BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Professional hockey is coming back to Bloomington.
The ECHL’s Board of Governors announced on Tuesday the city will be the 30th franchise in the league, starting in the 2024-25 season.
The team will be the second ECHL expansion team next season, joining the Tahoe Knight Monsters from the Lake Tahoe area in western Nevada.
The team will be owned by Hallett Sports and Entertainment, which also owns the Indy Fuel, a future Central Division rival for the Bloomington team.
“The ECHL is thrilled to welcome Bloomington, Illinois into the League and rejuvenate professional hockey in the market as the League’s 30th Member,” said ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin. “Bloomington is a natural geographical rival for our teams in the Central Division, and Hallett Sports has shown a commitment to the communities they serve in growing the game and fan experience, which makes puck drop in 2024-25 very exciting for next season.”
Other Central Division teams include the Cincinnati Cyclones, Iowa Heartlanders of Coralville, Kalamazoo Wings, Wheeling Nailers, Fort Wayne Komets, and Toledo Walleye.
The team will play in Grossinger Motors Arena, where the Peoria Rivermen have played Southern Professional Hockey League games at in recent years.
The Rivermen were ECHL members from 1996 to 2005, winning the league’s Kelly Cup in 2000.
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