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Fans fight to bring hockey back to Richmond

Posted at 8:11 AM, Feb 09, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-09 08:11:26-05

RICHMOND, Va. — The Richmond region hasn’t had a professional hockey team since 2009.

That was on the heels of the recession, when the Richmond Renegades folded after playing at the Richmond Coliseum on and off for 16 years.

Now, a local group of hockey fans believe they have a chance to bring a hockey team back to the city, fueled in part by grabbing the ear of the new mayor.

The group is led by Alan Sams, a dyed-in-the-wool Richmond hockey fan. As a kid, his step-dad took him to Richmond Robins games in the 1970s, and through the 1990s he was a regular in the Richmond Coliseum stands at Renegades games. Currently, Sams is the PR Director for the Richmond Generals, a junior hockey team, and also does marketing for SkateNation Plus, an ice rink in Short Pump.

Sams started a Facebook page, “Bring Hockey Back To Richmond,” in 2012, and the effort has picked up steam lately.

“Hockey fans are pretty intense–we tend to make a lot of friends with each other when we have a team,” Sams said. “The page started as a place to share rumors, talk about the old days, catch up with friends made when we had hockey here.”

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