A new professional hockey team is coming to Danville, one that its owner says will be more prestigious and have many community-based partnerships.
The board of the David S. Palmer Arena voted unanimously Tuesday night, with board member Bill Black absent, to approve a three-year contract with Danville native Ellen Tully to bring a new team called the Vermilion County Bobcats to the arena, starting this fall. The Bobcats will be a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League, which Assistant General Manager Sebastian Rogno says is the fourth tier of the American hockey system. The Danville Dashers are a member of the Federal Prospects Hockey League, which is in the fifth tier of the hockey system.
Tully says that ticket prices will be lower with the new team, at an initial cost of $10 for adults. She also says that the team would contribute to a remodeling of the arena’s locker rooms, and management will work with the community to make public appearances and expand the youth hockey program at the arena. She says the team will use the “Vermilion County” moniker and not “Danville” as a way to reach more potential fans.
“So there is absolutely no reason whatsoever that we shouldn’t be packing the house every weekend, and we shouldn’t be reaching to the outer skirts of the area and working our way into Danville, focusing on grassroots marketing and mom-and-pop locations rather than larger chains,” she explained.
Rogno explained that the SPHL includes teams in Evansville, Peoria and the Quad Cities, which he says will create natural rivalries. Tully said that although Palmer Arena would be the smallest arena in the league at 2,350 seats, other teams currently average around that same number of fans and those people could fit into the arena.
Also as part of its proposal, the Bobcats would have both a male and female mascot that would each make appearances at local events. Tully says resources and grants would be available from USA Hockey, focusing on coach and player development. She also says that job opportunities would be available for area students. She says she has a tentative partnership with a few National Hockey League teams to bring personnel to Danville for different occasions.
Jake Serd, a board member with Danville Youth Hockey, said at the start of the meeting that he would like to see a larger partnership with the new team. He says the Dashers don’t have a number of staff positions he would like to see a team have, and also says the Dashers have run into problems regarding transportation.
“They don’t even have a safe, dependable bus for these players,” Serd explained. “There’s been times where, as youth hockey coaches, they’ve come into the building, ‘bus broke down again, and who can drive these guys to the next game.’ That’s an indication. I’ve been around the hockey world for a long time…it’s bush-league hockey.”
Dashers owner Barry Soskin also addressed the arena’s board with a new proposal for the Dashers to continue to call the arena home. He said he would “personally guarantee another 10 years” with the arena. General Manager Diane Short pointed to the decade the team has spent in the FPHL, including one league championship during that time.
Tully says that the SPHL season is 56 games long. She says that the team will have partnerships with an internet broadcasting platform with other league members for games and a weekly interview show. The contract will call for the ice to be frozen between August and May, allowing for other uses during the summer and also during the hockey season.
