Goodbye Mudbugs

10 Jun 2011 | Davide Tuniz

CHL champion ceased operation after 14 years, while Killer Bees survives with a new ownership

Some days after securing CHL title, Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs announce that due to severe economic conditions and the limited timeline imposed to secure sufficient revenue for the upcoming season, the team will be forced to cease operations after 14 successful seasons..
"I think everyone is sad about this, and it will be very difficult to walk away. I hope that everyone will remember the good times they enjoyed with the Mudbugs, and who knows, maybe Mudbugs Hockey will be back some day." said owner Tommy Scott. "We're in a position where we cannot continue to lose large sums of money like we did this year," Scott continued. "The reason for our goal of 2,500 season tickets was not meant to be unrealistic; it was a number we had to come close to hitting in order to give us a fighting chance at making it work without significant and damaging losses. It's basically impossible for us to continue under the current financial circumstances without the guarantee of significantly increased revenue."
From 1997 Mudbugs won four Presidents’ Cup Championships, two other conference titles, three Governors’ Cup Regular Season Championships and appeared in the playoffs in 13 of their 14 seasons of competition.
Another team in danger of closure, Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, announced they will play in the Central Hockey League for the 2011-12 season, the ninth season of play for the team, thanks to a new ownership group, Hidalgo Sports, LLC. The majority of this group had owned the Killer Bees from the franchise’s inception in 2003 through 2007.
“We are very excited to keep hockey in the Valley,” said one of the owners, Joe Sakulenzki. “The Killer Bees are a top level organization and we believe we can create exciting, competitive, and economically sound hockey with this franchise.”