In April 2016, the Arizona Coyotes announced they would relocate their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, to Tucson ahead of the 2016–17 season.

Owner Alex Meruelo was given a five-year window to reactivate the Coyotes if a new arena was secured, but he abandoned the plan after a land auction was canceled.

On April 19, 2016, the Arizona Coyotes announced that they had reached an agreement to purchase their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, and would relocate the team to Tucson for the 2016–17 season.

[10] The hockey club's new name and logo were revealed on June 18 during the Tucson Convention Center's open house event.

[11] The chosen name, Roadrunners, pays homage to the Phoenix Roadrunners, a team name that was used for various Phoenix professional hockey teams from 1967 to 2009, and creates a play on words with its parent club the Coyotes (a reference to the classic cartoon duo of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner).

[12] On June 21, 2016, Mark Lamb was hired as the team's first head coach after holding the same position with the Western Hockey League's Swift Current Broncos since 2009.

[17] During a home game against the Manitoba Moose on November 19, 2016, Roadrunners player Craig Cunningham collapsed on the ice just before the opening faceoff.

[18] He was promptly transported to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with an acute cardiac arrest resulting from ventricular fibrillation, a condition that caused his heart to stop beating.

The Roadrunners also saw the professional debut of forward Josh Doan, joining the team in March 2023 following his sophomore season with the Arizona State Sun Devils.

[28] In the 2023–24 season, the Roadrunners had rookie Josh Doan and goalie Matthew Villalta represent them for the 2024 AHL All-Star Game.

The Roadrunners finished the regular season with a 43–23–4–2 record and finished second in the AHL's Pacific Division, with their 43 wins marking the most in a single season for the Roadrunners; which helped them clinch home-ice advantage for the first round of the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs and bring home playoff games to Tucson for the first time since 2018.

[39] However, following the decision by Alex Meruelo to walk away from his Coyotes ownership, reports emerged that once a new arena for the Meruelo-owned Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada was ready (with an expected completion date of 2026), the Roadrunners could potentially be relocated there.