Brown Bears returning to Alaska

The Kenai River Brown Bears, proud members of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), announced that they plan to return to Alaska to play home games at the Soldotna Regional Sports Center for the remainder of the season.

“We are excited to see the team return to the Peninsula and play in front of our home crowd. We have heard the fans are excited to have the team back and to cheer on the Brown Bears, and the players are excited to get the home ice advantage and play in front of the greatest fans in the league,” stated General Manager Chris Hedlund. “The players have been resilient throughout this challenging environment, eagerly awaiting the announcement to get home to Alaska.” The team will arrive early next month for games to begin mid-April at SRSC.

“We would like to thank Mayor Whitney and the Soldotna City Council for their support leading to a unanimous 6-0 vote to approve the measure to raise spectator capacity limits at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex,” stated Brown Bears President Nate Kiel. “Parks and Recreation Director Andrew Carmichael and the entire administrative team have worked tirelessly in mitigating measures so that the team may return and safely play games in front of our fans.”

While the excitement builds for the team’s return, there is much to do. Capacity will be limited to 750 fans, and masks, social distancing, and other protocols are required. More updates will be released soon, including information on tickets, sponsorship, schedules, plus much more.