The Des Moines Buccaneers are a staple in the United States Hockey League, the top junior league in the country. They take the ice in Buccaneer Arena, but until recently groundwork was being laid for the team to move to a $60 million arena at the Merle Hay Mall.
The Buccaneers have since unexpectedly ended discussions with the Mall and backed out of the project, leaving the future of that site unclear.
The original partnership and plan for the arena was announced in 2020. The team’s current arena is showing it’s age, and a renovated 3,500-seat venue at a multi-purpose destination seemed like a great solution. Somehow, in the past four years, lease terms were never finalized and construction never started. Finally, the USHL team notified the city of Des Moines that a deal could not be reached.
"You know, there was an issue, we couldn't give them a firm date when we were going to deliver the arena to them, but that's always been the case," Liz Holland, CEO of Merle Hay Mall told We Are Iowa.
For now, it’s back to Buccaneer Arena for the second-oldest USHL team in the country.
However, Buccaneer Arena has several tenants at this point. The Buccaneers sublease the space to the city’s Major Indoor Soccer League, the Demon Hawks. Also using the space is the Des Moines Capitals, a youth hockey team.
The Buccaneers completed their season back in April with a win against the Waterloo Black Hawks. Their season ended with a 25-37 record, falling short of making the playoffs.
Even without the agreement from the Buccaneers, the mall says it will move forward with the construction plans for an arena. Businesses within the mall are still optimistic that the space can bring increased foot traffic to their storefronts.
