Ice, ice, baby! Mudbugs hockey returns to Shreveport

Dust off the skates, fire up the Zamboni, grab your plastic crustaceans and get ready to let them fly.

Mudbugs hockey is back.

Tommy Scott, the owner of the Mudbugs franchise when it ceased operations in 2011, has signed a 12-year lease (plus a pair of five-year options) with the State Fair of Louisiana for use of the Hirsch Coliseum.

The building will feature an ice rink available for public skating in early November. In the fall of 2016, the Shreveport Mudbugs will return to play at their original home as part of the NAHL, the only USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier II Junior league.

To become Mudbugs-ready, the Hirsch will undergo a roughly-$1.5 million upgrade. The money used will be 100 percent private. Mudbugs ownership consists of five groups, including three local investors. Scott will serve as the managing partner.

Thursday’s announcement comes four long years after the ice melted following a Central Hockey League championship.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Scott told The Times. “I’ve been so cautious about everything for years because we’ve had so many ups and downs; we’ve had so many, ‘OK, well, today is the day. OK, it’s not the day.’ That happened last week, in fact.

“It was more like a dream. Now it’s starting to come true. But it’s time to keep going.”

Scott hopes the Hirsch will boast ice for public skating (about $12, including skate rental) during the second week of the State Fair of Louisiana. The ice, available seven days a week until late March, will also host junior hockey, figure skating, birthday parties and rec hockey.

The temporary ice sheet used for public skating will be replace by a permanent system in 2016.

The Shreveport Mudbugs will begin play in the fall of 2016. Scott Muscutt, an original Mudbug player and longtime head coach of the professional team, will move into the role of general manager and director of operations.

"This is the best day in 10 years," Muscutt said.

A head coach for the franchise will be named at a later date.

The NAHL features student-athletes ages 16-20 with aspirations of playing college and/or professional hockey and boasts a 60-game regular season (30 home games).

The NAHL will celebrate its 40th anniversary season this fall and features 22 teams in 10 states. Many of the Southern locations are familiar to Mudbugs fans: Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Lone Star (North Richland Hills, Texas), Topeka and Wichita Falls.

“Shreveport fits well within the current NAHL Southern footprint,” said Mark Frankenfeld, the commissioner and president of the NAHL. “One of the things a market needs to succeed is a passionate and dedicated fan base and history has shown that Shreveport has both and would be able to support an NAHL team. We have had some great success stories with our teams in the Southern United States that were formerly professional hockey markets that have since thrived during their time in the NAHL. We as a league are riding a wave of momentum that has seen us set league-wide attendance records and NCAA commitment records the past four seasons.”

The Mudbugs, then a member of the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) played their first three seasons in the Hirsch before the then-CenturyTel Center was built.

"Welcome back to the Mudbugs," Shreveport mayor Ollie Tyler said at Thursday's news conference.

With the renovations to the Hirsch, the seating capacity will be trimmed from 7,000 to about 4,000 and the Mudbugs will boast a personal season license (PSL) option, ice-level suites and season tickets as cheap at $10 per game.

“This will be affordable family entertainment, but you’re going to get a lot, too,” Scott said.

In addition to the suites, renovations to the Hirsch will include new bathrooms, revamped concessions and new seats.

The rink will be dubbed "George's Pond at Hirsch Coliseum," in memory of former Junior Mudbugs player George Cloutier.

Ticket packages are currently available at GeauxBugs.com.

“There is still a lot more work to do,” Scott said. “We have to celebrate a little bit, but we can’t sit back. We’re going to have ice in here in three weeks. Plus, you have to build a (hockey team), too, with the scouting and the marketing, selling the tickets and the sponsorships.”

Twitter: @RoyLangIII

FOR TICKET INFORMATION

Visit: geauxbugs.com

Call: 1-844-4MUDBUGS