Ice Hockey
In the 1990s, ice hockey became popular in Orlando, perhaps due to large influx of northerners to the city. In the 1993-94 NHL season, the Tampa Bay Lightning played four "home" games at the Orlando Arena, with a 1-2-1 record.
The Orlando Solar Bears, of the now-defunct International Hockey League, were formed in 1995 and were very successful, making the playoffs in each of its six seasons and qualifying for Turner Cup Finals twice (losing both times) before finally taking the title in 2001. When the IHL folded after the 2000-01 season, Rich DeVos chose to fold the Solar Bears because his other team, the Grand Rapids Griffins, was moving to another league that did not permit an individual to own multiple teams.
In 2002, the Atlantic Coast Hockey League was formed with Orlando hosting one of the charter franchises, the Orlando Seals, which won their Commissioner's Cup in 2003; this made Orlando the only Florida city with two hockey championships. The Seals moved to the World Hockey Association 2 in 2003, then the Southern Professional Hockey League in 2004. The City of Orlando revoked their lease for the present Amway Arena, however, forcing them to sit out the 2004-05 season. They moved to Kissimmee and became the Florida Seals in November 2004. The team resumed play in the 2005-2006 season, playing home games at the Silver Spurs Arena, making it to the President's Cup Finals before losing to Knoxville. Then on January 4, 2007, the Silver Spurs Arena abruptly booted the Seals due to unpaid rent, forcing the franchise to fold.
In 2011, an investment group announced that they were approved to lease Amway Center for a new franchise in the third-tier ECHL, which was formally awarded on November 1, 2011. Two weeks later, it was announced that they had received the blessing of previous owner Rich DeVos to revive the Orlando Solar Bears name. The team began play in the 2012–13 ECHL season, with their first match against the Florida Everblades in Estero, Florida, on October 12, 2012. Their home opener was October 20, 2012, also against the Everblades.
Read more about this topic: Sports In Orlando, Florida
Famous quotes containing the word ice:
“Adjoining a refreshment stand ... is a small frame ice house ... with a whitewashed advertisement on its brown front stating, simply, “Ice. Glory to Jesus.” The proprietor of the establishment is a religious man who has seized the opportunity to broadcast his business and his faith at the same time.”
—For the State of New Jersey, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)