Expansion Membership approved for Greensboro

The ECHL announced on Friday that the League’s Board of Governors has approved the expansion application of Greensboro, North Carolina for admittance into the League.
 
The team, which will be named later, will be owned and operated by Zawyer Sports & Entertainment. 
 
“The ECHL is proud to welcome our 30th Member by returning to the Greensboro, North Carolina market,” said ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin. “Greensboro holds a special place in the ECHL’s history and growth, and it will be a joyful moment to drop the puck once again in October 2025 and bring professional hockey back to the city for fans to once again cheer for their hometown team.”
 
“We are very excited for the opportunity to launch an ECHL team in Greensboro,” Zawyer Sports CEO Andy Kaufmann said. “We look forward to turning Tournament Town into Hockey Town with a family-friendly atmosphere that will bring people together from all around the community.”
 
The Greensboro Membership will begin play in the 2025-26 Season at the First Horizon Coliseum. The city of Greensboro has a long history of hockey, beginning with the Greensboro Generals, who played in the Eastern Hockey League from 1959-73 and the Southern Hockey League from 1973-77. ECHL Commissioner Emeritus Patrick J. Kelly played five seasons with the Generals from 1959-64.
 
Greensboro has had two previous entries in the ECHL with the Monarchs skating in the league from 1989-95 and a second incarnation of the Generals participating from 1999-2004. The Monarchs won the Riley Cup title in their first-season of existence in 1989-90, lost in the Riley Cup Finals in 1999-91 and 1994-95 and hold the ECHL record for the largest crowd in league history with 20,911 fans on Jan. 15, 1994 against Charlotte. Greensboro was also home to the American Hockey League’s Carolina Monarchs from 1995-97, and the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes played their first two seasons in North Carolina in Greensboro from 1997-99 while awaiting completion of their arena in Raleigh.
 
About the ECHL
 
Formed in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 29 teams in 22 states and one Canadian province for its 37th season in 2024-25. There have been 752 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including 12 who made their NHL debuts in the 2023-24 season. The ECHL has affiliations with 29 of the 32 NHL teams in 2024-25, marking the 27th consecutive season that the league has affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com.