PORTLAND (WGME) — Professional hockey is coming back to Portland for the 2018-2019 season.

Comcast Spectacor, the parent company of Spectra and the Philadelphia Flyers, announced Thursday it has purchased the Alaska Aces ECHL franchise and will relocate the team to the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.

The yet-to-be-named team will begin play with the 2018-19 season.

The relocation of Comcast Spectacor’s newly acquired ECHL franchise will create 36 home regular-season games and potential playoff dates for Portland’s venue.

The Flyers have an active ECHL affiliation with the Reading Royals that is unaffected by this transaction.

The new team’s roster will mirror that of many other ECHL teams in that most of the players will be under contract to the team itself, and will be recruited and signed by the team’s own hockey operations staff.

Players will enjoy state-of-the-art locker room and training facilities thanks to an 18-month, $33 million renovation of Cross Insurance Arena that was completed in 2014, according to Comcast Spectacor.

Comcast Spectacor will shortly begin the process of hiring a staff, establishing a team website for ticket information, and conducting initial steps that will include naming the team.

More information will be announced as it becomes available in the coming weeks.

Cross Insurance Arena