Albany Devils relocating to Binghamton, New York
Another American Hockey League (AHL) franchise is leaving town for another city. The Albany Devils played their first season in 2010-11 after the Albany River Rats moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. The Devils will be moving to Binghamton in time for the 2017-18 season. The team will have spent seven seasons in Albany. The Devils will be moving to Binghamton, New York to replace the Binghamton Senators. Albany currently draws the fewest attendance numbers on average for the AHL. The team will be known as the Binghamton Devils. The Devils relocating will end 24 years of AHL hockey in Albany, New York.
The Devils current arena in Albany seats 14,236 for hockey while the venue in Binghamton seats 4,679 for hockey. The bad side to this is that Albany will be without hockey, the good side to this is that fans in Binghamton won’t have to go without hockey. The Binghamton Senators currently play in a fairly small size venue, but the one in Belleville they’ll be playing in is even smaller holding a total of 3,257 fans. These moves are part of a continuing effort to bring the AHL affiliate closer to their NHL parent club.
Binghamton Senators move to Belleville, Ontario
The Binghamton Senators are moving to Belleville, Ontario to be closer to their NHL parent club, the Ottawa Senators. The last team to call Belleville home was the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The Bulls played in Belleville from 1981-2015 before moving to Hamilton, Ontario. The Bulls are currently known as the Hamilton Bulldogs.
St. John’s IceCaps moving to Laval, Quebec
The St. John’s IceCaps are also moving to a new city after this season. They’re relocating to Laval, Quebec to be closer to their parent club, the Montreal Canadiens. The IceCaps have been in St. John’s since 2015 playing only two seasons there. The team currently plays in an arena that 6,287 while the new arena in Laval will seat a few thousand more at 10,000. The Devils will be moving into a much smaller arena than they’re currently playing their games in.
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