Were They Listening?

I'm not certain if EcHL representatives were listening to The Hockey Show last night featuring Fiona Quinn, but one of the topics we brought up was ECHL expansion. Fiona didn't really expand on any expansion ideas, but we talked about Bloomington and Tahoe while alluding to the idea of Hamilton, Ontario being a good spot for expansion as well. We never once spoke about the city announced today who will have a team in 2025-26, but the ECHL is kicking off the first day of games in 2024-25 by introducing their newest team in a city where hockey has been before!

The ECHL announced today that the 30th franchise will begin play next season in Greensboro, North Carolina and will play at the First Horizon Coliseum. The 22,000-seat arena has hosted NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, concerts from major mainstream artists, and professional wrestling events, so it has proven to be a capable host for major events. Located in downtown Greensboro, the First Horizon Coliseum is the largest arena in North Carolina, and it serves an immediate population of Greensboro-Winston-Salem of just under two million people.

"The ECHL is proud to welcome our 30th Member by returning to the Greensboro, North Carolina market," said ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin. "Greensboro holds a special place in the ECHL's history and growth, and it will be a joyful moment to drop the puck once again in October 2025 and bring professional hockey back to the city for fans to once again cheer for their hometown team."

Zawyer Sports & Entertainment will own and operate the team, and, if that name sounds familiar, it's because it is. Zawyer's ECHL empire now includes all of the ECHL's Jacksonville Icemen, Tahoe Knight Monsters, Savannah Ghost Pirates, and the new Greensboro franchise while also owning the AHL's Charlotte Checkers and the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball's Gastonia Baseball Club. Beyond their ownership stake in the previous franchises, they also run the operations for the ECHL's Allen Americans and Atlanta Gladiators, Community First Igloo rink in Jacksonville, and they have several other small business they run. I wasn't joking when I said they were building an empire, and Greenboro becomes the latest piece.

"We are very excited for the opportunity to launch an ECHL team in Greensboro," Zawyer Sports CEO Andy Kaufmann said. "We look forward to turning Tournament Town into Hockey Town with a family-friendly atmosphere that will bring people together from all around the community."

This won't be the ECHL's first kick at Greensboro, so it's interesting to see them return to a place where there were franchises before. The Greenboro Monarchs were an ECHL franchise from 1989-1995 who played their last two seasons in Greensboro in the AHL thanks to ownership voting to join the AHL as the Carolina Monarchs from 1995-97. The ECHL cancelled the franchise's ECHL membership when they jumped to the AHL, but the ECHL would return with the Greenboro Generals taking up residence in the city from 1999-2004.

It should be noted that the Carolina Hurricanes filled the gap in Greensboro's timeline in 1997 and 1998 as they played in Greenboro before their arena was ready in Raleigh. That move by the NHL team caused the AHL Carolina Monarchs to fold, but their relocating to Raleigh allowed the Generals to move into the Greensboro Coliseum. Greensboro may be the only city to have hosted NHL, AHL, and ECHL teams in one decade!

While this new ECHL Greensboro team has yet to make any inroads into the community with the franchise announcement today, the team is already looking for input from fans on a team name! The team has a website running, and there's already a link where fans can submit a name for the team! One would hope the name is chosen sooner rather than later so the Greensboro team can start marketing itself, but we'll have to keep an eye on how things develop.

Assuming the health of the league and its 29 franchises stays strong, seeing the 30th franchise announced shouldn't surprise anyone. Greensboro has good hockey history despite those eras being short, and the ECHL will look to write another chapter of success into the city's history with its third franchise moving into the community. If Zawyer Sports & Entertainment can replicate the success it has found in Savannah with the Ghost Pirates, this should be a fun venture in North Carolina!

Welcome back to the ECHL, Greensboro!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!