ECHL Approves Expansion Team In Bloomington, Illinois
ECHL Approves Expansion Team In Bloomington, Illinois
A team in Bloomington, Illinois will join the ECHL in 2024-25, bringing the league to 30 for the first time in 20 years.
The ECHL will become a 30-team league in 2024-25. The city of Bloomington, Illinois has been awarded expansion membership for next season, joining Lake Tahoe as the two newest markets in the ECHL. The league approved the team during a board of governors meeting Tuesday.
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The new team in Bloomington, which has not yet been named, will be owned by Hallett Sports and Entertainment which owns the ECHL’s Indy Fuel as well. Grossinger Motors Arena, which is owned by the City of Bloomington, will be the team’s home arena. A negotiated lease is expected to be confirmed Jan. 22 with a press conference to follow on Jan. 24.
The #ECHL Board of Governors has approved an Expansion Membership for Bloomington, Illinois to begin play in the 2024-25 Season.
— ECHL (@ECHL) January 16, 2024
🔗 - https://t.co/F45tfp9lHt pic.twitter.com/Df9eFIBQjz
“The ECHL is thrilled to welcome Bloomington into the league and rejuvenate professional hockey in the market as the league’s 30th member,” said ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin in a statement. “Bloomington is a natural geographical rival for our teams in the Central Division and Hallett Sports has shown a commitment to the communities they serve in growing the game and fan experience, which makes puck drop in 2024-25 very exciting for next season.”
Bloomington will join the Central Division which currently includes the Cincinnati Cyclones, Fort Wayne Komets, Indiana Fuel, Iowa Heartlanders, Toledo Walleye and Wheeling Nailers.
Getting to 30 teams allows the ECHL to get closer to being in line with the American Hockey League and National Hockey League, which are both currently at 32 teams. Fewer NHL teams will be without a dedicated ECHL affiliate as a result. Some NHL teams are currently sharing affiliations, or don’t have their own dedicated affiliate in the ECHL.
“My goal is to get to 32,” Crelin told FloHockey’s Justin A. Cohn in a recent interview about expansion. “Sometimes, it takes markets four or five years to develop. Other times, they fall in your lap, quite honestly. They’ve got to make sense geographically, they’ve got to make sense market wise and you’ve got to make sure you have the right ownership teams in there. But it’s a really big focus of mine, to bring all of that to pass.”
Bloomington has been home to many teams in many hockey leagues over the years, but this will be the first time the ECHL has come to the market.
Home to nearby Illinois State University, Bloomington is located in Central Illinois. Among the former teams to have called the city home, the Bloomington PrairieThunder, Bloomington Blaze, Bloomington Thunder and the Central Illinois Flying Aces. The Colonial Hockey League, United Hockey League, International Hockey League, Central Hockey League, SPHL and USHL have all hosted teams there.
“I am extremely excited to bring professional hockey to Bloomington and watch the sport as well as the community grow through this expansion.” said Fuel owner and chairman Jim Hallett in a statement. “I am honored to be part of this group helping expand the growth of ECHL hockey throughout North America and bring a positive sporting experience to the city of Bloomington.”
The ECHL, which began with five teams in 1988-89, will hit 30 teams for just the second time in the league's history next season. The ECHL had 31 teams in 2003-04 when it absorbed clubs from the West Coast Hockey League, which ceased operations in 2002-03.