Black Bear Sports Group Awarded Management Contract at York Ice Arena

YORK, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 10, 2020--
An affiliate of Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. (“Black Bear”) has entered into a management agreement to operate the York City Ice Arena in York, PA (the “Arena”). The Arena features two ice sheets, an athletic training gym, café, pro shop and a community room. The Arena is home to many figure skaters and youth hockey players in the area and, like many of Black Bear’s arenas, frequently hosts youth hockey tournaments throughout the year. Black Bear was founded by CEO Murry Gunty in 2015.
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​“Particularly during this very difficult time for everyone due to the COVID pandemic, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring all of our resources to the City of York and its residents, and hopefully fulfill the hopes and dreams of future NHLers and Olympians,” said Murry Gunty, Founder and CEO of Black Bear. “York fits perfectly with our other Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland ice rinks and we look forward to fostering strong ties between all of our youth and junior teams, as well as our figure skating community.”

​The York Ice Arena is Black Bear’s first management contract with a municipality, an expanding growth area due to the financial challenges that many municipal rinks are facing in the U.S.

“We are excited to expand into partnerships with municipal owned ice rinks,” said Ryan Scott, Vice President of Black Bear. “We expect that this will be the first of many transactions with municipalities over the next few years.”

About Black Bear Sports Group, Inc.
Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. is a privately held company formed by Murry Gunty and Blackstreet Capital Holdings, LLC in 2015 that seeks investments in sports and entertainment facilities, teams and youth sports events. Black Bear arenas are clean and professionally managed and offer world-class recreational programs. Black Bear focuses on ice arenas in metropolitan areas with compelling demographics, markets with a National Hockey League club presence and arenas with existing youth hockey clubs. ​Black Bear has the ability to acquire healthy and stable arenas, but also to turn around under-managed or under-performing facilities. The largest owner/operator of ice rinks in the U.S., Black Bear’s footprint totals 17 facilities across the United States with 31 sheets of indoor ice, two indoor turf fields, seven youth hockey clubs and four Junior “A” hockey franchises in the United States Hockey League, North American Hockey League and Eastern Hockey League.