Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 10, 1992 TAG: 9202100015
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ROANOKE VALLEY HOCKEY STILL ON THIN ICE
To put it in hockey terms, Henry Brabham is tired of playing shorthanded.By the time the Roanoke Valley Rebels skate onto the LancerLot ice again, Brabham expects to have a deal to sell his franchise by next season.
Brabham's two ECHL clubs - the Rebels and Johnstown - played at the HenryDome on Sunday afternoon before a crowd so small it couldn't have done a ripple, much less the wave.
If pro hockey vacates the valley again, you need look no further than those empty seats. In an ECHL that's gone boffo at the box office, the Rebels can't even fill the league's smallest arena.
"I'm definitely going to sell, period," Brabham said. "I'd like the club to stay here, but if it doesn't happen by Thursday, I have a deal for Birmingham."
The Vinton oiler said he's been told of an interested local investor "but I haven't seen him yet." Brabham said he will meet Thursday with an out-of-town group which wants to keep the franchise here.
Absentee ownership never is a desirable situation, but at least it could keep the Zamboni running locally. The Rebels are barely averaging 2,000 spectators per game. Brabham said he'd need 2,600 to break even in a league where the average crowd is almost 4,600. Brabham will lose in excess of $50,000 on hockey this season, despite selling more advertising than in past years, and despite having one of the league's smaller operating budgets. The Rebels have worked harder at promotions, too, and lowered season-ticket prices to less than $4.40 per game.
So, is it worth it for another party to take a slapshot at keeping the Rebels here?
One man's opinion is yes, but it's going to take more of a commitment than Brabham is willing and able to give. He fathered the ECHL and kept the sport here. Since then, the league's success has overwhelmed the Roanoke Valley franchise.
The Rebels have one of the ECHL's smallest staffs. For all of the money Brabham has put into his club, the valley's other minor-league franchise, baseball's Salem Buccaneers, have been more successful and run more professionally. The Rebels are one of only two ECHL clubs without radio broadcasts.
The most frequent complaints from those who have sampled the sport in recent years center on the LancerLot rink. It's often cold and smoky. The narrow hallway concourses are jammed between periods, even when crowds are small. The Spartan facility has exposed heating ducts and torn wall panels.
Of course, the arena's ambience would be enhanced if crowds of 3,200 filled the place. The Rebels have tried, sending players - not so few of whom are sharp college graduates who play in the ECHL for love of the game - to talk to school kids.
One disadvantage for the Rebels in today's ECHL is the lack of area college students compared to other franchise cities. In Cincinnati, Hampton Roads, Richmond and Raleigh, the houses are filled by cheap-daters, age 18-25.
Although it's hurt that the Rebels are one of the ECHL's worst teams on the ice, the quality of play in the league is higher than any hockey played here since the old Rebels were getting WHA farmhands in the early '70s. There are fewer fisticuffs.
Sadly, maybe that's why there are fewer fans, too.
If the Rebels keep the LancerLot floor frozen next season, whoever is writing the checks must make sure the owner isn't the most colorful character connected with the club, which is the case now.
It also hasn't helped that Brabham has changed coaches every season, or that the club's summertime operations are often part-time at best.
The bottom line is that hockey can be sold here. It's going to take more dollars and promotional sense, and more than a Zamboni to smooth out the rough edges.
With the ECHL flourishing, an established franchise would be a terrible thing to waste.