Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 29, 1993 TAG: 9304290127
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Miles Wolff, owner of the Raleigh (N.C.) IceCaps and chairman of the league's expansion committee, said the attendance woes of past Roanoke ECHL entries could sway some club owners from approving an expansion application submitted by Roanoke-Hockey Inc.
The ECHL's club owners are tentatively scheduled to vote on the Roanoke group's bid next Thursday at the league meeting in Freeport, Bahamas.
"The first reaction will probably be, `Oh, gosh, it's failed there,' " Wolff said. "I guess the negative would be people's lingering doubts is Roanoke a good hockey city. The gut thing will be: Can Roanoke support an ECHL club?
"Really, the league's level of financial commitment has raised in recent years with all the major markets coming in. Whereas, a few years ago you could draw 2,000 or 2,500 and break even, you can't do that anymore. So in those kind of respects, there are a lot of questions to answer."
This past season, the now-departed Roanoke Valley Rampage averaged a league-record-low attendance of 1,439 per game at the 3,250-seat Vinton LancerLot.
Wolff said the fact that the Roanoke group reportedly has received commitments for some 1,400 season tickets for the 1993-94 season, including 800 from Downtown Roanoke Inc., will be a huge plus for Roanoke-Hockey Inc. president John Gagnon, who will make his presentation Wednesday at the meeting.
"Ticket guarantees are things that will all of a sudden open eyes," Wolff said. "If they have that many commitments from downtown, that would be an impressive thing to hear about."
Wolff said last week's announcement that Roanoke-Hockey Inc. had struck a two-year lease agreement with the 8,363-seat Roanoke building also will enhance the group's position.
"It's certainly a lot better proposition than going back to the LancerLot," Wolff said. "I had heard before that the Roanoke building didn't want hockey. So I'm happy to hear that city officials have gotten behind [Gagnon]. If you're the city of Roanoke, you want to be in the same league with Richmond, Norfolk, Greensboro, Raleigh and Charlotte. Looking at the cities now in [the ECHL], they're sort of the major cities in the Southeast. If you're Roanoke, you don't want to be, quote, out of that league."
Wolff noted that a franchise in Roanoke's centralized location inside the league is another plus.
"Geographically, Roanoke is just great for the league," he said. "Geographics are important."
Wolff said he wasn't officially notified of the Roanoke group's application until Tuesday, when it was received in the ECHL's Charlotte, N.C., office.
"It's within the time frame, so I don't see any major problem with that," Wolff said.
Besides the Roanoke bid, the league also will vote on an expansion effort by a group in Huntington, W.Va. Wolff said an expected bid by Baltimore businessman Tom Ebright has yet to be received by the league office.
The ECHL, which operated with 15 clubs in 1992-93, already has approved expansion franchises in Charlotte and North Charleston, S.C., for next season. Franchises in Huntington and Roanoke would bring the league to 19 teams for '93-94.
"I don't know if it will be a case we only want 18," Wolff said. "In that case, Huntington has been knocking on the door for five months now. If it were limited [to 18], I know Huntington has built a lot of support."
Wolff said the three-member expansion committee, composed of ECHL commissioner Pat Kelly, Erie (Pa.) Panthers owner Jim Clark and himself, will review the Huntington and Roanoke applications and then present them to the league owners, with or without a recommendation. The final vote will come among last season's 15 club owners.
At least three current league owners have said "off the record" they would vote in favor of the Roanoke group's bid. But Wolff, who has been around minor-league sports a long time, hinted there are no cinches when it comes to dealing with a group of club owners.
"You're dealing with sports owners, and they can vote weird things," Wolff said. "During league meetings somebody sometimes gets a wild hair and everybody else goes along. I've seen things here and there and just shake my head. You never know what's going to happen for certain."
by CNB