The Louisville RiverFrogs were a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team competing in the

East Coast Hockey League The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

(ECHL), which was a mid-level professional American hockey league with teams from all over the United States as well as one franchise from Canada. The team was based in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

and played from 1995 to 1998. Their home venue was Broadbent Arena (nicknamed "The Swamp" for their duration; capacity 6,600) at the

Kentucky Exposition Center The Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC), is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Originally built in 1956. It is overseen by the Kentucky Venues and is the sixth largest facility of its type in the U.S., with of indoor ...

. At the conclusion of the 1997–1998 season, the franchise was sold and moved to Florida to become the

Miami Matadors The Miami Matadors were an ice hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League. They played in Miami, Florida, at the Miami Arena for one season before folding. The Matadors franchise would resurface two years later as the Cincinnati Cyclones. Histo ...

for a year before moving to Ohio as the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2001. The Cyclones are still currently playing in the ECHL. They started out playing their games in

Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati Gardens was an indoor arena located in Cincinnati, Ohio, that opened in 1949. The 25,000 square foot (2,300 m²) brick and limestone building at 2250 Seymour Avenue in Bond Hill had a entrance that was decorated with six three-dimens ...

, but they now play at the

Heritage Bank Center Heritage Bank Center is an indoor arena located in downtown Cincinnati, next to the Great American Ball Park. It was completed in September 1975 and named Riverfront Coliseum because of its placement next to Riverfront Stadium. In 1997, the fa ...

. The Cyclones are also the minor league affiliate to the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL), as well as the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). The team's mascot was Rowdy River Frog. The RiverFrogs games were locally known for the amount of non-hockey-related entertainment at shows, including a giant frog blimp, hot tubs, and concession booths.

References

Defunct ECHL teams Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey clubs established in 1995 Sports clubs disestablished in 1998 Ice hockey teams in Kentucky San Jose Sharks minor league affiliates New York Islanders minor league affiliates 1995 establishments in Kentucky 1998 disestablishments in Kentucky {{Louisville-sport-stub

See also

References