Suns Legacy Partners Adds Phoenix ECHL Team To Holdings

Suns Legacy Partners, the investment group that owns the Suns, AFL Rattlers and WNBA Mercury and operates America West Arena (AWA), has purchased the rights to an ECHL franchise to begin play at AWA in October ’05. The team will be known as the Phoenix Roadrunners, a name used by franchises in the Western Hockey League, WHA, Central Hockey League, Pacific Hockey League and IHL from ’67-97. Former NHLer Claude Lemieux will serve as the team’s President (Suns). In Arizona, Ron Matejko noted the franchise had been slated to begin play next season as an expansion team in Bloomington, Illinois, in an arena under construction. The team will play 36 home games at AWA. There was “no word on whether the new team will try to forge an affiliation agreement” with the Coyotes (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/1).

Colangelo (l), Sarver (c) and Lemieux Bringing ECHL Team To Phoenix