Coralville and Trois-Rivières join for 2021-22 Season

The ECHL announced on Tuesday that the League’s Board of Governors has approved expansion applications for Coralville, Iowa and Trois-Rivières, Quebec to begin play for the 2021-22 Season.

Coralville and Trois-Rivières are both owned by Dean MacDonald through Deacon Sports and Entertainment, which also owns the Newfoundland Growlers in the league. Coralville will play out of Xtreme Arena, a 5,100 seat venue which was completed in September 2020, while Trois-Rivières will play out of Le Nouveau Colisée, a new construction that will host 4,390 fans.

“This is an extremely exciting day for the ECHL and the future of our League, welcoming these two great markets and beautiful state-of-the-art facilities,” said ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin. “We have a great history of working with Dean’s ownership group and leadership team and look forward to bringing ECHL hockey to Trois-Rivieres and Coralville, making an impact as an asset to these communities.”

“We are thrilled to help bring professional hockey to Coralville and Trois-Rivières,” said Dean MacDonald Chair of Deacon Sports and Entertainment. “Residents in both markets have responded with incredible enthusiasm for the ECHL product and now that our membership is official, we are one step closer to dropping the puck in the fall. This announcement is a credit to our strong partnerships with both municipalities, led by Mayor John Lundell of Coraville, Iowa and Mayor Jean Lamarche of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and their significant efforts in helping this initiative happen.”

About the ECHL

Began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 26 teams in 19 states and two Canadian provinces for its 33rd season in 2020-21. There have been 678 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including 16 who made their NHL debuts in the 2019-20 season. The ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 31 NHL teams in 2020-21, marking the 24th consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com as well as on Twitter and Facebook.