Lake Tahoe has skiiing, water sports, and it has gambling. And it will soon have professional hockey, thanks to Tim Tebow.
On Monday, the ECHL announced that an expansion franchise had been awarded to the area and would join the league as its 29th team for the 2024-25 season, owned by former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow and David Hodges, CEO of Hodges Management Group, LLC.
Zawyer Sports & Entertainment will manage and operate the franchise.
“I love that sports can bring people together from all over to enjoy camaraderie, competition, and community impact,” Tebow said in a statement released by the league. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be part of a group bringing hockey to the Tahoe area for fans and families to create memories for years to come.”
Tebow, 35, won the Heisman Trophy as the top U.S. collegiate football player, as well as a pair of national titles with the University of Florida in 2006 and '08. He followed that with a largely unremarkable NFL career with the Denver Broncos, New York Jets, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
The team is set to play out of the 4,200-seat Tahoe Blue Event Center, which is expected to begin operations in July and is located in Stateline, Nev., which sits on the border with California.
“This new team will offer the only professional sports action in the region, giving locals a hometown team and fast-paced entertainment, with a commitment to giving back and growing the game of hockey in the community," said ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin in the same statement. "This ownership and operating group have already shown the ability to create a new generation of ECHL fans, and we look forward to the excitement they will bring to South Tahoe.”
Professional hockey is apparently not a new endeavour for Tebow, who is already a minority partner in the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen and Savannah Ghost Pirates.
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