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ECHL Concludes Midseason Board of Governors Meeting

January 22, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The Midseason Board of Governors Meeting was held on Wednesday at The Grove Hotel in Boise, Idaho in conjunction with the Rbk Hockey ECHL All-Star Game. The Annual Meeting is scheduled for June 14-15 in Henderson, Nevada.

The following items were approved by the Board of Governors:

Mississippi Sea Wolves Announce Return For 2007-08 Season

Mississippi informed the Board that the team would return to the ice at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum for the 2007-08 season. The team stated that it had sold over 150 new season tickets since reopening its offices in the arena on Dec. 4, raising its total season tickets to more than 1,170. The team stated that it has hired Thom Emerson as director of season tickets and group sales and Marc Shelanski as director of corporate sales and broadcasting.

"The ECHL is delighted to officially welcome back the Sea Wolves for their belated 10th year in the 'Den'. While much works remains to be done, there has been significant progress since Dec. 1, 2006 and we expect that momentum will continue throughout the spring and summer months," said ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna. "The ownership group is unanimously behind the team and now we need fans and sponsors to lend their support to ensure a successful return."

The Sea Wolves were granted a Voluntary Suspension by the Board for each of the last two seasons under the league's hardship provisions as a result of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. The team is located in Biloxi which suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina, resulting in extensive damage to the team's home arena, including flood damage to team offices and locker rooms as well as the ice-making equipment and two Zambonis.

Myrtle Beach Granted Extension Of Voluntary Suspension

Myrtle Beach stated that it continues to work toward construction of a facility on the campus of Coastal Carolina University to allow the team to compete in the 2008-09 season.

2007-08 Season Will Open Oct. 19

The Board unanimously approved that the 2007-08 playing season would be Oct. 19, 2007 to Apr. 5, 2008.

About The ECHL

The league officially changed its name to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

The Premier "AA" Hockey League, the ECHL had affiliations with 25 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League in 2005-06. There have been 314 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including a record 47 who have made their NHL debut in 2005-06. The ECHL had affiliations with 21 of the 27 teams in the American Hockey League in 2005-06 and for the past 17 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup Champion. The ECHL raised its average attendance for the third straight year in 2005-06 drawing 3,934,794 for 900 games which is an average of 4,372 per game, an increase of more than nine percent from 2004-05 and the largest per-game average since 1999-2000. Six teams surpassed 200,000 and nine teams averaged 5,000 per game for the first time since 1999-2000 as the league welcomed 39 sellout crowds and 13 of the 22 returning teams raised their average attendance.

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