Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 13, 1994 TAG: 9402130175
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The million dollar-plus question was whether anyone could sell hockey here, much less sell out. The naysayers must have figured that would happen when the Roanoke Valley froze over.
They were just about right. Only 24 hours after a Zamboni would have been the best mode of transportation around town, this slick franchise attracted a standing-room crowd Saturday night to the Roanoke Civic Center.
They weren't just standing in the icebox that has become the hottest place to be on Williamson Road since the city closed the massage parlors. The disappointed people outside the doors would have been a big crowd in local hockey's previous LancerLot life.
The first sellout crowd in Roanoke's hockey history - 8,524, that's capacity - actually was a turn-away crowd. There were more ticketless fans outside than no-shows inside for the visit by the Louisville IceHawks.
Sure, the Express had lowered the ticket price to $4 to help fill the building. That probably wasn't necessary. On game day alone, the walk-up sale was almost 1,500. By noon, only a few single seats remained. They were gone four hours before the opening faceoff.
Who could have figured? Certainly not Pierre Paiement, who was on the ice 21 years ago for the Roanoke Valley Rebels when the previous record crowd of 8,159 appeared for Game 6 of the Eastern Hockey League playoffs.
"I thought - and maybe this was a dream - that if we did well and we were competitive, and we could get through the first round of the playoffs, maybe we could fill the place in the next round," said Paiement, the Express' general manager. "Never did I think it would be this soon."
The first sellout came on the Express' 25th home date, but the shock of so many filled seats at the civic center has become expected as well as appreciated.
The club's average crowd is 4,480. That would overflow the Salem Civic Center. The Express has had only five crowds that would have fit in what was a 3,200-seat LancerLot.
The average for weekend dates is more than 5,600. Even the too-numerous Tuesday night dates have produced a 3,400 average. At the start of the season, the Express figured 3,500 per game as a break-even point for operations.
After average Roanoke Valley attendance of 1,754, 1,566, 2,054 and 1,483 the past four seasons, why should anyone have figured the Express would be anything but just another caboose on the East Coast Hockey League attendance track?
"I'd never say, `I told you so,' " Paiement said. "People had every right to say this wasn't going to work. I probably thought that at one time myself.
"I caught myself saying it. Then I thought about how when I played here it worked, and I asked myself why. It was because we had some success, we had a good organization and we had entrepreneurs willing to risk something to make it work.
"The investors we have now and our staff and team, they've worked hard to make this work. If I told you that I knew this was going to happen, though, I'd be lying. There were times when I think all of us have thought to ourselves, `I hope this is not just a dream.' "
It wasn't a dream. None of the investors could have dreamed the numbers the Express has produced. Majority owner John Gagnon put up much more than his money to save hockey here, but when he and Paiement first talked about what they hoped might happen, they mostly got attention for their French Canadian accents.
They have an expansion team playing better than .500 hockey. They've captured the corporate community, and by promoting a legitimate family atmosphere, their games have become kids' night out.
They're selling more than $2,500 per game in Express souvenirs. And after worrying that an expected commitment of 800 season tickets from Roanoke businesses was nothing but a hollow promise, the response has been so overwhelming that the club has had Ticketmaster install its system in the club's suburban office.
Mark Collins, the civic center's assistant manager, said the arena has been receiving about 20 faxes per day inquiring about tickets. Recently, one Roanoke business inquired about buying 500 Express tickets.
Paiement said the club sold more than $260,000 in advertising. The last seven games, the box-office average has been 5,663. The Express already has sold almost 100 season tickets for the 1994-95 season and has a waiting list for corporate boxes. Still, the club won't turn a profit this season - because a $1.3 million budget included a $500,000 ECHL franchise fee.
In the 19 years since this scribe headed south to cover the Rebels in their first Southern Hockey League season, the Express is nothing less than the most stunning success story in local sports.
The Express is counting more than spectators, too. When the attendance reaches 7,525 paid customers, the club's rental fee for that game is only $1.
Now, that's really a cheap Saturday night date.
by CNB