BY: Ray Schmitt, Voice of the Greenville Road Warriors
The Greenville Road Warriors of the ECHL have been sold to Chestnut Street Sports, LLC, which is solely owned by Fred Festa, the club announced today.
“This is a very important transaction in solidifying the long term stability of the Greenville Road Warriors,” said Neil Smith, President and General Manager. “Mr. Festa and his family are passionate about the sport of hockey which is what makes this announcement great news for all the Upstate hockey fans.”
Regarding the transaction, Festa commented “I’m very excited to have the opportunity to expand the Road Warriors brand from the foundation established by Neil Smith and Steve Posner.”
On Tuesday, March 27th, The Greenville Arena District Board unanimously approved the transfer of the arena lease to Chestnut Street Sports, LLC.
The ECHL Board of Governors unanimously agreed to the transfer of League membership via a conference call on Wednesday, March 28th. Brian McKenna, ECHL Commissioner, stated, “On behalf of the ECHL and our Board of Governors, I would like to welcome Fred Festa as the new owner of the Greenville Road Warriors. After looking at several markets, we are pleased Fred selected Greenville. We share his view that it is a vibrant market with great long term potential. I would also like to thank Neil Smith and Steve Posner for bringing ECHL hockey back to Greenville and providing a very entertaining and competitive team over the past two seasons.”
The actual transaction will not be finalized until the Road Warriors Kelly Cup Playoffs are over at which time a press conference will be scheduled to meet the new ownership.
