The home league of the Peoria Rivermen completed a deal to bring in Mobile, Alabama, as an expansion team in the 2027-28 season.
The SPHL announced the addition of an 11th team will be located in Mobile, owned and operated by Zawyer Sports & Entertainment and led by CEO Andy Kaufmann.
Mobile is building a new arena on the site of the now-demolished Mobile Civic Center. The new venue is projected at 10,000 seats and will have professional hockey as its anchor tenant. It’s scheduled to open in time for the 2027-28 SPHL season.
Zawyer Sports owns Double-A ECHL teams in Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; Greensboro, North Carolina; and serves as management company for two more ECHL teams in Tahoe, Nevada, and Augusta, Georgia. They also own the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
Zawyer Sports’ move into the SPHL in Mobile is significant. It owns that big block of ECHL teams in the southeast, where the SPHL operates.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: The home league of the Peoria Rivermen is expanding to an 11th city. See the destination
Reporting by Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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