KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — UPDATE (12/14): The Knoxville Ice Bears announced new dates for its postponed games.
Friday’s game against Roanoke is now scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 7 and Saturday’s contest against Quad City will be played on Sunday, Mar. 24. Both games are scheduled for a 5 p.m.
“We appreciate Mickey Gray from Roanoke and John Dawson from Quad City working with us to get a new date for each game quickly,” Ice Bears President and GM Mike Murray said. “We hope the city will take the proper precautions to prevent situations like these from happening again in the future.”
Fans who purchased tickets to either game will be able to redeem those tickets for the new game date.
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The Knoxville Ice Bears postponed two games set to take place on Dec. 15 and 16, the team announced Wednesday.
An "unforeseen mechanical issue" within the Knoxville Civic Coliseum, the home of the SPHL hockey team, caused the postponements, according to the team.
The team was scheduled to host Roanoke on Friday and Quad City on Saturday. Ice Bears General Manager and Co-Owner Mike Murray expressed disappointment over the issue.
“We are very frustrated that there hasn’t been enough investment from the city to keep these things from happening,” Murray said. “I hate it for our staff, who have worked hard to prepare for a big home weekend. I hate it for our team, which was looking forward to playing at home after being away last week, and I hate it for our fans, who have traveled well to support us on the road and were excited to watch a game in our own arena for the first time in three weeks.”
He adds that the facility used to operate two ice chillers but now have none.
Rescheduled dates for the games will be announced soon. Tickets purchased for the original games will be honored for the rescheduled date, the team said.
"It's not a lack of awareness of the problems. It's a lack of potential revenue sources to address them," said Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon. "We can do a short-term fix to make it right for this season, but what is the long-term fix? What's best for the community, and what can we afford?"
A Knoxville official told WBIR that the problem stemmed from a blown bearing in the chiller.
"The City understands the Ice Bears' and fans' disappointment and frustration. We share that, too," said Chief of Staff David Brace. "We and the venue management contractor, AMS Global, are working hard to fix the problem and get the ice ready for action. The Coliseum is 62 years old and a treasured and iconic venue. In the past five years, the City has invested more than $15 million to renovate and modernize the Auditorium and Coliseum."
A $10 million renovation of the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum happened from 2018 through 2019. Since 2020, the city said another $5 million or so has been invested or is being invested into the coliseum.