Just before 7 P.M., SPHL Commissioner Jim Combs announced that the league’s Board of Governors has received an application from an ownership group wishing to operate an SPHL team in Biloxi, Mississippi beginning with the 2009-2010 season.

“Our league’s governors are delighted about the opportunity to bring the SPHL’s brand of professional hockey to the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” Combs said in the league-issued release.

According to the release, the ownership group has secured a lease from the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It is expected that final SPHL membership approval will occur shortly following a formal review of their application by the Board of Governors. The new Biloxi team will compete against returning SPHL members Fayetteville, Knoxville, Columbus and Huntsville.

The news regarding Biloxi comes just hours after the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners approved the lease negotiated in Pensacola by Tim Kerr, former owner of the ECHL Ice Pilots, who has formed an ownership group to return hockey to the Florida Panhandle. The release indicated that further information on additional expansion should be forthcoming “over the next few weeks“.
 
“While there is still work to be accomplished, the Board of Governors is committed to expansion within our league’s geographical footprint within a time frame that allows new members the lead time to prepare for the 2009-10 season,” Combs said.  

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