TEMPE, Ariz — The Central Hockey League (CHL) announced the addition of its second new team for the 2009-2010 season. Following approval from the Independence, Missouri City Council on the team’s lease with the new Independence Events Center, ownership of the new CHL team was awarded to Independence Professional Hockey LLC who is comprised of Mark & Matt Adams, and Mike Carper of Lubbock, Texas; and team president Brad Lund. “We are very happy to have the Independence Professional Hockey group join the CHL family and are pleased to welcome the City of Independence,” CHL Commissioner Duane Lewis said. “The hockey history in the area and the demographics of Independence and the surrounding areas make this an attractive market for the league and one that will be a premier organization in the CHL.” The owners and operators are no strangers to the CHL. Matt and Mark Adams previously owned the CHL’s Lubbock Cotton Kings. Matt still resides in Lubbock and is the owner and operator of a large farming conglomerate in Brownfield, Texas. The 18,000 acres of land includes cotton, wheat, peanuts and corn. Mark has been active in the sporting world his entire professional life, including an eight-year stint as general manager and part-owner of the CHL’s Lubbock Cotton Kings. The franchise received numerous accolades during Adam’s tenure, including being named CHL Franchise of the Year, Marketing Franchise of the Year and Ticketing Franchise of the Year. He spent 21 years as a head basketball coach on the collegiate level, recently completing his fifth season as the head coach of Howard College, where they have been a perennial junior college power. He has been named Coach of the Year seven times. Ten of Adams’ teams have captured conference and/or regional titles, including reaching the 1985 NAIA National Finals in Kansas City. Mike graduated from William and Mary with a BA degree in 1976. He has resided in Lubbock since 1977, and attended Texas Tech School of Law, graduating in 1980. Since that time he has been the principal of the Law Office of Michael H. Carper P.C., which focuses on business development and litigation. Active in community affairs, Carper has been a member and multiple past president of the Downtown Chapter of AMBUCS, the Southwest Rotary Club, and the Sales Executive Association. In additional to representation of many prominent businesses in West Texas, the firm represents numerous charitable and governmental organizations. Carper served as the General Counsel and as an owner for the Lubbock Cotton Kings of the CHL, and currently is the General Counsel for the Texas Tech Hockey Club. “We are honored to join rich sporting history of the Kansas City area,” Lund said. “Our marketing philosophy starts with the fans. This will be their team beginning day one.” Lund will serve as the team’s president joining the new team after spending the past 16 seasons with the Oklahoma City Blazers serving most recently as the team’s Chief Executive Officer. While with the Blazers, Lund made the organization one of the top in all of minor pro sports while leading the entire CHL in attendance in each of his 16 seasons. The team will become the first franchise in the state of Missouri and will sit just over 200 miles from Wichita, Kansas (the home of the CHL’s Thunder). The new Independence hockey team will play in the new state-of-the-art Independence Events Center. The new building will seat 5,800 fans for hockey and is currently under construction with opening weekend for hockey planned for Nov. 13-14. The CHL also awarded a franchise to Allen, TX (see related article by Robert Keith). Contact the author at: Mitch.cooper@prohockeynews.com
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