The Veterans Memorial Arena has been home to hockey for nearly 50 years.

The Devils moved in four years ago after the Senators fled north of the border, but now New Jersey is moving its AHL team out.

“Extremely disappointing, especially to all the hockey fans in this community, to all of us that are involved here," said Tom Mitchell, the executive vice president of operations for the Binghamton. "I know one thing. Binghamton has been a strong partner in the American Hockey League for the better part of 50 years and we didn’t deserve this.”

The AHL Devils are playing this season in New Jersey, near its parent club. That seemed logical because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mitchell said. He and other local leaders learned about the decision last week.

“Prior to that, they had asked us about expenses here, that sort of thing, and we got all that information for them," said Mitchell. "Then all of the sudden, they just decided they wanted to do it the other way. And since then, we’ve kind of wondered 'ok, what’s going on here?' But there was no indication until last week.”

The Devils have one more year on their contract with Binghamton. There is a financial disagreement between the local management group and the owners of the parent club. 

“When they came back to us, what they were asking from us was ridiculous — way more than we can handle, way more than made sense,” said Mitchell.  

Arena management is hopeful to have hockey back before the puck drops next season.

“Broome County and the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena here stands ready to host professional hockey here in one way or another," said Chris Marion, the general manager of the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena. "We are going to do everything we can to get professional hockey here this season — this upcoming season. We hope it will be at the highest level that the fans have come to expect."

Both Marion and Mitchell are optimistic about the future of hockey in Binghamton. It looks like every AHL team has a home for next year, but Mitchell said Binghamton is in a geographic prime location for a team to return.

"I think we need to be patient and let us try and work things out here," said Mitchell. "We’re not gonna just throw in the towel. We’re going to try to do what’s right here and get back what they deserve.”

The New Jersey Devils didn’t respond to Spectrum News' request for comment.

Any AHL relocation requires approval from the AHL Board of Governors, which they haven’t been asked to consider. The Board of Governors' spring meeting is usually held in May but is not scheduled yet.

Interestingly, the owner of the Utica Comets filed a trademark for “Utica Devils” a few weeks ago.

The Comets can opt-out of Utica after this season. The owner of their parent club, the Vancouver Canucks, said the teams have a great working relationship and they haven’t decided on the future of their affiliation.