Spartans Boys Youth Club to join Eastern Hockey Federation; Junior team to join USPHL NCDC
Bethesda, MD – Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. (“Black Bear”) has entered into an agreement to purchase the Rinks at Exeter, NH, the Spartans youth hockey club and the Seacoast Performance Academy (collectively, the “Arena”). The transaction is subject to normal course closing conditions and is scheduled to close in July. As part of the transaction, the Seacoast Spartans U20 Junior team will leave the Eastern Hockey League and join the USPHL’s NCDC division for next season (2024-25) as the third “tuition-based” team. Additionally, upon closing, the Spartans boys youth teams will be participating in the Eastern Hockey Federation, the best youth hockey league in the United States, for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Black Bear, the largest owner-operator of ice rinks in the U.S., was founded by CEO Murry Gunty in 2015. Co-owners of the Arena and Spartans and industry veterans, John St. Pierre and Travis Bezio, will remain partners and continue to support the program moving forward. The acquisition represents Black Bear’s first investment in New Hampshire and sixth in New England (38th overall) bringing its New England presence to 10 total sheets of ice (74 overall).
“We are excited to expand the academy, youth, and rink offerings under Black Bear,” said St. Pierre and Bezio, co-owners of the Spartans. “We remain dedicated to Exeter and believe that the resources of Black Bear, including its USHL Youngstown Phantoms franchise, can help elevate the organization’s overall presence and national exposure.”
“The Rinks at Exeter is an outstanding fit with our portfolio and the organization has built one of the top hockey academies in the country,” said Murry N. Gunty, CEO and Founder of Black Bear Sports Group. “Under the direction of John, Travis, and Kurt Mallett, we look forward to welcoming them to our junior hockey pipeline and our leagues & tournaments where they will have the ability to enhance their schedule to compete for national championships. We are also thrilled to have another entry in the USPHL NCDC New England division which has clearly become the top place to play in that region.”
“The Seacoast Spartans U20 NCDC camp is scheduled for August 9-11 and Black Bear looks forward to bringing its entire scouting and recruiting team to benefit the organization,” said Jason Deskins, Youngstown Phantoms and overall Black Bear Junior Hockey General Manager. “Year in and year out our junior teams compete for Championships and we expect nothing less from the Spartans.”
About Black Bear Sports Group, Inc.
Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. is a privately held company formed by Murry Gunty and Blackstreet Capital Holdings, LLC in 2015 that seeks investments in sports and entertainment facilities, teams, and youth sports events. Black Bear arenas are clean, professionally managed, and offer world-class recreational programs. Black Bear focuses on ice arenas in metropolitan areas with compelling demographics, markets with a National Hockey League club presence, and arenas with existing youth hockey clubs. Black Bear not only features the ability to acquire healthy and stable arenas, but also the expertise required to turn around mismanaged or under-performing facilities. The largest owner/operator of ice arenas in the U.S., Black Bear’s footprint totals 38 facilities across the United States with 74 sheets of indoor ice, four indoor turf fields, 36 youth hockey clubs, four hockey leagues (Atlantic Hockey Federation, Atlantic Girls Hockey Federation, Tier 1 Hockey Federation, and National Girls Hockey League), two tournament businesses (Defender Hockey Tournaments and The Show Tournaments), five Junior “A” hockey franchises with membership in the United States Hockey League, North American Hockey League, USPHL NCDC, USPHL Premier and Elite, and Foundry Adult Hockey, the largest adult hockey organization in the USA.