The U.S. women's national hockey team will relocate to the Tampa area ahead of the 2018 Olympics.

2018 Games will be held in South Korea

Hockey team will train at Florida Hospital Center Ice

Practices will be open to public



PREVIOUS STORY: Center Ice opened in January



The team, which was announced Friday, will train at Florida Hospital Center Ice, a new hockey facility built in Wesley Chapel.

"I'm from North Dakota," said player Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, who was on hand along with the rest of the team's roster for the announcement. "It snowed a couple of days ago, so I'm kind of excited."

"I think everyone's excited for the sun and also the fans," said player Hilary Knight.



According to the Team USA Hockey website, players and staff will move to the Tampa area in September to train at Center Ice. The roster includes 23 players -- you can read about them here.

Owner Gordie Zimmermann told us the decision by Team USA Hockey was a tough secret to keep.

"We've worked on it for several months," said Zimmermann. "They obviously came down and visited the site with the [Tampa Bay] Lightning."



With the January opening of Center Ice, Wesley Chapel is now home to the largest ice rink and multi-sports complex in the state and the southeast.

The practice schedule hasn't been finalized, but the practices will be open to the public.



The 2018 Olympic Games will be held in Pyeonechang, South Korea.