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  • Who is behind this?
    We are a collective of local creatives, business owners, and residents who love hockey and who want to work alongside the community to help put Frederick and Maryland in the conversation for a professional hockey team. Our main goal is obviously to get an ECHL team in Frederick, but as a by-product of that goal, we hope to bring people together, explore brand, and amplify the Maryland hockey community, culture, and creativity and enhance the quality of the sport in our region. We just don't want to build one arena to house an ECHL club, but more community rinks for our many teams and players who do not have enough ice time to go around!
  • Can Maryland actually support an ECHL team?
    Yes, and it’s not just our opinion. One of the main reasons we decided to move forward with this campaign was because when we looked at the statistics, it was clear that the Frederick and/or Columbia area could, in fact, support a minor league hockey team. Check out the numbers for yourself.
  • Do ECHL players get free housing?
    The ECHL per diem is $39 per day. Their collective-bargaining agreement also guarantees ECHL players a furnished bedroom within a furnished, utilities-paid apartment — a benefit that varies in value based on the cost of living in each city. Married players are entitled to their own furnished, utilities-paid apartment.
  • When will the ECHL expand?
    The ECHL is currently at 29 teams, and have gone on record by saying they want to match the NHL and have an affiliate for every club. The league will expand once communities engage the league, prove the league belongs in their town, have a committed ownership group and adequate facility to house the club.
  • Are you trying to replace Skate Frederick?
    NO! This needs to be very clearly understood. Replacing Skate Frederick doesn't fix the main problem that the local hockey scene has. The lack of ice availability is the number 1 component to why hockey teams are folding. Research shows it's not cost or interest, but that there is simply not enough ice sheets at available prime times. Adding 2 additional sheets to the county corrects this problem. While Skate Frederick desperately needs improvements, our goal is to add ice, not take it away. Ideally, we would have both venues open to the public to further and grow the local hockey scene for Youth, High School, College, Adult and Semi-Pro Hockey Clubs, programs, camps and more. If we are to turn Frederick into the Hockeytown of Maryland, Skate Frederick remains integral.
  • Who is funding this project?
    A community movement is great and all, but, professional hockey isn’t coming to Maryland without real investors and a solid ownership group. We know that, but phase 1 of this movement is to educate, organize and activate the community around hockey. Once we get the wheels turning, we’ll start the discussion about ownership and financing options.
  • What is your plan to make this happen?
    There is no doubt that it’s going to take a strong combination of both community support and financial backing. The initial goal of this movement is to ramp up support throughout Maryland, especially in the Frederick and Howard County region to attract the attention of the media, the ECHL and eventually investors, putting Frederick in one of the few communities the league is looking at. While it might initially sound crazy, the data supports it and movements like this have been successful before. At the end of the day, getting this thing to happen begins with a large and loud community buy-in. Want to learn more about the process? We laid it out for you.
  • How do I get involved with helping get the ECHL to Maryland?
    Start by signing the petition (click ‘Join the Fight’ button in the menu). You can also help by sharing the message on social media, wearing your hat and shirt on the streets and attending our events. Tell your friends, your family, local businesses, and make sure you let the media know you want coverage of our movement. Check out all the ways you can play a part in bringing hockey back to Maryland.
  • Many teams have failed in the past. What makes this different?
    Minor league hockey in the past failed because of three main reasons: Location of the arena. Baltimore and Upper Marlboro had no grassroots hockey programs, and both arenas were in poor conditions to watch hockey. Non-committed ownership group. In professional sports, it all starts at the top. If the owner isn't committed, why will the fans be? A committed ownership groups knows this isn't a 2-3 year experiment, but a commitment for at least 30 years, and hopefully longer. The owners for all franchises were never committed to their product. Almost Non-Existent Hockey Scene. There's no doubt the surge of hockey interest in Maryland is due to Alex Ovechkin and the success of the Washington Capitals. Prior to his arrival, the team in DC was barely scraping by with attendance at or around 50-60% most nights and barely making the playoffs if at all. That has changed. Hockey in the region is up 200% since Alex Ovechkin was drafted.
  • How do I add a new question & answer?
    To add a new FAQ follow these steps: 1. Manage FAQs from your site dashboard or in the Editor 2. Add a new question & answer 3. Assign your FAQ to a category 4. Save and publish. You can always come back and edit your FAQs.
  • How do I edit or remove the 'Frequently Asked Questions' title?
    You can edit the title from the FAQ 'Settings' tab in the Editor. To remove the title from your mobile app go to the 'Site & App' tab in your Owner's app and customize.
  • Can I insert an image, video, or GIF in my FAQ?
    Yes. To add media follow these steps: 1. Manage FAQs from your site dashboard or in the Editor 2. Create a new FAQ or edit an existing one 3. From the answer text box click on the video, image or GIF icon 4. Add media from your library and save.

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Got questions, comments, concerns? We will be doing most of our communication through social media. However, if you would rather email us, you can do that too.

TOGETHER WE CAN HELP

Profits from events and merchandise are going towards helping fix hockey venues and launch hockey programs in our community.

DISCLAIMER

Pro Hockey MD Inc. is not associated with the Washington Capitals; East Coast Hockey League, or Monumental Sports or its properties.

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All original content on ProHockeyMd.com is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International – unless otherwise stated or superseded by another license. You are free to share, copy, and remix this content so long as it is attributed, done for noncommercial purposes, and done so under a license similar to this one.

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Pro Hockey Maryland Inc. is a Maryland charitable trust recognized by IRS as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal Tax ID: 27-6601178). Contributions to Pro Hockey Maryland or Hockey With Purpose Inc. are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

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Pro Hockey MD is a DBA under the Roots 95 Foundation & Hockey With Purpose.

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