Greenville Grrrowl
| Greenville Grrrowl | |
 | |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Home ice | BI-LO Center |
| Based in | Greenville, South Carolina |
| Colors | Black, Gold, Purple, Silver |
| League | ECHL |
| Head coach | John Marks |
The Greenville Grrrowl were an ECHL hockey team located in Greenville, South Carolina. They played their home games at the BI-LO Center. In the 2001-02 season, they won the Kelly Cup.[1]
The Grrrowl's initial season was 1998-99, with former Chicago Blackhawks defensive star John Marks as their coach. He remained their only coach from 1998 to 2006.[2] They were an affiliate of the AHL Norfolk Admirals,[3] and an affiliate of the NHL Chicago Blackhawks and the Edmonton Oilers.[1]
The team announced that it was folding on June 2, 2006, after running a US$1,000,000 deficit during 2005 that left the team unable to attract new investors.[4] They began losing money after attendance slid from 7,000 per game in their first season to just 2,100 in 2004-05.[1] On June 15 the BI-LO Center announced they were willing to pay $350,000 to keep the team afloat, hoping to entice developers to save the team.[5] Despite the offer, the Greenville Grrrowl ceased operations on July 10, 2006 when the team failed to find new sources of financing.[1] According to Grrrowl President Ed Rubinstein, the team only plans to refund "some percentage" of money already paid by season ticket holders.[1]
Retired numbers
- #36 – Nick Vitucci retired in 2004. Nick played in 14 ECHL Seasons, his last 3 with the Greenville Grrrowl. He later became the head coach for the Toledo Walleye[6] and works in their front office today.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Dykes, Davis (2006-07-12). "Grrrowl fold; arena expected to lose money without team". The Greenville News. Retrieved 2006-09-03.
- ↑ Grrrowl.com, Head Coach: John Marks
- ↑ ChicagoBlackhawks.com, Hawks, Admirals Announce Affiliation w/ Toledo After Greenville Grrrowl Folds
- ↑ Szobody, Ben and Dykes, Davis (2006-05-23). "Grrrowl not paying some bills, president says". The Greenville News. Retrieved 2006-09-03.
- ↑ Szobody, Ben (2006-06-15). "Bi-Lo Center may pitch in for Grrrowl". The Greenville News. Retrieved 2006-09-03.
- ↑ toledowalleye.com, http://www.toledowalleye.com/team/coachingstaff/
External links
| Preceded by South Carolina Stingrays |
Kelly Cup Champions 2001-02 |
Succeeded by Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies |