The Jacksonville Icemen now can call VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena home until 2030.
City Council voted 19-0 on Oct. 27 to approve a lease extension at the arena for Icemen parent company SZH Hockey LLC through June 30, 2025. with an option for a five-year extension.
Ordinance 2020-0586 reduces SZH Hockey’s overall lease cost by $145,000 annually.
Team ownership hopes a lower cost lease will help close what team representatives consider a small revenue gap and keep minor league hockey in Jacksonville.
“What we had asked the city to do was provide us with a little more favorable lease terms so that we would no longer be the most expensive lease in the ECHL,” SZH Hockey President Bob Ohrablo said Oct. 20. “And in exchange, we’re willing to commit to a long-term lease here.”
SZH Hockey LLC, led by Jacksonville resident Andrew Kaufmann, bought the Icemen in July 2019 from El Acquisitions. Each member of the ownership group lives locally, according to Ohrablo.
The Icemen is an ECHL affiliate of the NHL Winnipeg Jets and AHL Manitoba Moose. The team completed its third season in Jacksonville in March, cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team announced its delayed 2020-21 schedule Oct. 15. The Icemen will open the season Dec. 11 on the road at the Florida Everblades. The home opener for the Icemen is Dec. 12 against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.