The Springfield Thunderbirds are a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League that began play for the 2016-2017 season as the affiliate of the National Hockey League Florida Panthers. Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Thunderbirds will play all of their home games at the Mass Mutual Center. In May, 2016, following the relocation of the Springfield Falcons to Tucson, Arizona Coyotes, the AHL’s Portland Pirates were sold to a Springfield based group who intended to relocate the franchise for the 2016-2017 season.
There is a group of 30 owners that consists of local business who were interested in keeping hockey in Springfield. Owners include the likes of Paul Picknelly, owner of the Springfield Marriott and member of the family owning Peter Pan Bus Lines, as well as several local hotel owners.
The Thunderbirds played their first game on October 15th, 2016, a 4-2 loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. On October 22nd, 2016, the Thunderbirds played their inaugural home opener, a 5-4 win against the St. John IceCaps. Dryden Hunt Scored the first goal on home ice, and Mackenzie Weegar scored the game winning goal in overtime in front of a sellout crowd of 6,793. While the inaugural season did not result in a playoff berth, average attendance rose from 3,108 in the Falcons’ last season to 4,618 and including three sellouts.
The Springfield Thunderbird organization provides exciting, fun, and family entertainment for every home game at the Mass Mutual Center. Our objective is to provide our fans with our richest product due to the history hockey has in Springfield.
Now, since you have heard our story it is time for you to come make yours!
Our Message
In the United States, almost 12 billion dollars a year is spent on the purchase of sporting event tickets (Howard, D., & Crompton, J., 2004). Teams in some of the major leagues such as the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL) depend on gate receipts as their single greatest source of income. Indeed, nine out of ten Americans say ticket prices are so high that it is difficult for them to attend a professional sporting event (Howard, D., & Crompton, J., 2004).