Evansville parks board approves junior hockey agreement for Swander Ice Arena

The Evansville Board of Parks Commissioners on July 2 approved an agreement with Blade Edge Ventures to host the Evansville Mariners, a USPHL junior hockey franchise, at Swander Ice Arena.

The agreement covers three teams of players ages 16 to 21 and is expected to provide “substantial revenue contribution, that we estimate could be between 50 to $70,000 annually, in ice rental fees,” Nick Perriman, general manager at Swander Ice Arena, told the board. Perriman said each team plans about 25 home games, which would mean roughly 75 home games across the three squads.

Perriman said the teams would generally practice on weekdays during work hours and play games Friday and Saturday evenings, which he said should cause “minimal conflict with the user groups” that use the arena in the evenings and on weekend mornings and afternoons. Perriman also noted the arrangement would create opportunities for local players who have aged out of youth programs to continue at a higher level without leaving the area.

A board member asked whether the program raised scheduling or other concerns; Perriman said he had not identified immediate “red flags” and that on paper the schedule appears to have minimal impact on existing users. The board also confirmed the proposed teams are male only.

The motion to approve the agreement carried after a voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting minutes.

Swander Ice Arena previously hosted higher-level hockey teams, including the Evansville Iceman (2008–2011) and the Evansville Junior Thunderbolts (2015–2019), a history Perriman cited as evidence the facility can balance community programming with higher-level hockey.

The board did not specify further terms of the contract during the public meeting.