The Empire Grows... Again

If I asked you what the common thread among Charlotte, Savannah, Atlanta, Greensboro, Jacksonville, Allen, Stateline, and Mobile are, you might respond that they're all names of US cities. While that's true, there are things that bring these cities together, and two of those things are professional hockey and the Zawyer Sports and Entertainment Group. You may recognize that the majority of the cities listed above have ECHL teams that the Zawyer Group either owns or operates, but the one city that sticks out is Mobile, Alabama as there hasn't been an ECHL team there since 2002. That fact will continue as there are no ECHL teams moving into Mobile, but the Zawyer Group will be running professional hockey in the southern Alabama city starting in 2027-28 as their empire expands again!

I missed the original announcement back on September 17, but the SPHL and the Zawyer Sports & Entertainment announced that an expansion team will begin play in Mobile, Alabama in 2027-28! The SPHL approved the expansion bid with a unanimous vote of approval by the league's Board of Governors, allowing the 11th SPHL franchise to begin play in two seasons' time in the state of Alabama!

There has never been an SPHL team in Mobile, but there was an ECHL team there at one time. The Mobile Mysticks called the Mobile Civic Center home from 1995-2002 before moving to Duluth, Georgia to become the Gwinnett Gladiators who, in 2015, became the Atlanta Gladiators. The Mysticks never advanced past the second round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs in any of their campaigns, but they did make the playoffs in five of their seven seasons while playing in Alabama.

You may be wondering how Mobile suddenly appeared on the hockey map in 2025, and that's due to the new arena project that Mobile is currently running. Demolition of the Mobile Civic Center began in September 2024 as the city of Mobile invested $300 million into a new arena. Ground broke on the new arena in the spring of 2025, and it's expected that the 10,000-seat arena will be ready for use by autumn of 2027 for concerts, family shows, and sporting events.

Obviously, Mobile would be seeking a tenant for the new facility, and that means they'd need some sort of sports team in the building. With the Birmingham Bulls at the north end of the state and the Pensacola Ice Pilots directly to the east, there would be immediate rivals for an SPHL team. An ECHL team wouldn't have immediate rivals, and the league already had announced its 32nd team earlier this year, so it makes even more sense for the SPHL to move into Mobile.

The metropolitan Mobile area is home to an estimated 412,000 people, so there's a good population to support minor-league hockey. Mobile is seen as a large cultural center thanks to its history as Alabama's only saltwater port, and that has led to Mobile celebrating Mardi Gras each and every year since the early 1800s. Today, the event is still celebrated, and the city is home to all sorts of museums, restaurants, and music that reflect the area's cultural origins.

Among the many industries, the aerospace, ship building, and steelmaking and finishing industries play large parts in the city. The largest employer is in education with the University of South Alabama and the Mobile County Public School System making up 10% of the jobs available. According to 2025 census numbers, "[t]he median household income in Mobile was $50,156, while the median income for a family was $73,717," but nearly 16% of residents live below the poverty line. Might there be economic challenges for this new team?

As long as ticket prices are kept affordable and marketing is done well, an SPHL team shouldn't have any problem attracting fans. They'll have to do better than the ECHL's Mysticks who, in 1995, went from 5310 fans per game to, in 2002, 2618 fans per game. That kind of drop-off will result in a lot of red ink, so this team needs a solid season ticket base to remain profitable. A few winning seasons right out of the gate would certainly help that season ticket sales effort.

Another major factor in keeping fan interest in this team will be creating a solid brand for this new franchise. While the ECHL's Mysticks got their name thanks to Atrisha Looney sending in a survey response, this new SPHL team is getting ahead of the game already by taking team name submissions over at mobileprohockey.com. While I believe the team should be named as the Mobile "Team Names", I do like the idea of a Port City alternate jersey one day.

Of course, I'm a Canadian hockey fan, so my opinion matters little. The people of Mobile are the ones who should be asked, and WKRG in Mobile did just that as they found out what the people think.


Enthusiasm aside, Mobile could be a challenging market when it comes to selling hockey. There are no official minor hockey programs that I could find for Mobile, Alabama, and there hasn't been a hockey presence of any kind in the city for 22 years and counting. For this generation of Mobilians, hockey could be as strange and foreign as Canadian bacon, so the Zawyer Group may have its hands full in selling both the game and tickets to the game at the same time.

My hope is that the Zawyer Group can make this work. This Mobile franchise will mark the eighth team they own and/or operate, so they have the experience of selling hockey in the southern US. This will be the first time, however, that they've gone into community where hockey isn't even on the radar aside from people catching glimpses of it on ESPN's SportCenter. The Zawyer Group will have to be proactive in selling the game for its hockey empire to thrive.

Hockey seems like it can work in Mobile just as it does in other non-traditional sunbelt markets. It will take a big effort from the Zawyer Group and some buy-in from fans in Alabama, but this new SPHL franchise has potential to be a southern jewel for the league. Pro hockey's coming to Mobile in 2027 - will Alabama be ready?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!