ECHL: Greenville Swamp Rabbits Extend Their Arena Lease

Greenville, SC – As the Swamp Rabbits battle the Solar Bears during the south division semi-final, the Greenville club announced that they’ve extended their lease at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Downtown Greenville for another five years, extending its home until the 2028-29 season. 

The Swamp Rabbits current franchised team has played at “The Well” since 2011 while they were known as the Road Warriors before rebranding into today’s Swamp Rabbits in 2015. But the home base has stood for longer than a decade, in fact, it began in late 1998 when the first professional Greenville hockey team laid its mark on the Upstate – first being called the Grrrowl until 2006. Fun fact: The former home to the Grrrowl was once known as the BI-LO Center before 2013 when Bon Secours purchased the rights to the arena. In the Grrrowl days, the club managed to qualify for five playoff appearances in eight seasons; the furthest they ever went was to the Kelly Cup finals and winning against Dayton to win the Kelly Cup in 2002. The Grrrowl produced six players that would go on to play 25 games or more in the NHL: Krys Barch, Alex Burrows, Simon Gamache, Mike Morrison, Martin St. Pierre, and Tim Sesito. In the Road Warriors first season (2010-11), the team would go on to win the South Division title and make it to the second round of the Playoffs. The furthest they ever went in the playoffs was to the third round of the Eastern Conference final against Cincinnati, losing in game six. For the Swamp Rabbits, the team would have a bumpy road in the first few seasons, as they wouldn’t qualify for the playoffs after finishing fifth in the south division. In the 2016-2017 season, they would qualify but only make it to the first round, losing to SC. After the 2018-19 season, the Rabbits would be dead last in the south and obviously not qualify for a playoff berth. After that season, Andrew Lord took the ranks as head coach and has since brought the team to four straight playoff appearances, with the farthest being the Eastern Conference final against SC. Now the team continues to play against the Orlando Solar Bears to defend their south division title and pride with the hopes of gaining a franchise first Kelly Cup. Since the very beginning, even with relocation and rebranding, hockey in Greenville has seemingly come back to be better than ever.

For more history of Greenville hockey in the ECHL, give our article a read.