Bloomington Bison joining ECHL in 2024-25

[cjerina]

The Sears Centre & its CHI Express tenant were lucky they drew enough regular Chicago area attendance to warrant any open concession stands & more than one restroom each for women and men on game nights. And I doubt any fans of the visiting teams could have mustered the drive time & gas/toll money to couple a weekend pair with visits to "destination adjacent" suburban attractions. It was like a Wizard of Oz journey just to make it to the arena & back from an inner ring northwest 'burb for the one game my wife & I attended in January 2012, and we lacked the Yellow Brick Road as a detour option.

I do recall a Sunday afternoon in late January that some Cyclones fans made the trek over to see them play the Express. I don't recall whether it was an organized bus trip or just a random group of friends making the trek, along with a number of Milwaukee Admirals season ticket holders making the trip down as well.

I wish I went to more Express games, but then remembered having to pay $15 to park when I could just as easily go to Rockford or Milwaukee and park on the street and pay the same price to watch a game.

 

[JMCx4]

... I wish I went to more Express games, but then remembered having to pay $15 to park when I could just as easily go to Rockford or Milwaukee and park on the street and pay the same price to watch a game.

I had forgotten about the parking fees @ Sears Centre. Almost shockingly overpriced at the time (after the long drive & tolls - we took back roads to avoid some of the latter), but 15 bucks to park these days seems like a bargain.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Yeah, the opening night was packed, and the end result was a few thousand people that basically decided to not go back again so as to avoid having to pay parking.

Granted, that was on the village, not the Express, as Hoffman Estates was clearly trying to make that white elephant arena pull in municipal money. That backfired.

No clue if they learned their lesson with parking and the G League Windy City Bulls. It's lasted a few years, but the few times I see a game on TV that crowd is noticeably small.

 

[JMCx4]

... No clue if they learned their lesson with parking and the G League Windy City Bulls. It's lasted a few years, but the few times I see a game on TV that crowd is noticeably small.

According to the now-NOW Arena website: "Parking fee is determined on a per-event basis ... and ranges from $10 to $20. ...Parking for all Windy City Bulls games during the 2023-24 season is FREE! ... All parking is CASH ONLY and we do not accept bills over $20." That last caveat explains the free parking for the basketball crowd. Otherwise it'd be a great way to ensure all of your customers will be over the age of 60, which I'm sure is the core NBA G League demographic.


Dragging this thread back toward its intended topic ... me 'n' Mrs. JMC always appreciated the free municipal garage parking in Downtown Bloomington, IL for night & weekend games @ the Whoever Arena. I hope the city hasn't changed that policy.

ETA: And the answer is ... Still free after 6 PM weekdays & all Sat. and Sun.

 

[JMCx4]

Data presented by veteran Peoria sportswriter Dave Eminian in his traditional staunch defense of PEO hockey & possible impacts from a new Bloomington minor pro franchise ...

... Tickets and a lease in Bloomington
Ticket prices will be a bit of a sticker shock for central Illinois hockey fans. Bloomington's tickets will range from $20, $24, $28, $36 to $50 (for glass seating) before facility fees. Rivermen tickets in the SPHL are $12, $13, $19 and $24 (glass seating) before facility fees.

Some of the lease terms, obtained from City of Bloomington documents, include:

• A 20-year lease agreement, with opt-out clauses every five years.
• Team rent is $180,000 (36 home games) during the first five years.
• The team gets 30% of concessions revenue, 20% of premium seating sales and suites, and 20% of naming rights revenue for the building.
• 70% of the Bison's home games are to fall on weekend dates in Grossinger Motor Sports Arena. ...

 

[battra]

Ouch. Those prices are a bit much. They're more expewnsive than what we paid in Rockford last week for the A.

Welp. Do one game at Bloomington on a Friday and then head down the road catch P-Town the next night. Was planning on staying there anyway.

 

[JMCx4]

... Welp. Do one game at Bloomington on a Friday and then head down the road catch P-Town the next night. Was planning on staying there anyway.

Advice from a Frequent Hockey Road Tripper: Once the 2024-25 ECHL & SPHL schedules are released, be sure to consider Peoria-then-Bloomy options as well. Family-affordable overnight lodging options in Normal are generally superior to those around PEO. Unless you can snag a good rate at the Staybridge Suites across the street from PCC.

 

[battra]

Advice from a Frequent Hockey Road Tripper: Once the 2024-25 ECHL & SPHL schedules are released, be sure to consider Peoria-then-Bloomy options as well. Family-affordable overnight lodging options in Normal are generally superior to those around PEO. Unless you can snag a good rate at the Staybridge Suites across the street from PCC.

thank you for the heads up, but the Bloomy To P-Town is the move we'll be making as we'll be staying at the P-Town hotel and casino.

 

[JMCx4]

thank you for the heads up, but the Bloomy To P-Town is the move we'll be making as we'll be staying at the P-Town hotel and casino.

Training up the kiddos early, eh? Do they have their own Boyd Rewards cards?

 

[VaCaps Fan]

Viva Peoria!

 

[battra]

Training up the kiddos early, eh? Do they have their own Boyd Rewards cards?

Kiddo has left the hockeyverse.

 

[JMCx4]

For the record, I came across a link to the Bloomington City Council meeting agenda document that outlines the proposed lease agreement between the City & Illinois Hockey Club LLC (the Hallett-led group bringing the Bison to town): https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/71/96/50650bb14ed296ecb8c624f32995/bloomingtonechl.pdf. The lease agreement between the parties will be the real deal, but the prelim document captures some of the figures in play.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Hopefully Bison games have about as many fans as tonight.

Good crowd for an SPHL game in town.

 

[JMCx4]

Hopefully Bison games have about as many fans as tonight.

View attachment 817843

Good crowd for an SPHL game in town.

One word:

 

[goalie41]

The Sears Centre is where franchises go to die. Every hockey, indoor soccer, indoor football(including LFL), indoor lacrosse team have folded. The management of that place is the most ridiculous team of idiots ever presented on this Earth. You cannot have minor league entertainment and expect to be paid Major League rental fees, parking fees and concession fees. $6 bucks for a large RC Cola? $7 for a small slice of frozen pizza? Pure garbage. Serving cold hotdogs and warm beer on dollar nights? It was absolutely atrocious how things were handled. The place now loses less money empty than filled. I had to threaten to beat up an usher who wouldn't let an elderly lady up to go to the bathroom because play was in action. He kept holding his stop sign to her that said WAIT! I told him where I was going to stuff that sign if he did it to her again.

As for the Express, they would get some decent followings from Ft Wayne and Kzoo on weekend games. I am glad I got to see the very last Express game in Cincy.

 

[JMCx4]

Keeping this topic sorta fresh ...
-------------------------------------------------
From: WEEK-TV 25 News Now (and then)

Bloomington youth hockey leaders think pro team will bring up numbers

By Liz Lape
Published: Feb. 20, 2024 at 10:52 PM CST

BLOOMINGTON (25News Now) - The Bloomington Bison EHCL pro hockey team has more than just hockey fans excited, the next generation of players also looks forward to what it might bring to the sports community. ...

President of Central Illinois Girls Hockey Association Doug Kent said this year they’ve gained 25 to 30 players on the team, and he expects more with the pro team coming.

“We’ve been seeing huge numbers of growth and I think the professional team coming in should only spark that growth even more, so we’re looking forward to it,” Kent said.

Kent said the Central Illinois Girls Hockey Association will be partnering with the Bison for a tournament in March. ...
Read & Hear more at: Bloomington youth hockey leaders think pro team will bring up numbers | WEEK-TV