It was a deal nine months in the making, but the Elmira Jackals are officially under new ownership. The team’s spokesperson announced Wednesday that Elm Arena has acquired the team from the Afr family. The team’s new owners, Tom Freeman and Nate Cook, are also the new owners of First Arena, which was formerly owned by Southern Tier Economic Development. Freeman says over the past several years, the building was severely neglected. They want to make the Arena a focal point of downtown and hope to start making repairs and upgrades to the building by this summer. Elm Arena and county officials say the good news comes just in time for the start of playoff season. The Elmira Jackals are also currently in the ECHL Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
