Birmingham Bulls Sell Out Home Opener In Pelham

PELHAM, AL - The Birmingham Bulls Hockey team is back in town, after leaving the Birmingham metro back in 2000. Although the team no longer plays in the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, the team is owned by a familiar sports figure in the area. Art Clarkson owned one incarnation of the Bulls hockey team,. and was also once the owner of the Birmingham Barons baseball team. Bringing hockey back to Birmingham was something Clarkson had been pondering for some time, and by the looks of the opening night crowd, he made the right call.

A sold-out arena full of hockey fans greeted the Bulls at their home opener, although the home team fell to Knoxville 2-1. The loss, however, did not deter thousands of people from enjoying the return of a Birmingham sports tradition. Hockey has been in Birmingham since the 70s when the World Hockey Association formed and granted Birmingham a franchise. When the league merged with the NHL in 1978, Birmingham was left out of the mix, and dropped down to minor league status, becoming a farm team to the Minnesota North Stars (calling the team the Birmingham South Stars). When that team left town, the Bulls of the East Coast Hockey League came to town and stayed for almost a decade before moving to Atlantic City after the 2000-2001 season.

The Bulls host Huntsville on Fri., Nov. 10 in a 7:30 p.m. game in Pelham.

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