BATON ROUGE – On Tuesday morning, Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome announced that hockey is returning to the capital city in 2023.

Baton Rouge has been granted a minor league franchise with the Federal Prospects Hockey League.

The team will play 28 games a year at the River Center on a three-year deal.

“When we made the announcement last summer we told everyone that if people showed up we would bring a team here to Baton Rouge. You all showed up. We are ready to bring a team here and put on a family friendly, affordable product that you all can be proud of to call your team,” owner Barry Soskin said.

The city will hold a contest to officially name the team and will announce details soon, a city-parish spokesperson said.

The first games are expected to be played in October 2023 with more details on a schedule coming in the near future.