(Shrewsbury) The ECHL Board of Governors has approved the sale of the Trois-Rivières Lions to the Spire Hockey group, the league announced in a press release Tuesday.
Spire Hockey, which notably belongs to American businessman Jeff Dickerson, purchased the concession from the Deacon Sports and Entertainment (DSE) group, which also owned the defunct Newfoundland Growlers, in the ECHL. The new owners have already indicated that they intend to keep the Lions, now the only Canadian franchise in the ECHL, in Trois-Rivières.
“Spire Hockey is excited at the idea of establishing itself in Canada, in the Trois-Rivières market,” said Dickerson, who is originally from Indianapolis, in a press release Tuesday. Our team will work hard to do the same thing here in Trois-Rivières, to ensure that a sense of pride develops around the Lions organization. Spire Hockey looks forward to writing a new chapter in its history and that of the Lions. »
In addition, the Lions organization will hold its first event since becoming the property of the Spire group on Tuesday evening. The players of the 2023-2024 edition of the Lions and the administrative team will welcome the team’s fans to the Colisée Vidéotron for the occasion.
The league had set April 2 as the deadline for DSE to divest itself of its interests in the two concessions.
DSE indicated in a press release after the deadline expired that only one potential buyer had been met for the Lions. The ECHL had at the same time put an end to the Growlers’ operations “for failure to fulfill its obligations under the ECHL regulations”.
The Lions are now part of a trio of ECHL teams –– along with the Swamp Rabbits of Greenville, South Carolina, and the Rush of Rapid City, South Dakota – owned by Spire Hockey.
Spire Hockey is a branch of Spire Holdings, which also owns three cars in the NASCAR Cup Series and several other cars in the NASCAR series reserved for trucks.
The Lions entered the ECHL during the 2021-22 season. The Trois-Rivières team is affiliated with the Laval Rocket (AHL) and the Montreal Canadiens (NHL).