SPHL

What SPHL does

The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) is a private professional minor-league hockey organization founded in 2004 and headquartered in Huntersville, North Carolina. It operates a single-tier competition consisting of a 60-game regular season followed by the Presidents Cup Playoffs, with 12 active member clubs in 2026-27 and 13 approved franchises (including Mobile, AL set for 2027-28) across the southeastern and midwestern United States. The league serves two primary constituencies: (i) hockey fans and families in small-to-mid-sized markets seeking affordable live professional hockey entertainment, and (ii) aspiring professional players, coaches, and officials using the SPHL as a development pipeline to higher leagues such as the ECHL — a track record quantified by nearly 1,100 historical player call-ups and 60 ECHL call-ups in the 2024-25 season alone.

The league's product portfolio centers on the regular season and playoff competition, supported by the LeagueStat/HockeyTech platform for centralized statistics, scheduling, and attendance tracking, the FloHockey streaming service for live and on-demand game distribution, and the official SPHL rule book and media guide as governance and reference assets. Revenue is generated through centrally negotiated media rights (FloSports), licensing partnerships (Marvel, Nickelodeon, Peanuts, Mossy Oak specialty jersey nights; Baron Rings championship awards), ticketing via Koch, and franchise expansion fees, while ticket pricing and venue operations are managed independently by each member team. League operations are led by Commissioner Doug Price, who has run the league since January 2019, with a lean central office staff of approximately 37 employees governing a member-owned franchise structure.

Name

SPHL

Legal name

Southern Professional Hockey League

Website

https://thesphl.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The SPHL is a private professional minor-league hockey league founded in 2004, operating 12-13 franchises across the southeastern and midwestern United States. It serves regional hockey fans with affordable live entertainment and functions as a player-development pipeline to the ECHL, with nearly 1,100 alumni call-ups historically.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Minor League Hockey

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211), Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Ice Hockey Leagues (MPAKAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Team Sports Matches (Club & National) (MPAGAMAB), Professional Live Sports Leagues & Tours (MPAGAMAA)

Keywords

• Professional minor league hockey
• Ice hockey league operations
• Sports entertainment services
• Player development pathway
• Live game streaming

Headquarters

HQ city

Huntersville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Game Attendance and Ticket Sales: Revenue generated through ticket sales at member team games across 13 venues in the southeastern and midwestern United States. The league has achieved record attendance exceeding 1 million fans in recent seasons.
2. Media Rights and Streaming: Partnership with FloSports for live game streaming and content delivery, generating revenue through media rights agreements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The SPHL (Southern Professional Hockey League) is a professional minor league hockey organization operating a 60-game regular season schedule and Presidents Cup Playoffs across 12 member teams in the southeastern and midwestern United States. The league delivers live professional hockey entertainment through member team arenas, streams games via FloHockey, and functions as a development pipeline advancing players to the ECHL and higher professional leagues.

Product overview

SPHL (Southern Professional Hockey League) is a professional minor league hockey organization operating a single-tier product consisting of a 60-game regular season and Presidents Cup Playoffs across 12 member teams. The league provides live game streaming through FloHockey, maintains comprehensive statistics through the LeagueStat/HockeyTech platform, and supports player development as a key pipeline to the ECHL. The product portfolio includes core competition services, official rule governance, media publications, and the Game Center platform for real-time statistics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SPHL Regular Season 60-game regular season schedule featuring 12 member teams playing professional ice hockey in arenas across southeastern and midwestern United States markets. Designed for hockey fans, families, and sports tourists seeking affordable live professional hockey entertainment.
• Presidents Cup Playoffs Annual postseason championship tournament where top eight SPHL teams compete in best-of-five series culminating in the Presidents Cup Finals to determine the league champion. Targeted at fans of qualifying member clubs and the broader SPHL audience.
• Live Game Streaming via FloHockey Subscription-based live and on-demand broadcast of all SPHL regular season and playoff games through the FloHockey streaming platform, available to hockey fans and remote followers of member teams.
• SPHL Player Development Program Development platform facilitating player advancement from the SPHL to the ECHL and other professional leagues through loan agreements and call-up tracking. Targeted at aspiring professional hockey players, their agents, and ECHL/AHL clubs seeking talent.

Quantifiable outcome

• Record attendance of 1,200,565 fans in 2024-25 season, averaging 4,287 fans per game
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FloSportscoreTechnology or IntegrationStreaming partnership providing live and on-demand coverage of all SPHL games through FloHockey platform. Includes mobile app and multi-platform delivery.
• HockeyTech/LeagueStatcoreTechnology or IntegrationStatistical tracking, game reporting, and league management systems for SPHL operations including schedules, scores, player stats, and rosters.
• Baron RingscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAward rings and championship memorabilia partner for SPHL league awards and playoff championships.
• Spire HockeycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOwnership and operating partner for Athens Rock Lobsters expansion team. Led by President Todd Mackin, operating the SPHL's newest member club.
• Zawyer Sports & EntertainmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOwnership group for Mobile Mysticks expansion team (set to begin play in 2027-28 season). Led by CEO Andy Kaufmann.
• Marvel, Nickelodeon, Peanuts, Mossy OakminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLicensing partnerships for specialty jersey nights featuring popular entertainment brands. Each team had themed game nights with specialty jerseys.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• American Hockey League (AHL): The AHL is the top-tier North American minor professional hockey league; it operates on the same franchise/league model as the SPHL, is the primary next step for SPHL alumni, and competes for player talent and arena dates.
• ECHL: The ECHL is the AA-level U.S. minor professional hockey league that sits directly above the SPHL in the development hierarchy, sharing the same sport, similar team-operated franchise model, and overlapping Florida/Southeastern footprint.
• United States Hockey League (USHL): The USHL is the top U.S. junior ice hockey league and operates with a similar multi-team league structure, centralized scheduling, and development-pipeline positioning, though it serves amateur rather than professional players.
• North American Hockey League (NAHL): The NAHL is a Tier II junior hockey league with a comparable franchise-based league structure to the SPHL and a similar role as a development pathway toward higher professional levels.
• Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL): The FPHL is a lower-tier U.S. professional hockey league operating in smaller markets with a similar single-entity league office and independent team owners, directly comparable in scale and economic model to the SPHL.
• Premier Hockey Federation (PHF): The PHF (formerly NWHL) operates professional hockey at a comparable league-office scale to the SPHL, with similar centralized streaming and ticketing models targeting non-NHL markets.

Broad incumbents

• National Lacrosse League (NLL): The NLL is a professional indoor league operating with a similar franchise-based structure in mid-sized North American markets, providing a useful comparable for league economics and arena-based monetization.
• NBA G League: The NBA G League is a professional minor league with explicit development-pipeline positioning similar to the SPHL, though with significantly stronger league economics and parent-league affiliation.
• Indoor Football League: The IFL operates arena-based professional sports in small and mid-sized U.S. markets with an independent franchise model, providing a useful structural comparable for league economics.

Emerging players

• Major League Rugby (MLR): MLR is a relatively young professional sports league in North America targeting non-major markets with an independent franchise model similar to the SPHL, though in rugby.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-professional-hockey-league

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SPHL