Draft:Pepsi Ice Arena

Pepsi Ice Arena is a 1,400 seat ice rink located in North Las Vegas, Nevada. It is currently home to the Las Vegas Ice Warriors, a non-profit program designed to make playing hockey affordable for families of all income levels. The Junior Vegas Golden Knights and other youth ice hockey programs from the Las Vegas metropolitan area also use the arena.

History
Originally called Sobe Ice Arena, Pepsi Ice Arena opened in 2004 as part of an expansion to the Fiesta Rancho casino and hotel. It replaced an ice arena at nearby Santa Fe Station that was shuttered by Fiesta Rancho's parent company, Station Casinos, in 2003. The arena was a home to the UNLV Skating Rebels club hockey team from their inception in 2005 until moving to City National Arena in 2017. Prior to the Vegas Golden Knights entry into the NHL in 2017, the arena was one of only two permanent ice sheets in the entire Las Vegas valley.

The Golden Knights era
With the immediate success of the Golden Knights, the popularity of ice hockey soared in the Las Vegas market. Youth hockey programs operated by the Golden Knights began to utilize Pepsi Ice Arena in addition to several other ice rinks around the Las Vegas valley. Additionally, the newly-formed Las Vegas Thunderbirds, then of the Western States Hockey League, played their inaugural season at Pepsi Ice Arena. In 2023, the Golden Knights assumed operations of the arena.

Hylo Park and the future of Pepsi Ice Arena
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Station Casinos permanently closed Fiesta Rancho and its neighbor, Texas Station, with plans to sell the properties. Both casinos and hotels were demolished in 2023. As of March, 2024, Pepsi Ice Arena and its adjacent parking garage are the only parts of the complex that remain.

Agora Realty & Management purchased the land Pepsi Ice Arena sits on, as well as the empty lots of both casinos in November 2023. The organization plans to redevelop the site into a mixed-use neighborhood called Hylo Park, with Pepsi Ice Arena being converted into a multi-use sports and recreation facility. The developers expect to partner with the Golden Knights to open a new ice rink with two sheets of ice, similar to City National Arena and America First Center, both of which are owned and operated by the Golden Knights. The new arena is expected to be a centerpiece of the development.