AHL Board approves franchise transfer

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League’s Board of Governors today granted conditional approval of the sale and relocation of the inactive AHL franchise owned by Gardens Hockey Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio, to Ice Track Corporation of Windsor, Ont.

Project Ice Track is a proposed multi-purpose entertainment complex to be built in the Windsor area, to include a 6,500-seat arena and an adjacent practice facility. The arena is scheduled to open in time for the 2008-09 AHL season.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 80 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the fifth year in a row, more than 6.3 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2005-06. The AHL’s 71st regular season begins on Wed., Oct. 4.