Quad City Mallards resurrected (again)

MOLINE, Ill. – Looks like another 11th hour save for the Central Hockey League – the Quad City Mallards will once again take the ice at the i wireless Center in Moline after the franchise was purchased on Friday afternoon. Chicago-based Club 9 Sports announced that it has purchased the Mallards from Canadian clothing magnate Eric Karls and will immediately take over the operations of the club as well as assume the existing lease at the i wireless Center. The company provided a list of protected players to the CHL in order to meet the deadline of the Professional Hockey Players Association. No announcement has been made about who will coach the Mallards in the 2011/12 season, but plans are under way to schedule a press conference for the middle of next week. Frank Anzalone led the team last season, but there is no indication he will be back under the new ownership. “Club 9 Sports has a strong background in the sports business and they are well equipped to take the Mallards organization to the next level.” i wireless Center Executive Director Scott Mullen said. “This is a great thing for the Quad City community and I am confident that Mallard fans are going to have a lot to cheer about when they drop the puck this October.” According to their website, Club 9 Sports advises, invests and operates in the sports, entertainment and media industries. It is a joint venture between Tobacco Road Capitalists, a sports management and sports media advisory company in North Carolina and Prometheus Capital Partners, a middle market merchant bank in Chicago.   

“We’re delighted to have been able to work out a deal on extremely short notice to acquire the club,” Club 9 Sports CEO John Pritchett said. “We would like to thank everyone who worked very hard and very cooperatively over the past week to put this deal together.” Pritchett went on to say that after deciding not to purchase the Mallards last year, Club 9 Sports has re-evaluated the potential for reviving minor professional hockey in the Quad Cities and feels good about taking on the challenge. “Having looked at this opportunity a year ago, we were comfortable with the market, the arena and the legacy of success. It will not be easy, but we are confident that this organization can once again be a leader in minor league hockey and we look forward to working with the community and staff to make that happen over time,” The Mallards were shut down by Eric Karls on May 11th after the first-time owner got cold feet following two CHL owners meetings held in Dallas, Texas in April. Mallards President Chris Presson stated that Karls indicated “he doesn’t feel encouraged to move forward based upon the landscape of where minor league hockey seems to be.” The Mallards went 34-31-1 last season, finishing in seventh place in the CHL’s Turner Conference. They were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs by the eventual conference champions, the Colorado Eagles. Contact the writer at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com Contact the photographer at daniel.russell@prohockeynews.com