GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Rattlers played their first game at what was then called America West Arena in 1992.
For the past 30 years, as their home arena became known as US Airways Center, then Talking Stick Resort Arena and now the Footprint Center, the Rattlers have been a mainstay, playing every spring and summer (except for the canceled season in 2020) in downtown Phoenix.
And now, the Rattlers will call a new arena home: Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, the former home of the Arizona Coyotes.
"We're excited about it," Rattlers owner Ron Shurts said in a video released by the team on Monday. "It's going to be a great place for us, our fans love it out there."
One reason why the Rattlers are moving the 'Snake Pit' to Glendale is the hopes of turning the Westgate Entertainment District area into the 'football capital of Arizona' with both the Rattlers and Arizona Cardinals calling it home.
"I do think it's a different experience," Shurts said. "Obviously, you've got Westgate there, which is incredible, right? The Cardinals are there, so we'll have an opportunity to partner with the Cardinals on multiple different fronts out there as well."
Shurts also said that the Rattlers will be able to move their practice facilities out from east Mesa to the west Valley, which is an added benefit to this move, as is the ability to get in and out of Westgate, which Shurts says is much easier for fans than downtown Phoenix.
"Part of the rub, I think, of being downtown, regardless, whether it's the Diamondbacks, the Suns or whatever is getting in and out there," Shurts said. "And sometimes it can be a little bit of a deterrent. We're going to a facility out there that has 65,000 people that go to the Cardinal games. So we've got massive amounts of parking and (it's) easy to get to and, for us, if we have 10-15,000 people in the arena, it's easy to get to."
Shurts also noted that the Rattlers will be able to be front and center as the main tenants of Desert Diamond Arena now that the Coyotes have moved out.
However, this is not an arena Rattler fans are unfamiliar with, as the team has hosted several playoff games in Glendale due to scheduling conflicts at the Footprint Center, including the 2019 United Bowl, which had an attendance of nearly 15,000 people.
"Everybody traveled out there, and besides that, I think we're going to pick up a lot of demographic out there on the westside, too, that may not want to come to downtown," Shurts said. "Our deal's exciting, it's the opposite time of football, so we start in March and end in July or August and the Cardinal fans that live out that way will have an opportunity to come."
Shurts also believes the location of the arena right off of the 101 in Glendale makes it easy for fans from the East Valley to come out to the games, despite the extra distance they will have to travel.
From Skulls to Snakes
The arena switch was not the only news from the Rattlers on Monday as they also added a new quarterback. The Rattlers traded quarterback Drew Powell to the Tucson Sugar Skulls in exchange for quarterback Ramone Atkins.
Powell had played for the Rattlers since being signed mid-season in 2019. He went 40-7 during his time in Arizona, completing 68.94% of his passes for 6,871 yards, 136 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Powell also rushed 388 times for 2,430 yards and 96 touchdowns.
Powell led the Rattlers to consecutive United Bowl appearances in 2019 and 2021. The Rattlers were also the #1 seed in the Indoor Football League's Western Conference in 2023 but were eliminated in the first round.
Atkins won the IFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2022 when he was playing with the Duke City Gladiators. In 2023 with Tucson, he started all 16 games and threw for 1,984 yards, 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
More Moves
The Rattlers also signed quarterback Dalton Sneed on Monday.
Sneed played high school football at Horizon High School in Scottsdale before playing college football at the University of Montana.
Sneed is heading into his third IFL season and led the Bay Area Panthers to the IFL Championship last season. Sneed led the IFL in completion percentage (68.5%) last season and was tied for first in passing touchdowns (49). His best game came against the Vegas Night Hawks when he threw for a Bay Area-franchise record seven touchdowns.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made the State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers also play at the Footprint. Phoenix has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall; and Cactus League Spring Training.
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