08.07.03
- With the westward expansion of the ECHL, and the new WHA2 trying
to buy up every potentially viable market South of the Mason-Dixon line, the
United Hockey League [UHL] joined the expansion gold rush.
The UHL
hopes two expansion teams will pan out for the upcoming 2003-04 season. |
|
The Columbus
Stars and the Richmond RiverDogs will be joining the UHL as the 11th and 12th
teams for the league's 13th season.
Just as
fighting broke out in gold country over a little turf to stake a claim on,
the UHL seems headed towards controversy.
The Richmond
hockey market has been the turf of the ECHL in recent years. Their Renegades
had been steadily in decline. The team inactivated itself at the end of the
2002-2003 season, and returned its membership to the ECHL just a few weeks
ago.
Columbus
will open in the shadow of an NHL team with the pitch of "affordable
entertainment." It will also open under ownership that has been involved
with at least two troubled hockey operations in another league in the past.
Setting
Out For New Territory
"We
are excited about these opportunities and confident that the long-standing
hockey traditions and the great fans in both towns will only complement the
new ownership groups," stated Richard Brosal, UHL President & CEO,
in a league press release.
The UHL
believes that it has chosen its expansion cities wisely.
"It's
a situation where you try to pick markets that hopefully are going to be successful.
We think that Columbus with the local ownership there will be very successful.
We feel that Richmond is going to be successful," Brosal said,
with deliberate emphasis.
Will
Richmond Pan Out?
It is no
secret that the Richmond Renegades of the ECHL lost plenty of money. The Associated
Press estimated that the team lost at least $400k last season alone, and more
than $1.8 million dollars in the last three years.
Much of
the revenue loss stems the fact that the fans were simply not going to the
Richmond Coliseum, an aging facility that received a cosmetic facelift recently.The
Renegades' attendance averaged only 3,547 people last season.
The Rhythm
of the now-defunct International Basketball League (IBL) spent two seasons
in the building with average attendance almost half of that of the hockey
team. IBL sources cited the public perception of the building as an obstacle
to success there at the time of their team's closing.
Dr Eric
Margenau's UHL ownership group was undaunted by the city's previous problems
and didn't hesitate to move an expansion team into the Richmond Coliseum.
"I've
been told by everybody who has been in that market that they have a very loyal
fan base. "Brosal said. "I've heard the players were not accessible,
the team was very soft, and it became a situation that nobody even knew the
team existed the last year they were there."
Brosal thinks
the UHL will bring new era of hockey to the community and feels it will be
the cornerstone of their success.
"We
feel having a new league and a new team in Richmond is going to be very exciting
for the hockey fans," he tells MLN.
One thing
is certain; the UHL has the full support of the Richmond Coliseum and its
managing company SMG, who administers arenas throughout the country.
"I
feel great about [the UHL]," said Larry Wilson, General Manager for SMG.
"I think they are going to do very well. We have an established owner
and a great GM [in Jeff Croop]."
SMG is confident
the new ownership group can resolve the problems their last tenant could not.
"[Margenu]
has a great track record," Wilson said. "He'll look at some things
the ECHL Renegade team may not have done very well, see where they failed,
and try to capitalize on those things."
Margenu
is a highly experienced veteran of minor league sports, with established team
holdings in the AF2 and the UHL. He has also operated teams in the Arena Football
League, and baseball's affiliated Southern League.
Minor
Hockey May Be In The Stars, But Is It In The Cards?
The Stars
will be located in Columbus, Ohio and play at the newly renovated Ohio Expo
Center Coliseum. Joe Milano, Jr., owner of a prominent local catering company,
and former owner of two Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) franchises,
will own and operate the Stars.
A gutsy
move for a minor league operator, if you consider the fact that Columbus already
has another small hockey team, the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.
"Columbus
is a market with over a million people," stated Brosal. "The Blue
Jackets have welcomed the team with open arms. I think we fill a special niche,
that's the family affordable entertainment venue. For the people who can't
get Blue Jackets tickets, or really like minor league hockey, we offer a great
option for the fans."
The UHL
may also be looking at an increasingly likely NHL player lockout as opening
the market to the minor league club. Those in the know suggest that the lockout
might last up to two seasons, as the league tries to cut its player payroll
by an estimated 66%. Teams like the Blue Jackets may find themselves damaged
or closed if labor troubles drag out.
"We're
not trying to compete with the Blue Jackets," Brosal said. "It is
my hopes the team will draw over 3000 fans a game, and I think they could
do that."
The
NHL in Columbus is not the only specter of problems for the Stars. Mr. Milano
walks into the ownership of the team is 0-2 in franchise start-ups.
Continued...
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