One of my favorite things about covering this league is the yearly craziness when it comes to expansion.

Now, I should preface, all of these cities/markets mentioned have been put out in the public by people from or around the league, or news articles. Not all of them will happen, but just some food for thought. Our friend Gary Ryan from The Fed League Flash has also done a podcast similar to this but, we’re going to talk about a lot here.

There’s also possibilites for teams to fold or relocate. As we mentioned last week, the Sea Wolves’ lease could be terminated after this season in Mississippi.

Confirmed: Topeka, KS (2025-26)

The FPHL has already announced the addition of Topeka to the league. After four neutral site games, the market saw huge success with all four games having over 3,000 fans each.

Topeka will be the westernmost team in the league, with the closest team (Dashers currently) being seven hours away. They will be owned by Don Lewis is Chris Bryniarski. Bryniarski is involved in multiple FPHL teams with Barry Soskin, who was not named as part of the majority ownership group.

Lewis is also involved with Soskin, and has stakes in Watertown, and Baton Rouge, where he is the President of the club, and he will move to Topeka to run the new team, which will put some questions on the Baton Rouge franchise for next season.

There are a lot of questions, but the fanbase is seemingly there, and with Lewis potentially in charge, there will be sponsor money rolling in, similarly to how thing are going in Baton Rouge.

Potential: Columbus, IN (2025-26)

Back in January, we broke the story that there was a group interested in putting an FPHL team in Columbus, IN. The team would be named the Indiana Sentinels and would play at the Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena. The arena is seemingly small, with seating around 600-800.

The team is led by Garrett and Gavin Campbell, as well as team General Manager Ian Rozens. The ownership group said that they had looked at Indianapolis, especially at the Corteva Coliseum, where the Indy Fuel of the ECHL had just moved from to their new home in Fishers, but the group didn’t want to potentially intrude with the Fuel, so they changed their focus to Columbus.

About the arena… there has been talks that the city could build a 2,500 seat arena attached to the current complex, which could be ready for 2026-27 or later pending a feasibility study.

According to an article written on the team, Don Kirnan did submit a letter of acceptance to Sentinel Sports LLC back on November 25th. But the group is still working hard at getting corporate sponsors and funding to be able to have the team.

Geographically it is a perfect fit, slotted between the Dashers and the Michigan teams. Now, obviously there are questions on the Dashers, but we’ll see what happens there.

Now, when could the Sentinels be announced? Potentially after mid-March, but all signs are looking good at the team coming into the league for 2025-26 from the team’s standpoint. There’s still a chance it doesn’t happen though.

Interested: Dover, DE (2026-27?)

Yep, the Delaware Thunder want to come back. And there’s a legit chance the arena plan in Dover gets built.

Ever since the Thunder were kicked out of Harrington, they had been adamant that they want rejoin the league. But the kicker now is, that means a lot more now with the arena in Harrington being closed this spring for good.

So, Charlie Pens Sr. and his team have been working hard to get the arena up and running, not only for his team, but the hockey community in Delaware. The rink would be in Schutte Park in Dover, and hold just over 2,000 seats.

When would it be done? Right now it seems like 2026 is the best option, although the city would potentially build a temporary rink for the youth programs to play next year. Pens Sr. says that he is awaiting more financial help, especially naming rights. Pens Sr has also said that the arena could be built for 2025-26, but that’s a very very short turnaround.

As for rejoining the Fed. The Thunder were officially terminated prior to this season, when Pens Sr did not pay his dormancy fee. Sources tell Minor Pro Hero and The Fed League Flash that if Pens Sr were to rejoin the FPHL, he would have to agree to a few different stipulations based on his prior conduct, and pay a little more than the normal rate of the expansion fee.

Delaware was a good market for the league, with a rabid fanbase. If they get this arena done, and Pens Sr rejoins the league, it will be a great fit geographically and market wise, especially being in Dover now.

Interested: Williston, ND (2026-27)

Yeah… this one’s crazy. Our friend Gary Ryan broke this report on The Fed League Flash. There is a group looking to put a team in Williston, ND, which is all the way in Northwest North Dakota, almost in Canada.

This group is supposedly looking into more markets as well in the west, including prior pro and junior markets. Canyon Sports Group is run by a native of North Dakota we’ve been told, as well as a Sacramento based software engineer.

Now, the closest team is Topeka, but that’s ten plus hours. Unless if the FPHL can build a conference in that area of the country, this team will not work. And yes, this is another arena potentially going under construction. Williston actually has two rinks currently, both aren’t big enough for professional hockey, but again, travel is the main issue, and there are so many skeptics to this.

Mentioned publicly: Texas and West Virginia

The next two will come from the same video. In a radio interview in the Hudson Valley, HC Venom Head Coach MJ Maerkl talked about where the league is at in terms of teams, and he dropped some hints at expansion.

MJ first mentions Texas. Now, we don’t know anything official on this. If you may remember, it was mentioned that Beaumont could be joining the FPHL, and there were two exhibition games scheduled for late December at the Ford Arena between Monroe and Baton Rouge, however, they were quietly removed from the schedule.

It seems like Beaumont is out. And the only choices for the FPHL seem to be North or East Texas. Putting my thinking caps on, what arenas/cities could work?

Let’s start with a newer arena. The Fort Bend County Epicenter in Rosenberg, TX. A little southwest of Houston. Built in 2023, it is currently home to League One Volleyball’s Houston team. The arena holds about 8,000. It doesn’t look like there is an ice plant currently, but the floor looks pretty good. This is probably a big one that might already have been looked at, we don’t really know, but it is something I noticed.

Another one is Waco. The Extraco Events Center, former home of the WPHL’s Waco Wizards. It’s a city that’s held a pro hockey team before, and was successful too, and could have the same push and success that Monroe or Baton Rouge have had. The floor fits, but again would need an Ice Plant.

One more for the road, maybe a couple places in the metroplex? Dickies Arena in Fort Worth? Comerica Center in Frisco? I believe they both have plants. Obviously those are big asks though.

As for West Virginia, there’s one clear obvious choice, and there’s a wild card too. Huntington is the best choice if the league were to actually go there. Again, had a team before. The Marshall Health Network Arena is the name, former home of the Huntington Blizzard, who last played in the ECHL back in 2000. It holds about 9,000 overall, so maybe 7,000 for hockey. It’s a perfect market, and there’s been looks there from the league before. The Blizzard’s attendance numbers were about top half of what the FPHL’s numbers are right now, topping out at where Athens is right now, and bottoming out at where Mississippi is currently.

The other one? Charleston at the Coliseum. A larger facility with 13,500 seats. I’ve been told the floor is a little on the small side, just under 200 feet long, so that maybe an issue. But it’s another city that has the population. However, have never had hockey. Looks similar to Baton Rouge in a sense.

The question now is, does the league want to continue to grow each year? Is there an end goal? The league seemingly wants to get to 16.

Now again, other than Topeka, nothing is official, I want to preface that, and some of these may not happen, and that last little section, my ideas are just my ideas (so I think).

Well, that’s a look at some public rumblings around the FPHL when it comes to expansion. Of course there are definitely a lot of talks behind the scenes, and markets that we don’t even know about that could come into the fold. However, if anything pops out publicly, we’ll make sure to have it for you.