PRINCETON, N.J. ? The ECHL announced on Thursday that the Board of Governors has approved the Expansion Membership application of Chicago for admission to the ECHL. Chicago is scheduled to begin play in October 2011 when the Premier ?AA? Hockey League will celebrate its 24th season, making it the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League. The Chicago membership is owned by C & S Family Sports, LLC, an entity controlled by owner/CEO Craig Drecktrah. The team will play its home games at the Sears Centre, located in suburban Hoffman Estates, Ill., approximately 25 miles northwest of Chicago. The Sears Centre opened in 2006 and has a capacity of 9,400 for hockey. It features 43 luxury suites with two lounges on the private suite concourse. ?I am pleased to welcome Hoffman Estates as the newest addition of the ECHL,? said ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna. ?We are excited about the potential of both the market and the Sears Centre to showcase the ECHL and look forward to working with Craig and his staff over the next year to prepare for a successful introduction.? ?We are in the ECHL, which is exactly where we wanted to be,? said Drecktrah. ?And as such, I guarantee all of our fans and the Village of Hoffman Estates that their new ECHL team will provide buzzer-to-buzzer entertainment. We are leaving everything on the ice every night.? ?The Village is very excited to welcome an ECHL hockey team to the Sears Centre Arena,? said Hoffman Estates Mayor William McLeod. ?With a growing interest in hockey, having an ECHL hockey team at the Sears Centre Arena is a great way to make hockey accessible to families with youth hockey players and fans.? (Release courtesy of the ECHL)
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