March 19, 2013
Could hockey be leaving Peoria? According to an article in today's Journal Star, There is a possibility that the Rivermen might not be returning next year.
“Nothing is settled (about Peoria’s future). Nothing is decided. The best answer right now is a bit in limbo,” Blues chief operating officer Bruce Affleck said Monday. “I know the rumors are out there and I can’t completely squash them.”
The problem is St. Louis beer distributor Tom Stillman. He bought the St. Louis Blues along with the Rivermen last year. Now it seems he might not want to fund the Rivermen anymore and there could be a possibility he would sell the team to Vancouver, who would then move the team to Abbotsford, B.C.
Abbotsford already owns a team but they may move which would them make room for the Rivermen.
“For sale is too strong a term,” Affleck said. “Have we talked to people? Yes. But not in months. NHL teams talk all the time, and we talk about a number of things. Affiliations are very fluid in the AHL and this is part of the process all the time.