ORLANDO, FLA – After what seemed like an eternity of rumors over the past few months, the Orlando Solar Bears are returning home. Their original ownership home, that is.
Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that the Solar Bears will be sold to the DeVos family, owners of the NBA’s Orlando Magic and AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, with a closing date later this month. The ECHL confirmed through its own press release that the Board of Governors had approved the sale. RDV Sports and the DeVos family originated the original International Hockey League version of the Solar Bears back in the mid-1990’s.
The release, sent out by both the Solar Bears and the Magic announcing the deal read in part:
“The Orlando Magic and DeVos family will purchase the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, CEO Alex Martins announced today. They will continue to play in the Amway Center for the 2017-18 season.
“We are thrilled to purchase the Solar Bears, giving the team the opportunity to continue to play in Orlando,” said Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins. “The Solar Bears’ fan base has been outstanding and we look forward to an exciting future.”
“We are excited and grateful the DeVos family has agreed to purchase the Solar Bears to continue to grow the brand and expand the growth of the sport in central Florida,” said ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna. “A track record of successfully operating professional sports franchises, an in-depth knowledge of the Orlando sports environment and as creators of the original Solar Bears brand, the Orlando Magic and the DeVos family are the ideal owners for the professional hockey team.”
The IHL incarnation of the Solar Bears was created back in 1995 by RDV Sports and the DeVos family. From its inception until the IHL – and the Solar Bears franchise – folded after the 2000-2001 season, the Solar Bears caught the attention of hockey fans in Central Florida. The team collected a Central Division championship in first season (1995-96), three Eastern conference titles (1996, 1999 and 2001) and the last ever Turner Cup championship in 2000-01. The ECHL honored the Turner Cup team by raising a title banner to the rafters at the Amway Center during its inaugural season in 2012-13.
The Solar Bears came “out of hibernation” in 2012 when Joe Haleski, Jason Siegel and Bob Ohrablo joined forces to land an ECHL expansion franchise for the City Beautiful. Over the course of five seasons, the Solar Bears compiled a regular season record of 177-142-22-19, a winning percentage of .549, and earned a berth in the ECHL’s KellyCup playoffs in three of their five seasons, the most recent being this past season when they lost a seven game series to the Florida Everblades.
Rumors about the Solar Bears’ financial health and a possible shut down of the operation had been circulating for several months. A rumor had also surfaced that a possible relocation to Elmira, NY to replace the Jackals who recently folded was being discussed. Reporting by the Orlando Sentinel late Wednesday afternoon noted that the Magic were notified roughly six weeks ago about the possibility of the hockey team folding. At that point, RDV and the DeVos family decided to jump in to keep the Solar Bears on the ice in Orlando.
Information from releases from the Orlando Solar Bears, Orlando Magic and the ECHL was used to compile this story
ProHockeyNews.com will provide further updates on this Breaking news.
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