It will be almost another year but professional hockey will be back on the Berglund Center ice next fall – ten years after the Roanoke Valley Vipers, of the now-defunct United Hockey League, skipped town with some unpaid bills in their wake.
The new Roanoke team is actually the remnants of a Biloxi, Mississippi franchise that was dormant for this season; a Canadian family and a group of local investors are bringing the team to Roanoke.
A team name, colors and logo will be announced at a November 19 event.
“I’m very excited,” said Mayor David Bowers, who recalled “going to all of the hockey games” with his stepsons. Bowers has also called for construction of a dedicated ice skating rink that could be used by the new team for practices – as well as for amateur recreation leagues and for public skating sessions.
Several of the new team’s local investors are also part of a group that is looking at investment in a new standalone rink. Bowers said he “kind of knew” about the prospect of a new pro team (which will play in the Southern Professional Hockey League) before preparing his State of the City address which called for the building of a new ice rink. Because the Berglund Center schedule is filled with concerts and other events, access to the ice surface there is limited.
“We’re going to need a second rink,” said Bowers, who would also like to see City Council’s annual contribution to the Commonwealth Games – which have now moved to Liberty University in Lynchburg – reallocated towards the construction of a new rink. That annual contribution was around $50,000. “Ice hockey is really catching on [elsewhere]. It’s going to be a great thing for Roanoke,” said Bowers.
Berglund Center general manager Robyn Schon is no hockey neophyte – she once worked for an Atlanta minor league team and for the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.
Schon indicated that since the Vipers left there have been other proposals laid on the table – but none of them were right, she noted at a news conference to announce the new team. “It’s frustrating when you have to turn people away. I constantly said we would never put a team in here out of desperation because that is a recipe for disaster.”
Schon said the Southern Professional Hockey League, a lower-level, lower overhead circuit without direct affiliation to the National Hockey League, has a structure that will enable the Roanoke team to offer lower ticket prices – helping to fill Berglund Center stands. “If we fail it’s because people don’t come out to support it. I hope that’s not the case. There are so many hockey lovers here.” Schon said between now and next fall a new rink, scoreboard and new seating (that’s going in now) will be put in place.
Schon said she can commit to 60 dates next season for the new pro team; other parties that want to book the Berglund Center Coliseum now have to work around that schedule. The official SPHL schedule for 2016-2017 won’t be released until April. The new team will play 28 home games, not including any playoff matches.
“This is a very emotional day for me,” said Schon to her reaction as a fan; “it’s hard to keep the lump out of my throat. It’s been a long time coming.”
The latest incarnation of professional hockey is set to debut next October.
Gene Marrano
