Bloomington Bison bringing minor league hockey back to Bloomington-Normal

The team made official last week’s announcement that Bloomington will have an expansion hockey team in the ECHL for the 2024-25 season. The Bison nickname was announced and the team logo was unveiled Wednesday.

Bloomington’s downtown arena has been without minor league hockey since the demise of the junior tier Central Illinois Flying Aces in 2019. The ECHL represents a higher level of minor league hockey (Class AA) than the arena has ever previously housed.

“Today is a great day. From the time the announcement has been made, the excitement has been palpable,” Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe said. “This is especially satisfying given the fact the arena went totally dark during COVID. Three years later, its lights are shining brighter than ever thanks to this agreement.”

The 2024-25 ECHL season, which will begin in October, features a 72-game schedule. Bloomington will have 36 home games.

“The mayor and council have been very, very clear it is a priority to continue to bring new life to this building,” Bloomington deputy city manager Billy Tyus said. “We’re over-the-moon excited. We’re moving toward a full arena calendar. It’s a sign things are headed in the right direction.”

Bloomington’s franchise will bring ECHL membership to 30. The ECHL has 28 teams currently and is adding Lake Tahoe next season along with Bloomington.

The ECHL has teams in Canada, the northeast United States, as far south as Florida and Texas, and as far west as Utah. There are currently no ECHL franchises in Illinois. 

The Bison are owned by Jim Hallett, chairman of Hallett Sports & Entertainment, which also owns the ECHL’s Indy Fuel.

“We want to be part of a great city,” Hallett said of Bloomington. “This is not just about hockey. It’s about affordable family entertainment. This is a wonderful facility, a facility that fits our product.”

Hallett’s son Sean will serve as the Bison’s interim team president. Sean Hallett stated the team will employ a front office of approximately 20.

Sean Hallett said Hallett Sports & Entertainment is investing approximately $4 million in the Bison, which includes the ECHL’s franchise fee of $2 million.

When asked about the failure of past Bloomington hockey teams at the downtown arena, Sean Hallett indicated his group faced a similar situation in Indianapolis.

“We had had four or five teams come and go,” he said. “The opportunity only presents itself where others have failed. We are making a more significant investment than what has been made here in the past, and you’re going to see the difference.”

According to the younger Hallett, his group “hasn’t asked Bloomington taxpayers for anything. We have more on the line than the city has on the line.”

Under the terms of the contract, which was approved by the Bloomington City Council Wednesday afternoon, the team will pay a total of $5.4 million in rent over 20 years.

The agreement is expected to generate about $750,000 in profit annually based on attendance, revenue and expense estimates. This includes 70% of food and beverage sales, 100% of parking, 80% of hockey suite revenue and 80% of arena naming rights revenues would remain with the city.

“A logical question is whether taxpayers are paying for this agreement, and this answer is really no because any benefit that (Hallett) would gain would be based on their activities,” Tyus said.

Because the arena went dark for a number of years, Tyus said it fell off the radar of talent agencies and other bookers. But by having an anchor tenant in the building, Tyus said it will be easier for the arena to draw other events.

“Talent bookers, they look at your calendar and they want to see there are events that are happening in your building,” Tyus said. “And so if they see for 36 days you’ve got a hockey team playing in your building, it’s foot traffic and it shows that you’re filling up your calendar.”

Per the agreement, tickets will include a $2.50 facility fee with $1.50 of each ticket going toward arena maintenance and renovation.

The agreement also sets performance standards that require per game average attendance of 2,200 people and food and beverage sales of $20,000. If these standards were not met, the team could be in default or specified default remedies could be implemented.

The Bison will be part of the Western Conference and the Central Division of the ECHL (which was formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League).

Other Central Division teams are the Indy Fuel, the Toledo Walleye, the Fort Wayne Komets, the Cincinnati Cyclones, the Wheeling Nailers, the Kalamazoo Wings and the Iowa Heartlanders.

“The partnership between Hallett Sports and the city brings a new opportunity for professional hockey to thrive here in Bloomington,” said ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin.

“This ownership group has extensive ECHL hockey experience with a fan centric approach creating an environment that locals here in Bloomington will be proud to call their hometown team.”

The Bloomington franchise will have an affiliation with a National Hockey League team, said Sean Hallett, although which NHL team has yet to be finalized.

The Bison roster will be made up of one third from players supplied by the NHL affiliate, one third from players coming out of college and one third from minor league hockey veterans, according to Sean Hallett.

Crelin indicated that over the ECHL’s 36-year history over 740 players have gone on to play in the NHL and eight current NHL coaches have ECHL experience.

“I’ve been around a long time,” said Crelin. “Our players’ speed and skill has never been better and you’re going to see an exhilarating live experience.”

Information on season tickets and sponsorships are available at the team’s website, bloomingtonbisonhockey.com. The Bison’s 2024-25 schedule is set for release sometime in May.

Pantagraph reporter Drew Zimmerman contributed to this report.