AHL Announces Conditional Approval of Falcons' Move to Tucson

The American Hockey League announced today that it has granted unanimous conditional approval of the ownership transfer and relocation of the Springfield Falcons. The Falcons were purchased by the Arizona Coyotes and will be moving to Tucson, Arizona, in the fall.

Further, the league is reviewing a request to relocate the Portland Pirates from Portland, Maine, to Springfield, Massachusetts. This was previously reported as being a done deal. It is fair to consider that usually when such votes come to the Board of Governors and are publicly announced like this, they are foregone conclusions.

Here's the release:
Convening today in Chicago for its Spring Meeting, the American Hockey League’s Board of Governors unanimously granted conditional approval of the transfer of ownership of the Springfield Falcons AHL franchise to the National Hockey League’s Arizona Coyotes, as well as the relocation of that franchise from Springfield, Mass., to Tucson, Ariz., beginning with the 2016-17 season.

Should all conditions of the transaction be met, the Coyotes’ AHL franchise will begin play this fall at the Tucson Convention Center Arena.

The Board of Governors is also currently reviewing an application for the transfer of ownership and relocation of the Portland Pirates AHL franchise from Portland, Maine, to Springfield, Mass., for 2016-17. It is expected the Board will reconvene to vote on that request within two weeks.

Founded in 1936 and now with franchises in 30 cities across North America, the American Hockey League serves as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, executives and broadcasters of all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 15th year in a row, more than 6 million fans have attended AHL games in 2015-16.

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