ESV Kaufbeuren
ESV Kaufbeuren
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Wikipedia - ESV Kaufbeuren
ESV Kaufbeuren (ESVK) is a professional ice hockey team based in Kaufbeuren, Germany. They currently play in the DEL2, the second level of ice hockey in Germany. Prior to the 2013–14 season, they played in the 2nd Bundesliga.
The club was founded in 1946. In the early years, home matches were held on a natural ice surface at the Kaiserweiher, before the club's first stadium with artificial ice was opened in 1956. As a result of this new home, the team became more successful and was promoted to the German highest league, the Oberliga, for the first time.
The team has competed continuously in Germany's highest leagues (Oberliga and Bundesliga) with various stints in the second division. In 1997, professional hockey in Kaufbeuren collapsed when the Kaufbeurer Adler went bankrupt and had to suspend operations in the middle of the 1997/1998 DEL season.
With a new beginning in the 2. Liga Süd in 1998, the revived team was nicknamed Buron Joker. Since 2009 it has competed in Germany's second-highest league, the 2.Bundesliga, later called DEL2. Since 2017 the team has played at the new Erdgas Schwaben Arena.