Needless to say, Athens is best known for college football when it comes to sports, but it's become something of a hockey town since UGA's club team started playing at the Classic Center a decade ago.
The Ice Dawgs regularly sell out games at the Classic Center's Grand Hall, which seats 1,000 people in temporary bleachers for sporting events, and the new women's club team will also play there. But from now on, professional minor league hockey teams will call the Classic Center's new arena home.
The 5,500-seat arena currently under construction behind the Foundry Street warehouse and intermodal center will be home to a yet-to-be-named Federal Prospect Hockey League team, officials announced Thursday. The home opener is scheduled for Oct. 26, said Scott Hull, executive vice president of Athens Pro Hockey, the team's owner.
The FPHL currently has 11 teams spanning the entire eastern half of the United States, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Watertown, New York, on the Canadian border. League commissioner Don Kernan described the style of play as fast and physical and said he expected the Athens team to have a “formidable rivalry” with the River Dragons of Columbus, Georgia. “The battle for the top team in the league is probably going to be here in Georgia,” Kernan said.
The team name will be determined by fan voting. Options are the Athenians, the Rock Lobsterz (a reference to a B-52 song), the Athene Owls (a symbol of the goddess Athena), and the Classic City Panic (after his other famous Athenian band, Widespread Panic). .
Whatever the name, the team is scheduled to play 28 home games during the 2024-25 season. Both UGA hockey teams will also play approximately 10 to 15 games in the new arena.
Classic Center originally had a deal to bring the East Coast Hockey League team from Greenville, South Carolina, here, said Paul Kramer, Classic Center president and CEO. However, the new owner purchased the franchise and was unwilling to follow through on the contract.
The $151 million arena, partially funded by local sales tax but mostly private funding, is expected to be completed late this summer. It also hosts large-scale conventions, concerts, high school athletics, and family-friendly shows like Disney on Ice, with more than 100 events held each year, some multi-day events. There is also. Depending on the type of event, the arena can be expanded to 6,500 seats and for conventions to 8,500 seats.
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