MOLINE, Illinois -- After the Quad City Mallards team announced they were folding after the 2017-2018 season the community started wondering, what would be next.
Some fans said they hope hockey will come back in some form, Mallards or not. Leadership at the TaxSlayer Center said they could fill the void by booking more concerts and events, but they are looking at a new hockey team.
The venue's Executive Director, Scott Mullen, said they started working on a recruiting a new team just hours after hearing the news. He said a hockey team holds the most economic value.
"Hockey has other intangible value to a community, to a building, so we would like to keep hockey here," he said. "If hockey is not here, that is millions of dollars in economic impact that's going to be lost."
The team's owner said that since 2013 the team had lost around $4 million and it was getting tough to turn a profit.