Introducing the Black Bears
The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) and Carousel Sports, LLC are excited to announce the
immediate return of professional hockey to Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton!
An expansion team named the Binghamton Black Bears has agreed to terms with the league and the
arena and will commence play this coming season joining several local rivals in the Federal
Prospects Hockey League. The team’s majority owner is Andreas Johansson, who also owns the
Watertown Wolves in the same league.
The FPHL has shown substantial growth over the last few years, and recently teams in Carolina,
Columbus and Elmira have made successful moves from higher divisions, to achieve success in the FPHL.
The league has been able to attract fans in large part due to the community involvement of the players
and teams, affordable tickets, and a more open, physical style of hockey.
“We are incredibly excited to place an expansion team in a market with such tremendous hockey history
as Binghamton. Our business model is based on affordable entertainment for the whole family, and our
fans tend to love the community involvement of our players, as well as our “old school” style of hockey
– fast, physical, and hard-hitting, but with plenty of skill as well. If you look at where the league is today,
compared to just a few years ago, it is incredible to see how far we have come, and the tremendous
success we have seen in all these new markets”, said Andreas Johansson.
“I want to thank Chris Marion, the county executive, and the entire board, for working with us in such an
expeditious manner in order to make sure the great fans of Broome County do not have to go another
winter without pro hockey. We also could not have made this happen without the support of the FPHL
board of governors, and commissioner Don Kirnan. When I first came across this opportunity, I knew it
was something that we had to jump on right away, and we could not be more thrilled”, continued
Johansson.
One large benefit to fans in Broome County are the lower ticket prices, with season tickets starting from
as low as $10 per game, and single tickets will be priced very competitively too, in an effort to attract
more families, as well as students, and “first-time” visitors to a professional hockey game.
Recent success stories have seen teams in Winston-Salem, Columbus (GA), and Elmira all average a
higher attendance in the FPHL, as opposed to the ECHL or SPHL, showing that fans, new and old, seem
to appreciate the product the FPHL puts out there, Commissioner Don Kirnan: “We are incredibly happy to be placing an expansion franchise in Binghamton. A city with such rich hockey history and great fans, we are certain our style of hockey will get fans coming to the arena.”
The new ownership group are currently working to transition former Devils’ employees to join the new
company and will place an early focus on reaching out to all current corporate partners and season
ticket holders.
“We want to introduce ourselves and our product to as many fans and partners as we possibly can, and
we look forward to working with the great people on the ground here, in order to be able to do so”, said
Andreas Johansson.
The team is also set to start recruitment for a variety of roles, and look forward to announcing the first
head coach, as well as hockey personnel shortly.
To best keep up on the developments, please visit www.binghamtonblackbears.com and you may also
reach the new team by phone 607.238.3368 or by email info@binghamtonblackbears.com
Make Sure to Follow the Black Bears on Socia Media:
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/BinghamtonBB
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/binghamtonblackbears/
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@binghamtonblackbears?lang=en
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Binghamton-Black-Bears-109036051356362
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKbumT9V9mYO59NwqmSkrwA