The Evansville Icemen are now officially moving to Owensboro.

The deal between the city and the team was agreed upon Wednesday afternoon.

The path to the Owensboro Sportscenter is clearer for the IceMen.

“I thought it’d be neat to have them here,” says Adam Mattingly of Owensboro. “From what I hear, it’s pretty much like the pros and it’s cheap to get in.”

Mayor Ron Payne says the team finalized contracts with the city on playing at the Sportscenter, and with the Owensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau over marketing. The CVB will contribute more than $40,000 for the first three years and $30,000 the next two. The ECHL must approve the move.

“Other than the Mavericks, we haven’t had a semi-pro team here. It’s a really nice thing,” says Kelly Fowler, who works in Owensboro. “I hope they’re able to do good with that.”

It comes less than a day after a post on the team’s Facebook page called the move “premature” and “not set in stone”. Payne says it was posted without owner Ron Geary’s approval and was taken down.

“It upset me a little bit. We came in this morning committed to getting all this straightened out and reassure the people in the Tri-State that the IceMen, they are doing everything they can to keep hockey in the Tri-State,” says Payne.

Officials with Owensboro Catholic High School, who use the sportscenter for games and events, say they want answers on their future. Payne says IceMen officials will meet with other tenants to assure them their deals won’t change for the next five years.

Geary also plans to put a restaurant with off-track betting, which will open next year. Payne says that will likely be put downtown.