A Theme Park of Recreation

Legacy Sports Arena is coming closer to fruition, as steel, concrete, block and wood are rising. When it opens in the fall, the multisport facility will feature two NHL-size rinks and four state-of-the-art courts with glass fl ooring and LED lighting that alternately accommodates four basketball courts, four volleyball courts, 12 pickleball courts or two By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Legacy Sports Arena will be a top-notch venue, partner says soccer fi elds.

“Soon, our neighborhood will become the envy of the Valley, with hockey, fi gure skating, basketball, volleyball, pickleball and other sports available indoors with an airconditioned environment,” says Robert Eaton Jr., managing member.

Th e building will also house a children’s and adult wood-fl oor court, a mini spa, a fi tness center, a dance studio and Pilates center, nine meeting rooms, an upstairs restaurant, club seating on each venue, electronic scoreboards, a jumbotron, concessions and a sport shop. Not only will the sports arena accommodate youth and adult leagues for each sport, but the facility can hold special events to include trade shows, corporate parties, concerts and meetings. With over 700 parking spots and a hotel to accommodate teams, families, and business travelers, Legacy Sports Arena becomes a one-stop destination for the sports enthusiast.

To lower overall operating costs, Legacy Sports Arena has a roof covered in solar panels generating between 40% to 100% of the facility’s power needs. Recycled rainwater from the roof and melted Zamboni water are captured, stored and pumped out for irrigation of the trees and green house vegetables that are grown for the restaurant.

Most third and fourth graders within 30 minutes of the facility will get to visit and ex

perience a sports awareness day as part of the Legacy Field trip program, beginning with the Deer Valley School District in January and February of 2021.

Th e program is free, as the subcontractors on the job contributed a portion of their construction contracts for this eff ort along with other business partners and corporate sponsors. Legacy Sports Arena expects to rotate up to 30,000 students through the facility in the calendar year 2021.

“Our arena is on schedule to open this fall with a limited number of Charter Memberships becoming available soon,” Eaton says. Th e longtime Arizona resident graduated from Paradise Valley High School and ASU, and then served six years in the Army. He entered the sales fi eld and then he and his

wife founded Roadrunner Pharmacy, which grew to be the largest veterinary compounder in the world. Th ey sold the business and are funding Legacy Sports Arena with the profi t. He came up with the idea for Legacy Sports Arena aft er a conversation he had about playing hockey in his 50s.

“I started playing adult hockey, and within a year I asked the question, ‘Why are we always playing at 11 o’clock at night?’ I didn’t like the answer. It basically boiled down to supply and demand,” he says.

“I vowed to myself that if I ever sold my pharmaceutical company, I’d build myself a little rink in Cave Creek. But the concept grew. Aft er talking to and visiting other rinks around the country, when I visited my phar

maceutical sales reps, I learned you needed to have more than one rink to have a viable fi nancial model.”

His granddaughter plays club volleyball, and Eaton realized there’s a big demand for volleyball courts and air-conditioned pickleball courts.

“I decided to make this an inclusive sports arena to the entire family,” he says. “Regardless of skill level or age, the entire family would have something to participate in.”

Eaton has already begun booking events. Next year, the Arizona State University Desert Classic Hockey Tournament will be held there.

“We expect quite a bit of ASU involvement with our arena over time,” he says. Other special events include Saturday Family Sports Night, which off ers ice skating, basketball, volleyball, dodgeball and stick hockey.

“It’s like Disneyland or Six Flags of sports,” Eaton says with a laugh. “It’s a theme park of sports where you can play volleyball or basketball or dodgeball and then eat at the restaurant. Families can break apart and play and come back together and do other things. It’s a way of getting them off their phone.”

Legacy Sports Arena 2727 W. Bronco Butte Trail, Phoenix 623-580-9444, legacyarena.org