CHL adds two expansion teams for 2009

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas — CHL fans will see two expansion teams enter the league in 2009. The CHL announced at its annual summer conference that expansion franchises would take to the ice in the new arenas during the 2009-10 season.
Global Entertainment Corporation, the parent company of the Central Hockey League, announced plans to develop new arenas in Allen, Texas and Independence, Missouri.
A public groundbreaking for the Allen Events Center is set for July 24. The arena will be part of The Village at Allen, a 181-acre mixed-use development that will include a full service Marriott hotel and 1.5 million square feet of retail, restaurant and office space. The Village at Allen is scheduled to open in October 2008 and the event center is scheduled to open in early Fall 2009.
Allen is 25 miles north of Dallas, Texas and 45 miles east of the CHL’s Texas Brahmas’ home ice in North Richland Hills. The new team will provide an instant rivalry for the Brahmas.
Global Entertainment was attracted to the population of over two million in six surrounding counties and the area’s median household income of $63,000, higher than any other CHL market.

“The demographics of this area are compelling, and the willingness of the city of Allen to work with us makes this location an obvious winner,” Global Properties President Steve Bielewicz said.
Global Properties is a subsidiary of Global Entertainment that will oversee both projects.
The venue will seat up to 6,275 spectators for hockey and 8,275 for concerts and other events. 26 luxury suites, 2 club suites and a VIP restaurant/lounge are planned. The arena is expected to host up to 150 events a year, everything from hockey and basketball games to trade shows and concerts.
The Independence Events Center will be part of the well developed Eastland Retail Center that is strategically located just East of Kansas City, Missouri and easily accessible from two major intersecting interstate highways. 
The multi-purpose events center will have approximately 5,800 fixed seats and will include an estimated 26 luxury suites and VIP seating along with restaurants and lounges. Like its counter part in Allen, Texas, the center will have an additional ice surface that will provide a youth hockey and skating facility for the community.
“We look forward to moving quickly into the construction phase of the events center for Independence,” Bielewicz said. “This represents a new market for the Global family of companies and one that is complementary to existing CHL franchise teams in Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma.”
Groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled this summer, and the arena is scheduled for completion by October 2009, in time for the start of the Central Hockey League’s season. Global Entertainment is currently in talks with prospective owners of the hockey team that will call the events center home.
Contact the author at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com