(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Days after a viral no-show at a scheduled home game, the Vermilion County Bobcats, a minor league hockey team based in Danville, Ill., have called it quits.
The Southern Professional Hockey League franchise announced on its Twitter Thursday that it has “ceased operations, effective immediately.” Vermilion County’s announcement followed a bizarre situation over the weekend, in which the Bobcats failed to show up at a home game against the visiting Quad City Storm.
Fans filed into the rink for a minor league hockey game, vendors sold concessions and the Storm took the ice for warmups. The national anthem played, and officials were ready to drop the puck. But the Bobcats never showed.
After a 2-minute delay of game penalty and 5-minute waiting period, the game was declared a forfeit. The visitors tried to give fans their money's worth by inviting them onto the ice for what was supposed to be a postgame group skate before making the three-hour drive home.
"It was a very weird weekend," Quad City president Brian Rothenberger said. "Certainly one of the most bizarre (things) I've seen."
The Bobcats went 9-70-7 in its two seasons of existence. As of Thursday, the number of teams from in the SPHL — which is a rung below the ECHL in the North American hockey hierarchy, after the NHL and American Hockey League — down to 10.
“It is a sad day for hockey fans in Danville, but I want to personally thank them for their loyalty to the bobcats over the past two seasons,” Bobcats Owner Ellen Tully was quoted as saying in the team’s tweets.
WBBM’s requests for comment from both Bobcats and the SPHL have not been returned.
At the weekend’s game, the only public announcement read: "The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) on Sunday announced the Quad City at Vermilion County game scheduled for Sunday, February 5 has been declared a forfeit in favor of Quad City pursuant to Rule 73.3 of the SPHL Rule Book."
The Bobcats were the latest attempt at minor professional hockey in the Eastern Illinois city of just under 30,000 people. Videos showing the surreal development of one team standing on one half of the rink compared to the empty bench, net and ice on the other side made their way onto social media with fans decrying the embarrassment of the situation.
Chuck Sergent, a hockey lifer in Danville who said he worked as vice president and head of marketing and public relations for Vermilion County from August-December, "was not surprised that it happened at all." He had known of deteriorating conditions within the team, including concerns over inadequate medical personnel on site for games, and figured a problem was imminent when the Bobcats were replaced as the opponent for road games at Quad City on Friday and Saturday.
Rothenberger and owner John Dawson accompanied players and coaches on this trip because they knew the circumstances might be a little bit strange. Rothenberger said the league told the Storm to go about their regular business and take the ice as usual because that was standard procedure.
Fans who weren't paying close attention didn't know what was coming. Sergent had a good idea, and he wanted to be at David S. Palmer Arena to talk to season-ticket holders he brought in during his stint with the club.
"It hurt me so bad to watch the arena, which was not their fault, keep selling tickets to a game that they had a gut feeling and knowing darn well it wasn't going to happen," he said. "It's sad."
Vermilion County's coach did not show up, there was no athletic trainer on site and Sergent said only captain Adam Eby was prepared to take the ice.
While the official attendance was listed at 0, fans who paid $7-13 per ticket for a game that never happened still got to step onto the ice to skate with visiting players from Quad City who stuck around to provide some entertainment.
"That is really what minor pro sports is all about," Rothenberger said, adding the team stopped for McDonalds and "some cold beverages" for the ride home. "They were excited to be able to do it. I think it meant a lot to the fans that were there, especially some of the younger kids looking forward to that skate. They still got to do it and hope that can kind of keep that hockey interest up and see if they can move forward getting things, a little more stability, I guess, there in Vermilion County moving forward."
Vermilion County wrote on Twitter that refunds for season ticket holders would be announced in the near future.
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(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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