ATHENS — Hockey has spent decades searching for stable footing in Georgia.
The NHL failed twice in Atlanta, while minor-league teams have found growing success in several pockets of the state. Still, here in the Classic City — forever dominated by college football — it was fair to wonder whether a music-themed minor-league hockey franchise would resonate.
Two seasons later, the team is moving up a league.
The Rock Lobsters will join the SPHL, formerly the Southern Professional Hockey League, next season after rapidly emerging as one of the South’s most successful franchises, selling out games and building an unexpectedly passionate following in the shadow of University of Georgia football.
“This is a new era for the Rock Lobsters,” team president Scott Hull said. “And we do not plan on slowing down.”
The move follows a swift rise for the franchise in Athens.
The Rock Lobsters increased average attendance by 22% last season to roughly 4,500 fans per game while finishing near the top of the standings for a second straight year in the Federal Prospects Hockey League.
Credit: Colin Hubbard
Credit: Colin Hubbard
Athens becomes the SPHL’s 12th franchise. The league already operates in several football-obsessed Southern markets, including Macon, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Birmingham, Alabama.
League commissioner Doug Price said the Rock Lobsters’ success on the ice and location in downtown Athens made the franchise especially attractive. Opened in late 2024, Akins Ford Arena sits within walking distance of downtown restaurants, bars and the University of Georgia campus.
“I think having that local atmosphere with the arena so close makes it more like a weekend getaway as opposed to just a road trip for a hockey game,” Price said.
Athens has also become part of a broader wave of hockey growth across Georgia. The Savannah Ghost Pirates and Atlanta Gladiators, based in Duluth, will soon be joined in the ECHL by a startup franchise in Augusta. The Macon Mayhem have played in the SPHL since 2015, while the Columbus River Dragons have emerged as a consistent contender in the FPHL.
Buzz continues around the NHL maybe giving metro Atlanta a third shot, with competing arena proposals in Alpharetta and Forsyth County.
Carter Shinkaruk, the Rock Lobsters’ team captain, has previously played in the SPHL and says the move positions Athens to face faster, more structured competition against teams from larger markets.
“But you’re still getting a lot of goals, the fights,” Shinkaruk said, “and the home team here in Athens winning at the end of the day.”
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