The Ontario Hockey League’s Plymouth Whalers are moving to the Perani Arena in Flint.

On Feb. 2, the sale of the Plymouth Whalers to IMS Hockey Corp. was unanimously approved. The new president of the team is Mr. Costa Papista, president of the IMS Hockey Corp.

As of Dec. 30, 2014, Mr. Rolf Nilsen was the new owner of Perani Arena.

The Michigan Warriors will be sold after the 2014-2015 season ends.

The Whalers were launched in 1989 by Mr. Peter Karmanos in Detroit and began playing at Compuware Arena in Plymouth in 1996.

Many people may ask, “Why bring the Whalers to Flint?” Papista said.

Papista’s answer: “Flint is in the heart of the hockey country. Genesee County is a big hockey community.”

One of the reasons Papista wanted to bring the team to Flint was for the consumers. Papista wants to “treat people well” and “take care of them.”

Fans submitted what they think the new name of the team, the colors, and the logo should be.

“The new OHL team and the Perani Arena belong to the community. It’s really important to let the fans help us decide the name of the team,” Papista said.

There have been over 4,000 submissions to help name the team.

There are names like the Flint Tropics (based off the movie starring Will Ferrell), the Flint Flyers, the Flint Falcons, the Flint Sparks, the Flint Arrows, the Flint Pride, and many more.

So far, the most popular color is similar to the former Flint Generals’ colors – royal blue, gold, and white.

The final decisions need to be made on Feb. 27.

The Perani Arena was built in 1969 and cost about $10 million, equaling about $70 million today.

For the next season, many changes need to be done due to the new team coming to Perani Arena. All the signs will be changed, locker rooms will be updated, along with the penalty boxes and bench areas, the lighting will be fixed, and many more changes will be done, like the renovations of the bathrooms and other areas.

The opening night after all the renovations will be in September.

“We (Flint and the Perani Arena) are surrounded by hockey,” Papista said.

Windsor, Sarnia, and Saginaw, which are all in the same division, are teams that will all be within an hour of the Plymouth Whalers once they move to Flint.

“Flint is the most logical place for an OHL hockey team,” Papista said.