Madison will soon have a United States Hockey League expansion team, thanks to a five-year, $800,000 agreement signed between Dane County and Madtown Hockey, LLC, the group that will own and operate the local club. The Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center will host the team, the city’s first USHL franchise in nearly 20 years. In the 1980s and ’90s, the coliseum hosted the USHL’s Madison Capitols and Wisconsin Capitols.
The USHL is considered an elite proving ground for college and professional hockey, according to a release. Nearly 40% of NCAA Division I hockey players are alumni of the USHL, including 15 who played for the UW Badgers last year, and 99% of USHL players earn Division I hockey opportunities.
Pending Dane County Board approvals, the team could be up and running for the 2014-15 season. A contest to determine the team’s name will be held later this year.
