Immediately following the approval, an exhaustively informative application package was sent off to the ECHL. Yes, a five year lease has been signed between the DCU and a potentially incoming Worcester ice hockey team. Yesterday, that approval came at a meeting between Rucker, the commission, SMG and a number of city officials. Civic Center Commission approval was needed for a lease at the DCU Center and while the business terms had been agreed on, without commission approval nothing could be executed.
#Worcester ice cats mascot professional
So the quest to return professional hockey had begun in earnest and while the inklings that the ball had been rolling may have started to stretch out into the public realm, there wasn't much else to go on. At face value, that was a good marriage, but you have to work through the business terms. I was interested in bringing a team here and they were interested in having a team. It started as an inquiry on my part and about four or five months ago, we started to get into what the business terms would look like. “Probably over a year, maybe even 18 months. “I've been working with the city–the City Manager, the Office of Economic Development, the Chamber of Commerce, the Mayor and the SMG Management Group for a long time,” said Rucker. Out of the public eye (though many had heard of this interest through the grapevine and backdoors of Worcester's hockey-hungry informationional food chain), Rucker began his quest for a Central Massachusetts-based professional hockey team over a year ago. In fact, interested is an understatement. Worcester Sharks Head Coach Roy Sommer goes over drills during morning skate last season. Cliff Rucker, is indeed very interested in team ownership. President of Beverly-based NFS Leasing, Inc. Is there an Eastern Massachusetts businessman looking to own a team? Yes, it's true. We don't require affiliation, but it would certainly be helpful for each of our teams to have the possibility for affiliation.” “It would align us with the number of teams in the NHL and the AHL at this point. “The goal of our Board of Governors is to expand to include 30 teams,” said commissioner of the ECHL, Brian McKenna while traveling on the West Coast. Is the ECHL AA hockey league seeking expansion for the 2017-18 season? Yes, it's true, the league's board has approved the addition of two new teams, though where those teams will be located is entirely dependent on incoming national proposals and the league's ultimate decision as to the who and the where. Now, we have a bit more information and it is beginning to look very positive for Central Massachusetts hockey enthusiasts. While many are still reeling from the loss of the Worcester Sharks last season (and even more will never stop reeling from the loss of the IceCats before that), area hockey fans can exhale, at least a bit, as some positive new steps have been taken toward a return to DCU-based professional hockey.īy now, everyone has heard some swirling rumor or another in regards to a new hockey franchise downtown, but until now, there were very few solid facts to accompany them. Will an ECHL team take their place in the 2017-18 season? Above: the former Worcester Sharks at the DCU Center.
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