spectators . When the Coyotes were sold to a partnership led by Steve Ellman , that group committed to building a new arena in suburban Glendale . With agreements signed with the city of Glendale in 2001 , Glendale Arena opened midway through the 2003 – 04 season , on December 26 , 2003 , with the Arizona Sting of the National Lacrosse League defeating the Vancouver Ravens , 16 – 12 . The first NHL game was held the next evening , as the Coyotes dropped a 3 – 1 decision to the Nashville Predators on December 27 , 2003 . Jobing . com Arena was expected to gain the 2009 NHL All - Star Game after losing the 2006 All - Star Game because of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement ratification in the National Hockey League ; however the Montreal Canadiens and their arena , Bell Centre , were awarded the 2009 All - Star Game . Under the terms of the new agreement , the All - Star Game would not be held during the year of the Winter Olympics in order for players to participate in the Games . Philips Arena in Atlanta , which lost the All - Star Game in 2005 because of the lockout , was awarded the 2008 All - Star Game . However , in 2011 , the arena might host the All - Star game . Beginning in 2005 , Jobing . com Arena has been host to the Arizona state high school basketball , volleyball , wrestling and cheerleading tournaments in a mega - event called " February Frenzy " , as the result of a formal agreement between the city of Glendale and the Arizona Interscholastic Association ( AIA ) . The Arizona Sting folded after the 2007 season . It hosted its first three Stanley Cup playoff games in 2010 , winning games # 3 and # 6 in its first playoff round against the Detroit Red Wings . Naming Rights . On October 25 , 2006 , local online company Jobing . com signed a 10 - year , $ 30 million naming rights deal .