Xtream Arena Has No Hockey Team This Winter. Here's What's Filling the Building.

"We really want to push hard to keep hockey in the market," Jason Anderson, general manager of Xtream Arena and GreenState Family Fieldhouse, told The Gazette after the team's suspension was announced. That push won't show up on the ice in Coralville this winter. On March 9, 2026, the ECHL approved the Iowa Heartlanders' request to suspend operations for the full 2026–27 season.

That leaves the building at 200 E. 9th Street without its hockey tenant this winter. It is still busy. The rhythm has changed, though. Repeat home games used to fill the dates. Now it's a string of tournaments and touring shows, and plenty of them open their doors at 8 or 9 in the morning.

The Winter Calendar, Date by Date

Xtream Arena's own listings from November through January show the change. The IGHSAU State Volleyball Tournament takes up the arena from Nov. 2 through Nov. 5. Here is what comes after it:

From the end of the volleyball tournament through Jan. 31, that's 18 event days. Eight of them start at 8 or 9 a.m.: the Donnybrook, Soldier Salute, For Her Duals and WrestleTown USA Nationals. Two more are Hawkeye volleyball matches. Four belong to the circus. Only Band Extravaganza, Hairball and the two rodeo nights stand alone. The busiest stretch is the first week of December, which runs four days straight with the Donnybrook and then Band Extravaganza. A week later, Coralville's Aisle of Lights luminarias are set for Sunday, Dec. 13, from 5 to 9 p.m. across the city, so that weekend's lights are outdoors, not in the arena.

For anyone near Iowa River Landing, the difference is mostly about timing. A hockey season repeats the same kind of night over and over. This winter's events come in clusters, with a few busy days, then quiet ones, then another cluster. The listings change as dates are added, so check Xtream Arena's events page before you build plans around a quiet weekend. Through Jan. 31, the calendar shows nothing for February or March 2027 yet.

Why the Building Has Openings to Fill

The schedule looks the way it does because of the attendance numbers behind the pause. The Gazette reported that the Heartlanders finished the 2025–26 season last in the 30-team ECHL, averaging 1,626 fans per game. The league average was 5,018, and Jacksonville led at 9,198. That put Coralville's crowds at about a third of a typical ECHL night. KCRG gave a rounder figure of about 1,500 per game when it reported in March that team president Matt Getz cited missed financial goals as the reason for the suspension.

Owner Michael Devlin laid out the decision in the team's announcement: "we concluded that stepping back for a season is the most responsible course while we review long-term solutions." The organization said it would use the time to look at strategic alternatives, including possible investment or ownership partnerships. The Corridor Business Journal covered the move under a headline saying the owner vows a return to Coralville ice.

The team played out its 2025–26 schedule with eight home games left at Xtream Arena after the announcement. Six of them fell between March 18 and April 11. Speaking to The Gazette after the suspension, Anderson said an anchor tenant matters to the arena financially. Losing that tenant is what opened up the winter dates in the table above.

Where Coralville's Hockey Went

The pro team is idle, but live hockey is still played in Coralville, at the mall. BODYARMOR Ice Rink sits near Center Court in Coral Ridge Mall at 1451 Coral Ridge Avenue. The rink calls itself home of the Iowa City youth hockey associations, and its schedule legend lists practices and games for Iowa Men's Club Hockey and Iowa Women's Club Hockey.

The University of Iowa women's club team has published its 2026–27 home schedule at BODYARMOR Ice Rink:

• Nov. 7 and 8 vs. Eau Claire, 5:30 p.m. and 10 a.m.
• Dec. 5 and 6 vs. Maryville, 7:30 p.m. and 10 a.m.
• Feb. 13 and 14 vs. Iowa State, 8 p.m. and 3 p.m.
• Feb. 20 and 21 vs. St. Olaf, 1 p.m. and 10 a.m.
• Feb. 26 and 27 vs. UMD, 6 p.m. and 5 p.m.

That lines up neatly with the arena calendar. Xtream has nothing listed for February, and the women's club plays three home weekends at the mall that month. On Dec. 5, you could watch morning Donnybrook sessions at Xtream and still make the 7:30 p.m. puck drop at Coral Ridge.

The youth side is still running too. Iowa City–Coralville Hockey has registration open for 2026–27 Junior Heartlanders tryouts, skills camp and the season. Anderson told The Gazette that youth programs in the area have "grown exponentially" because the Heartlanders were here, and that's one reason he wants the pro team's absence held to a single season. The rink's ice schedule posts session times and notes that they can change, so check it before heading over for a public skate.

What Decides Whether the Ice Comes Back in 2027–28

The Heartlanders still have a contract with the arena. The Gazette reported the lease runs two more years, so the team could come back for 2027–28 if it sorts out its problems. Anderson was careful about it: "But we are definitely not putting all of our eggs in that basket."

He said arena management has talked with the Southern Professional Hockey League and the Federal Prospects Hockey League, both a level below the ECHL. Their 2025–26 attendance makes a useful comparison with Coralville's 1,626:

Coralville's last season would have been below average even in the FPHL. The Gazette also pointed out that player salaries and other costs of running an ECHL team are much higher than in the SPHL or FPHL. A lower-cost league could come out ahead with the kind of crowds the Heartlanders drew. Either way, Anderson said the deciding factor is bringing more fans to games. One option is off the table. The junior United States Hockey League can't come to Coralville because the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders hold territorial rights.

Anderson said the goal, shared with Coralville city manager Kelly Hayworth and Josh Schamberger of the Iowa City/Coralville Convention and Visitors Bureau, is to "have everything ready to roll for 2027-28." Which team plays on that ice next fall, and in which league, is still an open question.

An anchor tenant shapes the weekly rhythm around Iowa River Landing as much as any road project or store opening does, and that rhythm is part of what buyers in central Coralville are paying for. If you're weighing a move in this part of Coralville and want to know how arena-adjacent streets have priced lately, Adam Pretorius can walk you through it. Request Your Home Valuation.