ECHL Approves Expansion Membership for Savannah

League’s 29th Member to begin play in 2022-23 Season

The ECHL announced on Wednesday that the League’s Board of Governors has approved the expansion application of Savannah, Georgia for admittance into the League.

Savannah, which will be owned by Andy Kauffman who also owns Jacksonville Icemen, will begin play in the 2022-23 Season at the new Savannah Arena, slated for completion in Spring 2022, which will hold 7,300 fans for hockey.

“The ECHL is excited to welcome the City of Savannah as our newest member,” said ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin. “We have a great working relationship with Andy his management group and we look forward to bringing ECHL hockey to the Savannah community in October 2022 and the creation of natural rivalries with the Atlanta Gladiators, South Carolina Stingrays, Greenville Swamp Rabbits and Jacksonville Icemen.”

“We are grateful to the ECHL Board of Governors for awarding us a new membership and we thank Mayor Van R. Johnson, the Savannah City Council and Oak View Group for creating a stunning new venue for us to compete,” said Kaufmann. “Savannah is a terrific sports town and we look forward to making it a fantastic hockey town.”

Oak View Group, the company hired by the City of Savannah to manage and operate the new Savannah Arena, is currently involved in four other new arena construction projects, including the Climate Pledge Arena, home to the National Hockey League’s newest franchise, the Seattle Kraken, the UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York, the new home of the NHL’s New York Islanders, and the Palm Springs Arena in Palm Springs, California, the home of the newest AHL franchise.

About the ECHL

Began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 26 teams in 19 states and two Canadian provinces for its 33rd season in 2020-21. There have been 683 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including five who have made their NHL debuts in the 2020-21 season. The ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 31 NHL teams in 2020-21, marking the 24th consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com as well as on Twitter and Facebook.